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Filed under: Accessories, Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, Peripherals, Mac 101

Mac 101: External HDs

More Mac 101, our series of basic tips for new and returning Mac users. Since most Mac models don't offer extra drive bays, external hard disks are the way to go for adding vast storage capacity to your computer. External HDs are great for storing large projects, moving huge amounts of data from place to place, or backing up via Time Machine.

Hard disks are a commodity product nowadays: the market is flooded with a cornucopia of options, most of them cheap and easy to install. So which is right for you?

The trick is this: find out who makes the actual hard drive inside the external enclosure (that is, inside the nicely-designed plastic or metal box that sits on or under your desk).

It's what's inside that counts, and we'll explore after the jump.

Continue readingMac 101: External HDs

Filed under: Hardware, Deals

Weekend project - DIY cheap 500GB external drive

Ah, the weekend; it stretches out before you like an open field, waiting to be plowed into furrows of laundry, errands, home improvements and recreation. Of course, for us, recreation = new stuff for our beloved Macintoshes! Ready to load up that shiny new Airport Extreme with some capacious shared storage to hold your iTunes library? Let's see... mix one part Staples $140 closeout deal on 500GB Maxtor PATA internal drive, add in one part external FW/USB enclosure with wicked flame graphics for $30... result: one excellent drive that wouldn't look out of place alongside the Mystery Machine. If you prefer the MacAlly cases (rugged!), there's a free shipping deal on those too.

Now, for only $20 more you can have these guys assemble the USB-only case and drive for you, or these guys I've never heard of for only $145... but no pretty flames. Of course, if you want it to actually look good under the base station, then the Newer MiniStack is probably a better bet: the empty USB enclosure is only $60/$40 for an open-box unit, so add that Maxtor for some storage that's both functional AND stylish. Happy shopping!

Update: The trend of the comments is decidedly unfavorable towards the reliability of both the Maxtor drive and the Metal Gear case, so: message received. Here's a deal on a cheaper DiabloTek enclosure, which makes up for the extra you'll spend on a Seagate or WD drive. If you'd prefer a SATA drive, there is a Maxtor out there for a strangely low $127, as pointed out by Trojan below.

Filed under: Macworld, Hardware

Maxtor OneTouch III Mini Mac Compatibility

Lots of news coming out of Macworld, of course, but this one caught my eye: Seagate has announced Mac compatibility with the software for its OneTouch III Mini line of portable USB hard drives. The software offers security (password protection) and standard Backup features -- i.e. schedule backups or utilize the OneTouch button -- but also a great-looking folder-based Sync option: select your Music folder, for instance, on one Mac, back it up on the drive and sync it with the Music folder on another. It's even possible to modify the files on the drive directly, and sync the changes back to your machine.

The drives come in 80GB ($129), 120GB ($169), and 160GB ($229) capacities and are available now. Check out their website for more details, and check TUAW in the near future for a full review.

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