Retrospect, portable storage headline Iomega booth

Iomega and EMC continue to offer plenty of backup and storage options for home and small businesses, including a new version of Retrospect that improves the interface and performance for the first time in years.

Retrospect 8.0 for Mac, in addition to the customizable UI, includes improved backup-to-disk features, tape library management, and email reporting. Its revamped backup engine can perform eight simultaneous disk actions (like copy, backup, and restore), bringing it closer to parity with the Windows version of the tool.

A public beta of Retrospect 8.0 is available now from EMC's website, which EMC recommends not be used in mission-critical environments. The final version is expected to ship before the end of March; pricing starts at $129.

Also available from Iomega (an EMC company) are two storage products for Mac users: Home Media Network Hard Drive, and the eGo Helium for MacBook Air users.The Home Media Network Hard Drive works with iTunes to create a networked repository for music and movies, along with a print server for USB printers. It's available in 500GB and 1TB capacities, and retails for $160 and $230, respectively.

The eGo Helium is designed with the MacBook Air in mind, and features a small, lightweight profile. With a single USB connection for power and data, Helium works with the Air's single USB port. The eGo Helium is 320GB and priced at $150.

Iomega is located at Macworld in the North hall, at booth 4015.

Full disclosure: I previously worked with Iomega for five years starting in 2002, designing their retail packaging.

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