MORE:Computing | Design | Strange + Wonderful | bytepac | cardboard | enclosure | green | hard drive | sustainable
BytePac: Recyclable Cardboard USB Hard Drives
October 13th, 2011
It’s true that hard disk enclosures tend to be somewhat disposable, especially as the technology evolves. This cardboard housing is perfect to turn your spare hard disk into an external one. BytePac offers a few different kits to make assembling your hard drive enclosure painless.
Once you’re finished with this product, it can be easily recycled and will pollute less than a plastic equivalent. The cardboard enclosure kits that BytePac provides include everything but the hard drive, so they’re an interesting solution.
You’ll find the BytePac enclosures and other accessories here. Unfortunately, they’re a bit expensive for what pretty much amounts to cardboard, some cables and a power supply. The basic kit comes with three enclosures and a single SATA/USB connection kit, and costs €39.95 (~$55 USD) and there are also kits that include a hard drive of your choice.
[via Ubergizmo]
|
Cool! I like the fact that you can change the interface at any time. Today USB2, tomorrow USB3 and in the future Thunderbolt. Very cool product, simple and clever. 55 US$ don’t seem to be expensive. If I buy a external disk drive I don’t know what hard disk is used inside and I never can change the interface. I plan to tear down my Seagate drive and place it in a bytepac with USB3. This way I can connect 3 drives to USB for the price of one. Since I never use 3 drives at the same time I think this is brilliant.
I have never understood the need for a disk enclosure, people tell me it to keep the disc cool which cant be true as the heat builds up in a little over you have just stuck it in.
I just plug a cable directly into my drives which sit on my desk or they sit in a dock so I can easily hotswap them.
Plus isnt the fact that this is basically thick paper a fire hazzard?
Just saw this video on youtube http://youtu.be/y7FSZwHCD7c – The cardboard drive is even cooler then the external plastic drive – funny enough they also have a ByteBand to connect a drive without enclosure – http://youtu.be/AXbmNpS60mU
The only reason they put the hard drives in fancy enclosures is to make it look like there is something very sofisticated inside the box making it easy to increase the price.