Kuroutoshikou's disk enclosures: the Mac mini's cheap, Japanese friends
By Thomas Ricker 
posted Dec 15th 2006 9:41AM
posted Dec 15th 2006 9:41AM
If you're just bound and determined to turn your Mac mini into a home media center then be sure to check the matching enclosures from Japan's Kuroutoshikou. The external cases share the dimensions of the mini for easy stackin' action and come in a variety of configurations, all with space for a single 3.5-inch disk. The ¥2,980 (about $25) GW3.5MM-U2 connects over USB 2.0 for PATA disk expansion; the ¥3,480 (about $30) GW3.5MM-U2/HUB adds a 3-port USB 2.0 hub; the ¥3,980 (about $34) GW3.5MM-U2/S adds support for faster, SATA drives; and the ¥5,980 (about $51) GW3.5MM-U2/LAN comes with an Ethernet port for network accessible storage. Got all that? No problem, you've got until the end of the month before they hit Japan.
[Via Impress]
Looks like the same thing, made by another company, was reported before:
http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/18/evergreens-nas-mini-looks-familiar/
But this one has more models. Hope this gets to the US market.
Already bought something very similar:
http://www.lindy.com/uk/productfolder/04/42919/index.php
Only problem is that the 750GB Maxtor gets a bit too hot for me to feel happy about stacking the Mini on top of it.
Did the external hard drive you bought from lindy work ok and is it pretty nice, I like the form factor and would want one!
Ken
Why has it taken so long for something like this? I've wanted an empty mini-clone shell for my 400 GB hard drive for a long time now. Does anyone have a link to something like this that's already selling in the US?
The problem I have with all these kind of things is that they invariably look like crap next to a real mini case. Silver plastic can look ok but it's not actually the same as metal.
Yeah, works ok so far (only had it a week). Enclosure's a bit lightweight and plasticky, but looks ok. Bright blue power LED doesn't match the Mini's fainter white LED though :)
Pricier, but solidly built:
http://www.newertech.com/products/ministackv2.php
Chad there's tons of things like that, look up the mini stack v2 for instance, a lot of them come with hollow cases for your own drive.
I use the NexStar GX 370, which looks sort of like the mini but not quite. It's got 3 extra USB ports in it as well, which is excellent. Built in fans also mean that it cools the drives down when they get too hot. I don't actually use it with my mini, I use it with my MBP.
http://www.vantecusa.com/products/nexstarGX/p_nst-370gx.html
Just an FYI:
Kuroutoshikou is spelled wrong: It's くろうとしこう Kurootoshikoo. The spelling/sentance rules in hiragana make the 2nd and 3rd U's into O's. Making a long "OO" sound.