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Buffalo celebrates 50yr anniversary with a limited edition 'skeleton' transparent hard disk
Buffalo Japan has launched a special limited edition USB hard disk to commemorate 50 years since the firm's founding. The new Buffalo HD-SKL 'skeleton hard disk' (machine translated) features a transparent panel, which is nicely visible when using the external drive's angled stand. Through the panel, owners can see the platters spinning and the read/write heads skating across the magnetic surface.
As a commemorative product, the attractions of this hardware lean heavily on its looks, rather than its functionality. Buffalo boasts of the "premium quality" machined and anodized aluminum construction of its anniversary 4TB HDD. The packaging is quite lavish for this kind of product, too.
(Image credit: Buffalo Japan)
For a real piece of executive desk toy action, users can load up some software from Buffalo called SeekWizard (Windows only). This application allows users to animate the HDD arm visible through the window in the following modes (remember this information is based on a machine translation, but these modes seem to make some sense):
Perhaps Buffalo missed a trick by not illuminating the 'skeleton hard disk' window with some kind of lighting effects. But it is not following the latest trend of making products with RGB backlit windows showing inner workings – like the new Asus ROG Flow Z13, and the latest Alienware PCs. In fact, this product is a follow-up to one Buffalo previously launched back in 1978 – its first Skeleton HDD model.
Though they aren't entirely relevant to the appeal of this limited edition product, let's look a bit closer at the specs. We already mentioned that this is a 4TB HDD at heart. The drive sits in a nicely made angled metal bracket and the whole caboodle weighs about 1.5kg. If you want to use it as more than an inanimate ornament, you will need to plug it into your Mac or PC via its USB 3.2 (Gen 1) Micro-B interface. A 1m cable is in the box, as is an AC adapter. Remember, this drive's special SeekWizard software only works with Windows, for now.
(Image credit: Buffalo Japan)
There is no sign of this commemorative product on the U.S. Buffalo site. Even in Japan, the firm will hold a lottery where those interested can win the chance to buy one of just 50 of these limited edition units. The Buffalo HD-SKL will ship in June.
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Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason.
I made one of these when I was a teenager. Old 1GB hard disk, sheet of perspex, some spacers and screws and a crude seal around the edges. Worked great for a little while but inevitably died!
Not going to lie - I really want one! The 4TB capacity, however, is a little lacking. Not sure what I'd do with it. Make it 10TB or more and I could use it.
Reminds me of my Western Digital Raptor series HDs that had windows to see the disk/arm. Like others have said, I would buy one if it was a readily available item.
As someone who lives in Japan, "skeleton" is an accurate translation. For some reason, Japan uses the English loan word "sukeruton" to refer to transparent electronics.
