Currently, I am copying 390GB of video files from my Vista PC to the Drobo – via the Droboshare – and Windows estimates the transfer will take 13 1/2 hours to complete – at a speed of about 8.5MB/second.

I have a new iMac on the way, so I’m copying off my PC videos, music, and pics in anticipation of the big switchover. When the iMac arrives, I will definitely be removing the Droboshare from the unit and attaching it to the iMac via Firewire 800.

That said, I did find out an interesting use for the Droboshare, which is applicable to my situation. I formatted the Drobo as HFS+, so it would be easier to use with my new iMac when it arrives.

Had I formatted Drobo as HFS+ and connected it directly to the PC via USB, I wouldn’t have been able to transfer anything to the Drobo, as I don’t believe that my PC’s NTFS file system could read/write to an HFS+ volume.

The Droboshare gets around this, as it is Samba compatible – meaning that my NTFS Vista files can be copied to the HFS+ partition directly – while the Drobo is connected to the Droboshare.

I’m wondering if I might be able to return the Droboshare – once my transfers are complete. I’m definitely NOT going to use it afterwards. The performance is just too slow. I’ve tried to play a few videos via a mapped drive on a laptop- while my initial file transfers are taking place – but the videos will barely play.

I know you shouldn’t expect lightning-fast performance from this thing, but the inability to watch a video while files are transferring is a little ridiculous.