When Apple came out with OS X Leopard, one of the more innovative things they included with it was Time Machine. This is, of course, the automated backup utility with a snazzy graphical interface which automatically backs up and archives your Mac. You can restore your entire Mac if needed or simply a single file. To use it, though, you need an external hard drive.

So, Apple released the Time Capsule. It is an Airport Extreme Base Station coupled with a hard drive. In other words, network attached storage (NAS) with a pretty face.

The package is enticing. The unit is small and compact and could easily fit anywhere in my office. The fact that it would allow for multiple Macs to be backed up on the same drive is convenient.

Ultimately, though, I didn’t buy one and here’s why.

Network Only

The only way to put data on the Time Capsule is over a network. The device supports both Gigabit Ethernet and 802.11N wireless, but there is no support for USB or Firewire. Time Capsule does have a USB port, but it is only for connecting things like an external hard drive or a printer.

No network interface (even Gigabit) is going to do justice to the speed of a hard drive. A thread on the MacWorld forums has feedback from several users of the Time Capsule. One user reports 15 MBps to 16 MBps transfer speeds. Another reported around 80 MBps. Either way, this kind of speed means data transfers are going to take forever. Using wifi rather than Ethernet is just going to be worse.

On the other hand, using USB 2.0 or Firewire is going to get you 400 MBps or higher. Firewire 800 will double that.

The fact that Time Machine puts backup on automatic without ability to customize the schedule would also lead to overwhelm of your home network. Time Machine backs up hourly. That means that, every hour, your network could be tapped out while data is transferred.

I Don’t Need or Want Another Router

Being that Time Capsule is basically an Airport Extreme Base Station, that means it is basically a router with a hard drive. It has a port on the back for connecting your modem, too.

I am on Verizon FIOS. Verizon integrates their router with the modem. I do not want to replace the router and, quite frankly, I’m not even sure if I can and still have FIOS work properly. Now, I’m fairly sure I could put the Time Capsule in tandem with my existing router and have it work fine. However, at the end of the day, I’m still buying a router I don’t need.

Can’t Swap The Drive

Rich and I had a long conversation about this one in instant message. Yes, the drive inside Time Capsule cannot be replaced. The unit is sealed up like a Mac Mini. This means that if or when the drive dies, you also need to replace your entire router.

I’m perfectly willing to grant that this can be seen as an appliance. You use it until it dies and then you replace it. If I buy a $299 or $499 device and it serves me well for 3-4 years, I personally feel as if I got my money’s worth. Rich, on the other hand, stated emphatically that he wouldn’t buy any external hard drive that he couldn’t swap the drive out on.

It does come down to your aims on this one. If you really want the wireless backup, then the Time Capsule is for you. For me, coupling the irreplaceable drive with the larger fact that I’m getting unwanted networking hardware, I decided this device was not for me.

Time Capsule Good For Some, Not For Most

I went out and picked up a 1 terabyte external hard drive for $319 and it connects to my system over Firewire 800. The initial backup took just over an hour whereas it would have taken days on the Time Capsule (most likely). I can also share out the drive over my network and still make it accessible to other Macs.

All in all, I think the Time Capsule is a neat idea, but one that targets a niche audience. If you want more speed, go get a Firewire drive. You’ll save money.