Unthinkable? Perhaps. In all fairness, it's also a case where WD is skirting the fine line between liability and user-friendliness. But my initial reaction ranged from "Huh? You have to be kidding!" to "Well, maybe this makes sense" to "You know, WD, I can think for myself."

Basically, the MyBook World Edition blocks pretty much every type of media file format there is -- unless you know the proper login and password. MP3 files, MPEG files, AVIs, you name it. Not only can't you share them, but they won't even appear.

"'Due to unverifiable media license authentication, the following file types cannot be shared by different users using WD Anywhere Access," the site reads. "If these file types are on a share on the WD My Book World Edition system and another user accesses the share, these file (sic) will not be displayed for sharing. Any other file types can be shared using WD Anywhere Access." (Italics added.)

Incidentally, Anywhere Access is powered by Mionet, a WD partner.

What's clearly happening is that WD is putting safeguards in place to prevent the My Book from becoming some sort of illegal media server. That's understandable.

WD points out that Mionet/Anywhere Access allows personal access to music, movies, photos, and documents, and the software allows both screen sharing and remote desktop control. You can use your Mionet password on any Mionet computer, or through the Web interface; up to 5 computers can be loaded into your own personal account.

"With respect for intellectual property holders and because the technology is currently not robust enough to differentiate between copyrighted content and non-copyrighted content, WD Anywhere Access does not permit sharing of file [sic] with audio/video extensions," a WD spokeswoman said via email.

But this is where WD made a choice. They could have disclaimed liability, argued successfully that any shared media was the responsibility of the owner, and provided a useful product. Why didn't they? Or why doesn't WD implement the same policy for its internal hard drives? After all, every PC contains a network connection these days.

Moreover, the decision defies the purpose of a NAS: to connect storage to the network. That implies sharing those files. Sure, logging in remotely via the Anywhere Access service allows a user to access his files on the road. But sharing doesn't just imply the Internet at large.

Doesn't WD think that sharing files among your family is acceptable? Might little Billy want to listen to Fall Out Boy while Sara simultaneously rocks out to the Smashing Pumpkins? And what if Dad wants to use the NAS to watch a ripped version of a DVD while on a business trip -- which, the efforts against Kaleidescape notwithstanding, he still has a right to do? I suppose there could be a shared login/password, but I don't even know if the NAS allows simultaneous connections of that sort.

Liability or not, hobbling a product in this way simply devalues it, to the point where it's almost false advertising to call it a NAS.

Think about it this way: a car can be used as transportation, but also as a getaway vehicle. But imagine Toyota making the following statement: "Because the technology is currently not robust enough to differentiate between felonious and non-felonious passengers, the Toyota Camry will not allow access to its passenger seats."