Jun 10

MacBook Pro Hands-On Gallery

Posted in: Apple, hard drive, macbook, macbook pro, teardown, Today's Chili, top

We’ve got a delicious gallery of pics of the new 13 and 15-inch MacBook Pros.

Just by looking at the 13 and 15-inch models together, you can tell that Apple was pretty much right when they said that they belong in the same family. The construction is almost identical. The only difference is that the 13-inch has one fewer audio jack and no side-board speakers, as been the case for the 13 for years now.

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Jun 09

WDS 4-TB External Drive Prefers Macs

Posted in: hard drive, Today's Chili

MyBook Studio II.jpg

Western Digital has always played favorites with the Mac with its My Book Studio Edition II line of external hard drives, and the new release of the 4-terabyte model continues the trend.

Apple has positioned the Macintosh line as a premium PC, and the Studio Edition II is also a premium external storage solution: the whopping 4 terabytes of storage capacity (across two drives)  is matched by an equally hefty $649.99 price tag. Users can purchase the drive either through a retailer or through WD’s site.

Both the MyBook Studio Edition and Studio Edition II ship with a FireWire 800/400 connection that Apple has endorsed, as well as eSATA and USB 2.0 connector.

The new Studio Edition II is user serviceable, meaning that users can swap new drives in and out. One catch: only WD’s GreenPower drives are supported, as the case does not use a fan. RAID 0 functionality is supported for all of the drives; the drives can also be mirrored in a RAID 1 configuration. A capacity gauge is also included so that users can see how much available space has been used.

The My Book Studio Edition II can also be used with Windows PCs, although users will have to suffer through the lengthy format times that Mac users must deal with while using drives that have been preformatted for Windows machines.

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Jun 09

WD intros 4TB My Book Studio Edition II external hard drive

Posted in: external hard drive, ExternalHardDrive, hard drive, HardDrive, storage, Today's Chili

What a difference a year makes, right? Right around 12 months after Western Digital outed its 2TB My Book Studio Edition II, the company has come forward with a new edition that houses twice the storage. The dual-drive device includes a pair of those minty fresh 2TB HDDs arranged in a RAID 0 configuration, and WD promises that it’ll play nice with both Macs and PCs. As for connectivity, you’ll get eSATA, FireWire 800, FireWire 400 and USB 2.0, and the handy capacity gauge does exactly what it says. It’s up for order right now for $649.99.

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WD intros 4TB My Book Studio Edition II external hard drive originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Jun 2009 10:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 03

Brando’s Paper Storage Box inconspicuously hides your HDDs

Posted in: case, hard drive, HardDrive, storage, Today's Chili

Oh, Brando — how you make our hearts flutter. One day, you’re pumping out new kit fit only for our Crapgadget roundup; the next, you’re delivering gems such as this. The 5-bay HDD Paper Storage Box with Cover covertly hides up to five of your precious 3.5-inch hard drives, and it likely provides more security for your personal information than a fireproof lock box. ‘Cause really, what data thief is going to shuffle through a cardboard container looking for valuable platters?

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Brando’s Paper Storage Box inconspicuously hides your HDDs originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 03

Cheap Geek: Archos Tablet, 1TB Hard Drive, Navigon GPS

Posted in: archos, gps, hard drive, Today's Chili

ArchosTablet.jpg

Did you know it’s national Buy a Geek Dinner night? I’m available at 7 PM. Please pick a restaurant that features Funyuns as an appetizer.

1. This is a Cheap Geek first: A deal was suggested by a reader. Thanks to “mstick,” who doesn’t know how to spell “cheap,” but still recommended the Archos 5 120GB Internet Media Tablet. It’s like having the convenience of a media player and the power of a notebook all in one. Use it to play songs and videos, surf the Web over a WiFi network, and keep in touch with friends. The huge 120GB storage size lets you save a lot of movies, so it’s great for train commuters and frequent fliers. NewEgg.com has it for $199, and that’s with free shipping.

2. It’s a lovely word, terabyte. It means you can save a whole library of video without an external hard drive. It means not worrying about free storage space for a long, long time. Can you believe that ZipZoomfly.com is selling a Hitachi 1TB 7200rpm internal hard drive for $74.99, with free shipping? Give your computer the storage boost it desperately needs.

3. Navigon is no longer selling GPS navigators in the U.S., and that’s sad, but it also means sweet deals for you. Grab the Navigon 5100 from Amazon for only $119.99. It has a 3.5-inch screen, it speaks street names, and it offers free lifetime traffic. You’ll also get lane assistance features and Zagat ratings. This is a great buy on a terrific navigator.

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May 22

Ask Engadget: Best portable photo backup / storage device?

Posted in: AskEngadget, Features, hard drive, HardDrive, storage, Today's Chili

Coming to you live from left field, it’s this week’s edition of Ask Engadget. Once your done reading and replying (in comments below, naturally) to the question here, feel free to send us your own to ask at engadget dawt com.

“I am looking for a portable hard drive with memory card slots so that I can save my photos onto it, straight from the memory card. It needs to function without the use of a computer. I have seen a few of these, but nothing name brand, and I was looking for some recommendations. A color screen to view photos would be nice, but not necessary. It doesn’t need to be very large, 100GB should be more than enough.”

You’re right Seth, most of these things do indeed come from relative unknowns. That said, we’re sure a few of our readers have taken the plunge, so hopefully you’ll find out who likes and dislikes the one they chose. Right, folks?

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Ask Engadget: Best portable photo backup / storage device? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 May 2009 01:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 20

Multicard-lovin’ dual SATA HDD dock keeps the dream alive

Posted in: external hard drive, ExternalHardDrive, hard drive, HardDrive, reader, Today's Chili

It’s funny, really. Years back, we figured this SATA HDD dock was a one-off device that would get swept under the rug as quickly as it reached prominence. And yet, here we are in May of 2009 looking at the latest iteration of a product that won’t ever stop reinventing itself. Brando‘s Dual SATA HDD Multi-Function Dock with One Touch Backup (yeah, seriously) doubles up on elder models by holding two 2.5- or 3.5-inch hard drives, and it also accepts a litany of flash cards. Lastly, this adds an eSATA connector to the traditional USB 2.0 socket for a bit more flexibility, but we still can’t justify the $89 price if you already own a predecessor (or three).

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Multicard-lovin’ dual SATA HDD dock keeps the dream alive originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 May 2009 20:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 18

Iomega Unveils New eGo Portable Hard Drives

Posted in: hard drive, security, storage, Today's Chili

Iomega has unveiled a new line of portable hard drives under the eGo moniker. The third-generation drives feature a brand new industrial design, a bundled suite of security and protection software, and faster performance. The drives are available in several different colors, are USB 2.0 bus-powered with an included Y-cable, and feature capacities up to 500GB in size, depending on the color. For example, the Ruby Red version is available in 250GB, 320GB, and 500GB capacities, but the Silver and Midnight Blue models are 320GB only.

Each drive weighs less than seven ounces, is about 0.6-inches thick, and includes a 2.5-inch disk. Interestingly, Iomega is bundling McAfee VirusScan Plus, a full computer security package that goes beyond the usual security software bundled with some hard drives. The rest of the software is more typical, and includes Iomega QuikProtect, EMC Retrospect Express or Express HD, and MozyHome Online Backup. The drives also feature Iomega’s Drop Guard for protection against drops of up to 51 inches. A BlackBelt version will come with a Power Grip Belt and Drop Guard Xtreme, which protects the drive against seven foot drops.
All drives include a three-year warranty and are available today, with the exception of the BlackBelt model, which will hit stores in June. The 250GB eGo drive costs $84.99, the 320GB models are $94.99 each, and the 500GB model is $134.99; the 500GB BlackBelt version will cost $139.99. 
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May 11

LaCie hurdles the 10TB barrier, upgrades its 2big and 5big RAID drives

Posted in: Apple, hard drive, HardDrive, itunes, storage, Today's Chili

The kids at LaCie are clearly out of control. Every time we turn around they’re unveiling another big, bad storage solution aimed at a world hungry for… well, more storage. If the old 8TB model was a little slight for your liking, the company has announced product upgrades for both the 2big Network and 5big Network devices, featuring Apple Time Machine and in the case of the 5big device, iTunes server support. While the latter rocks five hot-swappable drive bays for up to 10TB storage with models starting at $799.99, the 2big device sports a ‘mere’ 4TB of RAID action starting at $319.99. These are devices that speak calmly, in an eerie monotone, pronouncing that they still have the “utmost enthusiasm and confidence” in your mission. They clearly “want to help you.” Available soon on the company’s website.

Continue reading LaCie hurdles the 10TB barrier, upgrades its 2big and 5big RAID drives

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LaCie hurdles the 10TB barrier, upgrades its 2big and 5big RAID drives originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 May 2009 17:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 07

Clickfree rolls out Clickfree Traveller, DVD Transformer backup devices

Posted in: hard drive, HardDrive, Today's Chili

Clickfree just kicked out a whole host of backup options at CES earlier this year, but it looks like it’s already rolling out a few more additions, including the Clickfree Traveller automatic backup device and the Clickfree DVD Transformer. The former of those is a slim, credit card-sized hard drive available in sizes from 16GB to 64GB, which will automatically backup all your most important data as soon as you plug it into your Mac or PC. The DVD Transformer, on the other hand, works much like the company’s Transformer Cable, but makes use of the DVD burner in your laptop or desktop for backups instead of a USB drive — which, incidentally, can also function just fine without a $40 peripheral. It’s available right now if you’re in need of a little assistance though, as is the Clickfree Traveller, which’ll set you back between $80 and $240.

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Clickfree rolls out Clickfree Traveller, DVD Transformer backup devices originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 May 2009 17:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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