Simpletech adopts "want the latest firmware, buy a new unit" approach

WE REVIEWED the nice Simpleshare network attached storage back in mid-2005. Last year the company hinted it would upgrade the firmware for models below 500GB to match the features of the latest one. It never happened.

One reader from Asia wrote us last week and told me: "Thank you for the extensive review of the Simpleshare NAS drive. It looks like a promising unit for home users backing up files without a dedicated computer. It has been more than a year since your review, but the company did not do much to it...". That prompted me to check and... Indeed. Back in February 2006, the company spokesperson hinted that this new functionality including iShare and Java based IP discovery, would be offered for previous users of the Simpleshare NAS drive, not just new purchasers of the 500GB and higher-capacity models.

Simpleshare firmware updates: latest version available is still 1.07
On web forums, people have hinted of 1.09 and 1.10 versions available
but those versions never made it to the support page

I will quote verbatim from the e-mail received from the company's spokesperson at the time: "Here's the information I received from the product manager: 1) We are developing a Java Applet (equivalent to the ActiveX one) for Apple Mac. It should function the same way under other Operating Systems supporting Java. This Java Applet would be available in early March (2006) as part of 500GB SimpleShare 1.1 product release". She added "For previously purchased SimpleShares, the new functionality of SimpleShare with iShare is enabled by downloading new firmware. I am not aware of any plans for charging additional fees for the upgrade". Concluding: "we will post the firmware on the SimpleShare Firmware web site when the documentation for the new firmware is released". That was February, 2006.

Since then, I discovered an independent techies' web site and forum with deals with extensive firmware tweaking of the BCM4780 NASoC (network attached storage on-a-chip) based units, like the Maxtor Shared Storage units, or MSS for short. That definition, of course, includes the "Simpleshare" from Simpletech, with also uses Broadcom's chipset.

On the OpenMSS web site, I could read about users installing firmware 1.09 and even reports about a 1.10 version. Maybe that has iShare and the Java based discovery feature, but I don't know. The last firmware version available on Simpletech's web site is 1.07, and to my knowledge the firmware that would bring older units on par with the 500GB units never materialized. But leaving aside for a moment that minor point, what is enlightening is how a group of beautifully stubborn techies and code hackers were able to add features to Simpletech's original firmware effortlessly, for instance Telnet access, as you can see here.

The company's product page for the 500GB Simpleshare unit still reads "initially available on the 500GB Simpleshare..." when referring to the "iShare" firmware feature, adding that this feature will be available "in May 2006". I have no doubt that the 500GB unit might have shipped with that elusive firmware, and I have no doubt that May 2006 has long passed. Since the company once hinted that older units would be brought to parity with the 500GB models, why not make the situation clearer?. I inquired one of the tech support techies at Simpletech, way before Yuletide, and his answer was "Your questions were forwarded to the Product Manager for the SimpleShare line. I do not have any information available through Tech Support". More than two months have passed and I never heard back from the Product Manager.

Once again, a band of techies tweaking the firmware does a better job than the company that produced and sells the hardware. I installed 1.07 firmware from the Simpletech support page to my 160GB Simpleshare unit with great excitement, only to be disappointed after not finding any of the new iShare features anywhere. I really hope the OpenMSS site is brought back to life after the hardware failure, to continue learning about firmware tweaking for this flexible and otherwise open platform. Simpleshare owners take note of the OpenMSS site, and of course, proceed at your own risk. µ

See Also
Simpletech NAS almost a cross-platform panacea
Java based NAS discovery coming to the Simpleshare NAS