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Portable Storage?
An anonymous reader asks: "I need a portable storage solution, as I strongly desire to keep my personal stuff separate from my work stuff. In the past I have used some types of portable external hard drive (via USB connection), but I wasn't too pleased with the quality of the barebones models I found at Fry's. With so many new types of portable storage out (USB keys, 2.5" drives, full drives with enclosures, etc) I would appreciate some feedback from others using this type of device regarding what their favorite brand or model is. Remember: bigger storage is better, as is smaller size."
usb and ethernet, well done
www.ximeta.com
The latest Slashdot meme.
Super small, good capacity. Done.
Just what we need--more storage options. Now we have to worry about how many formats?
40 GB, plus music, for $399? Why would you choose anything else?
If you're oging to be accessing your data from online enabled computers try a good online storage solution. They often cost less than the portable drives or keychains and there's nothing to get lost or stolen.
Syquest is the BEST!
Not many people have the drives anymore, making my data very secure.
In fact when I find working drives I break them to insure my security...
Get an Iriver. I have an IH140 or something like that 40 gigs, plus an MP3 player.
http://www.commaecho.com
You absolutely need a punchcard as your solution!!! You know papers are very cheap nowadays... And you can use without any special devices.. Just excute your Hex Editor and need a punch and bunch of papers.. Or you can just use your pen or pencil!!!
It's a firewire harddrive with the right drivers. Noone looks twice at the thing, becasue most people think it's just for music, so your boss isn't gonna think you're smuggling out sourcecode.
Oh, and it plays music.
- Adam L. Beberg - The Cosm Project - http://www.mithral.com/
Get an iPod or iPod mini. Not only are fairly well concealed (not many 'normal' people know that they're anything beyond just a portable mp3 player), they pack a lot of space. A friend of mine just got back from Japan for a study abroad program and used his iPod frequently to transport files between computers on the network there (apparently you didn't have much in terms of personal space on their network). Worked on every machine he tried it on and was quite rugged.
And hey, it's an MP3 player, too.
Cheap, lots of space, stylish, and plays MP3s to boot.
"Here Lies Philip J. Fry, named for his uncle, to carry on his spirit"
I've got a 512 mb Kingmax USB key, and it's awesome - never had any hassles with it. my dad has got a whole range of sizes of theirs and has had for a few years now - he's happy with them.
You might want to try these guys:
http://www.micro-solutions.com
If the storage is temporary, i.e for a week or so, or to transfer files, USB drives are great. (Thumb drives I mean)
;)
For longer term, i.e about a year or so, hard disks are good. Both USB and slave drives should do. (I wonder if there are any wireless hard drives ?!! )
For even long term, you will need back up tape drives.
Also, it depends on the amount of storage you need.
For small scale CDs are cheap and reliable, and for larger scale storage, DVDs are good. If you want to store lots of mp3s, just get two Ipods!
If you lost your job today, don't despair. You may die tomorrow anyway.
I find a small "pen-drive" is like the floppy of the future. Back when I worked with the tech admin in high school that little 128mg pen drive he had came in REALLY handy.
A nice 20 GB firewire drive for $200, very small form factor, oh, and its also an MP3 player...
Test your net with Netalyzr
I think you'd be hard pressed to find more storage in a smaller form factor than an iPod (classic or mini). And what you don't need for your files, you can use for music.
Besides, if you're a mac user, you will soon be able to seamlessly carry your home directory around (Google for Home on iPod).
Just my $0.02
WARNING: I'm now a Mac zealot :)
The answer is Firewire and Lacie or a iPod. Self powered and with a Mac either can easily be used to boot the host computer from -- my Lacie is the backup for my Application directory tree and User accounts which can be booted from with the loaded host OS [X].
Yes, they can both work with Windows too.
Use this AND be a babe magnet!!!
I won't be the first (or last) to say it, but iPods are nice. Big hard drives on a small piece of equipment, and you get to listen to music as well. (Although they still don't support ogg.)
Why? It's too vague.
How portable do you need it? How much space do you need? What kind of interfaces do you have available? How fast does it need to be?
There is no one best storage solution, there are many different bests depending on what's needed at the time.
Throw out some more specifics, and maybe someone can help you out.
I mainly use my laptop so internal storage is nearly out of the question. Last summer I purchased an external firewire drive. It's basically just an enclosure with a firewire to EIDE connector and a regular 3.5 inch hard drive. This summer I had to upgrade the drive and it was no trouble at all.
My laptop doesn't have USB 2.0, but it did have firewire so that's why I chose firewire. It will work fine in windows and linux. I formatted it as FAT32. Now while that's not the best thing to do for a 160 GB drive, it ensures that windows and linux have no trouble reading it.
USB 2.0 is probably a good alternative if you already have it. I would look around for just an enclosure with the firewire or USB connectors and then get a good hard drive from a reputable manufacturer.
mod parent informative because he mentioned iPod...
I bought a Diamond Rio 500 ages ago. Since I am basically looking to replace it as well as get portable storage...I am waiting for the 512MB or 1GB Nomad MuVos to come out. They are already up to 256MB and I keep hearing noise about a 512MB version.
MP3 player AND tiny USB drive all rolled into one! Small enough to wear on your arm for jogging. Now if only they will add an FM tuner to it... *drool*
2.5" (laptop) drives are pretty damn expensive, but they are more convenient as they can be bus powered. Here's an example but I'm sure you can get them for cheaper. I'd personally rather buy the enclosure separate from the drive because I can usually get a longer warranty on the drive itself and I don't have to worry about voiding the warranty if I open the enclosure.
I personally only buy external drives for video stuff so I get 3.5" ones.
Another option would be to get an iPod or iPod mini type device.
I have a 128 meg USB keychain and I really like it. It's a Transcend JetFlash. But it's only good for documents and the occasional set of photos or MP3s.
Personally, this stuff is pretty obvious, just Google around. It's not like there's some kind of hidden mega-cube storage out there that only a few people know about. Pretty basic stuff.
USB keys are awesome, especially since they get fairly large, such as 512mb (big for flash storage). We use them at work as boot floppies to install Ghost images instead of the usual floppies. The main advantage for this is that they boot faster. Of course, if you want something huge, external hard drives kick ass. Plus, they sometimes support multiple connections (wrong word?) such as USB 1.1/2.0 and Firewire on the same drive. They're a lot bigger than usb keys though. The iPod's a good compromise if you want to spend the money. AND you've got an MP3 player, what more could you want?
You call yourself a Slashdot reader and yet you didn't check out ThinkGeek? For shame! I found this model on there that may fit your needs. I haven't used it before though, as a disclaimer.
There is a difference between "insightful" and "inciteful" other than spelling.
I was lucky enough to get my office to pay for a LaCie Bigger Disk. It's one terabyte of space, and we don't have to worry about losing my shares or work.
Striking fear in the authors of godawful fanfiction, I am here, appearing in darkness, Tuxedo Jack!
I use CF cards for totin' stuff home quite a bit. The readers are $30. I've heard you can't countinuously rewrite them, but for dumping files off at the end of the day, I've never had a problem.
2GB cards appear to start at $133 on pricewatch.
I've heard other folks have had trouble with these wearing out, though.
a USB memory stick in my pocket, and a DVD-RW disk in my bag.
Works well since most computers have USB, and practically all new computers have DVD writers. Of course, you could have a whole external DVD-RW drive in your bag if you like.
It really depends how much storage you want and how much your willing to pay. For my uses, I've found that a USB "pen drive" works great. A 1GB unit is going for around $100 now. For me, my 256MB unit that I bought a year ago works great and has sufficient storage for my local email storage and my gpg key. It's proven to be pretty durable as well. I keep mine on my key chain and only $DEITY knows how many times I've dropped mine.
"Sometimes a man's gotta do what a woman wouldn't consider." - Red Green
Yeah, yeah, replying to myself.
But as I go back and look at the comments that piled up as I wrote, I realize you'll need an as-yet-announced 60GB iPod just to hold all the "get an iPod" comments
Glad I could add my part to the noise.
I purchased this originally to use on vacation for storing pictures from my digital camera. I got used to carrying it around and it will soon be replacing my laptop as the 'take home every night' device. It plays MP3s and has a CF slot built in. Very practical device.
Separate them, different computers, different places.
Do not mingle data.
Folks in my office were constantly giving me the eye because of various portable storage devices I brought into work. They had this nagging feeling that I was borrowing proprietary code for use at home.
I finally settled on bringing in my Sony digital camera. They hook up through USB and mount under windows as just another drive. Easy to move files on and you can still take pictures of top-secret stuff in the office! Capacity is limited only by what you're willing to spend on memory cards.
Why a USB keydrive raised eyebrows and a fully-functional camera didn't, I'll never know...
256 megabytes of storage.
I switch between Mac an PC quite abit and this is perfect as it does not require a driver for MacOS v9.1 or higher or for win2000 and XP.
"To Err is Human To Forgive is Divine neither of which is Marine Corp Policy"-My SNCOIC
I've heard of USB keys that go up to 1 gigabyte, I don't know if it's enough for you.
Otherwise Maxtor.com has some good external hard disks.
For around 350$ you can get 300 gigabyte and it's not that big, you can carry it easily. It's a little heavy though.
'nuf said.
But if you need to store more than 90KB of data, then I recommend setting up a VPN between your work computer and your home computer, without anybody in your company knowing about it. You can then offload all the company data to the safety of your own machine, and when everything fails at work, you can come to the rescue!
ARCDisk. 40GB, smaller than a floppy, less than four ounces, USB 2.0, $250.
...this. It's a 1.5 GB USB 2.0 hard drive, and also pocket-sized.
WiebeTech http://www.wiebetech.com/ has some of the best FireWire and USB solutions around, I've been using their BayDocks for video editing for a while, and never had one failure. (knocking wood) Their ComboGB drive, with USB2, and Firewire 400+800 would probably serve your needs well. Disclaimer: Simply a satisfied user / not affiliated with the company in any way.....
Sheesh.. Who wants only 20/40 GB or even less space? (iPod, CF, etc.)
Use a Firewire/USB2 to a small 3.5" combo enclosure (some are barely larger than the drive, which is damn small).
250+ GB... works on USB1 (ie. everything), USB2, and Firewire systems. No worries.
What is it, stupid question time?
Dear slashdot, I am looking for some kind of input device that allows me to enter words onto my computer. Can you help.
Seriously, why is this on the front page - when anyone with half a brain can figure out the answer is either a $40 USB key or an iPod or equivalent depending on the size.
Sony 2GB memory stick
It is $700, as it is bleeding edge, but should fit the bill nicely and is TINY.
today is spelling optional day.
Personally I use a no-name 2-bay 3.5" firewire enclosure with an aftermarket Zalman fan and a resistor on the fan to slow it down. Its very quiet and reasonably cool, and I rarely move it so the size isn't an issue.
Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress at this period in history.
I use a variety of firewire drives (all 3.5" to save money, but 2.5" enclosures are about the same). I generally buy enclosures and drives separately as it is much cheaper and you can choose which drive you want based on what you need. I find that there is little difference in quality of the ecolsure if you by a name brand or a generic one. the key is the chipset. I laways get some varient of the Oxford 911 chipset, seems to be the fastest and most reliable. Also if it not bus powered look for a power switch on back, cause unplugging a lot is really annoying.
I would go with a ('cheap') MP3 player with an HD, if you need a lot of storage.
For carrying small files, I have found my 128MB USB key drive very useful. You can get a similer one for $30 (US) at Best Buy. Those little flash drives are almost indestructable, too.
Aluminium enclosure for 2.5" hard drives; available in Firewire and USB models. I currently use the USB2 model and it's brilliant.. it can be powered through the USB connection, and if your USB port does not supply enough power, there's an additional USB plug that is only used to supply power that you can connect to another free port.
From my experience so far, avoid Firewire+USB combo devices like the plague. My old external enclosure cannot be made to work using kernels > 2.6.4 using either USB2 or Firewire.. and even in Windows, Firewire does not work anymore with SP2. Ugh.
Michel
Fedora Project Contribut
Wow...that's an open ended question. I use two items...a 256 meg thumb drive for quick and dirty transportation of bits of data and my rio karma (20gb) for data which is conistently moving between work and home (plus some bits that I just like to have handy at any given time). Dave
It's absolutely minute - far smaller than any other USB key device I've seen. It has a funny shaped contact at the end that looks like it shouldn't fit in a USB port but works perfectly.
It's made of study plastic and comes with a wallet-sized carrier/protector slightly larger than a credit card. Mine is a mere 64mb but they come in flavours all the way up to 1gb.
It works out of the box with no problems. You can use a small utility that comes on a mini-CD to add a password protected partition.
It even has a cool LCD embedded under a thin layer of plastic that gives a funky glow when transferring!
Heartily recommended. (Usual disclaimer: no relationship whatsoever with manufacturers or retailers other than I like their product.)
I'm using an Archos Recorder V2. It's an MP3 player with a USB 2.0 interface and a 20GB hard drive. Windows sees it as a generic Mass Storage Device so you can just drag and drop files to and from it. It uses a standard 2.5" notebook hard drive. Those hard drives are expensive compared to desktop drives, but at least it's easy to upgrade the drive (up to a limit of ~120GB, if I remember correctly). It can run off a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, AC adapter, or USB power. I think they're selling for $150-$200 these days. If you get one, do yourself a favor and install the RockBox firmware.
I've also used various digital cameras the same way, but they tend to have less storage space available.
-Rich
If you don't want an mp3 player, check this out: ThinkGeek
They have 2 tiny USB2 drives that range from 20 to 80 gigs. And support just about any OS that has USB drivers.
this one
"MAC OS 8.6 or higher
Windows 98/98SE/ME/2000/XP
Linux Kernel 2.4.5 or higher
DOS level support"
Or this one:
"Requires Microsoft Windows 98/98SE/2000/Me/XP, Macintosh OS 8.6+, or Linux Kernel 2.4+, available USB Port (To achieve USB 2.0 speeds, your computer must be USB 2.0 enabled), CD-ROM Drive for driver installation or internet connection for driver installation download"
Note: ThinkGeek and Slashdot are both part of blahblahblah.
Not a Twitter sockpuppet... but I wish I was.
I've got a 40GB 3.5" hard drive in an external case with USB 2.0 and FireWire ports. The flexibility is nice, but I almost never use one set of ports. The biggest hassle is the external power supply. It's just one more brick to carry around, and it's a non-standard part, so I can't even get another one without buying another (frankly overpriced) case. Very high PITA factor.
The iPod, with an extra dock, is a far superior solution. And the bonus of playing your tunes allows you to completely separate your stuff from your employers stuff. There's no ambiguity. Personally, 25-40% of my laptop's drive is given over to music, so an iPod would be the ideal solution for me.
oh, i know one guy who got a cheap, cheap, cheap pentium 166 laptop and added a large hard drive. he uses it as a data storage and transfer system. the laptop is an ibm 560e, and he has a wireless pcmcia card. at home, work and school they all have wireless networks. so he can transfer data back and forth easily. and the 560 weighs less than 5 pounds (it is tiny). much thiner than a hard drive case, and it looks cool. plus, you can use it anywhere. probably no more expensive than the 512 meg usb keychain.
Rosco: "If brains were gunpowder, Enos couldn't blow his nose."
128MB USB key
MMC Reader and multiple MMC cards
20GB Archos MP3 player / hard disk
The USB key is just handy and easy to take anywhere. It's the sneakernet of our day.
The MMC cards can be read by my Palm, used in my camera, and the small USB reader plugs into everything else. Lots of small, easy to carry storage. Hard part is keeping track of all the small MMC cards.
The Archos is a multi-function unit that does the heavy lifting, yet is still quite portable. (Yeah, the Apple zealots are all screaming iPod!, but I like my hackable Archos FM Recorder. The RockBox firmware is great.)
the growth in cynicism and rebellion has not been without cause
with the USB Knife and Watch from Thkngeek.com!
"Im getting busy ripping off valuable client data to sell to my other "clients" "
What kind of freak professional are you?, you just should be rip-off by fbi just by posting this kind of comment, you berbelly hills ninja.
pigeons :P
Note: Original story was in IT dept, gave it non-retina burning Apple color scheme
Monstar L
I've toyed around with several portable solutions, what I settled on is an internet server accessable from my smartphone.
The main problem with the portable solutions I've tried, such as zip disks, cd burners, usb doohickies and handheld storage is that you need to actually carry it around. And hassle with hooking stuff up to use it. Things you have to carry around can get broken.
Also, you have the issue of instant access anywhere. Sure you can use a USB keychain, but can you read it at the mall without a device?
In any event, you need a device, that device might as well be your cell phone, since you carry it everywhere. The smartphones out now have little insertable media; this might do the trick for you, but you still have the issue of syncing and all that bother.
So my solution is to keep my data on broadband server, access it from anywhere with my smartphone, access from work/home on my broadband connection.
The best of all worlds, even backed up regularly by the sever admins.
Look at that mess.
No budget requirement, except small.
No physical size requirement, except small.
No capacity requirement, except big.
So basically, you don't know what you want, probably don't know why you want it, what it has to do, or what you're willing to spend on it, but you want the answer?
Good luck.
Don't know; Don't care; Don't ask
No matter what media you choose, if the data you transport is of value - make sure you back it up. This makes it much less likely to be lost with catastrophic results.
I have a portion of my home directory in a version control database (I use the excellent, free and cross-platform Subversion). I have a copy checked out onto my Windows, Mac and FreeBSD machines. I also have a USB keychain drive that I sync onto whenever I need those files away from home. When I return, as soon as I sync up again, I can be sure that I how have all the changes I made while away.
A solution like this might be overkill (and not work well for large binary files), but it lets me take easy backups of all my code and documents (because they're backed up to the server whenever I sync - although since I don't care about the version history, just having a backup on another computer is enough redundancy for me) and easily keeps all the computers I use up to date with the files that I want.. without resorting to network drives (which are often complicated to set up and useless if I'm away from home with no internet connection).
Encryption is a whole 'nother topic, but if the data is sensitive, you might want to consider a portable device with hardware encryption (although usually software needs to be installed on the host machine before it can be accessed).
I have an external 3.5" Bytecc enclosure. USB 2.0 and Firewire using the much sought-after Oxford chipset. I got a good deal on a 200 gig HD and just threw that in there. I love it.
"Upon attaching the waterblock to my penis, I began to notice that I know nothing about computers." -- JRockway
although only an 80 gig drive, it's also divx and mp3 player, and sound recorder.
bonus is, I've dropped mine several times from waist height and it's jes' fine.
How about going with DVD-R9 discs, or is it DVD+R9 discs that I'm thinking of?
Never mind..
It would be cool if it didn't suck.
http://www.smartdisk.com/ Smartdisk is a good place to get highly portable firewire and usb 2.0 drives. I've heard good things about them and they're not a small or new company.
http://www.ziv.ru :) AFAIK this is not sold outside from Russia.
I need a portable storage solution, as I strongly desire to keep my personal stuff separate from my work stuff. In the past I have used some types of portable external hard drive (via USB connection), but I wasn't too pleased with the quality of the barebones models I found at Fry's
Gee. The solution to this question is so damn obvious that the only possible/reasonable/logical/sensible/cool answer, being "iPod", almost makes the question look like advertisement planting by Apple.
Dont mind me, a Mac zealot, pointing at the obvious.
And just to avoid troll ratings, you could use an internet solution. A webdav/ftp/samba share across the net.
I use both SpyMac.com's free 250 megs & Apple's paid-for Dot Mac account (100 megs) for transient storage.
(No, I don't have an iPod and unless Apple gives it an input method and a color screen, they wont see my iPod money--my phone does that for me NOW and I don't listen to music while riding my motorcycle.)
I'll second the vote for an iPod if you want more than that. I just bought a 20GB 3G iPod from our local university bookstore for $250, since the new 4G model just came out.
You little people do not "get" Ninja humor for it is beyond you.
Nor should you attempt to "get" it, for it shall burst your head like a thousand pointy shurikans.
So leave now and never speak to me again or meet the wrath my mighty hokidoken flying monkey claw!
Maxtor A01A250 OneTouch 7200 RPM 250 GB External Hard Drive($249.88, 3 1/2 stars)
Seagate ST3160024A-RK 160 GB External USB 2.0/FireWire Hard Drive($225.99, 4 1/2 stars)
MAXTOR A01A160 OneTouch 160GB External Personal Storage Drive ( Windows )($188.99, no reviews)
As you can see external hard drivers are cheaper than the iPod and have a much larger storage capacity but you seem to be interested in saving space also, that's where the iPod will be better option for you. If you're willing to compromise storage capacity and are willing to pay a few more $$$ then go with the iPod or another hd-based mp3 player, they definetly look cooler. ;)
Get 50cm of fibber optic used in for GigaEthernet, send a couple of gigabits trough it and complete the loop by connecting both end sides to each other, revert the process to recover the information by opening the loop and connecting the other side to your favourite ethernet card.
Btw, put more cable as you need to store more information, this technique allows fully true scalability at really low cost.
If you're bringing a lot personal of stuff to work every day, you're better off just getting a bus-powered USB2 2.5" hard drive enclosure. Or finding a way to shift your stuff onto a server that's accessible from work. For example, I have all of my emails on Gmail, so I don't need to think about humping them 'round on a drive.
You could always just actually go to work and do your job instead of carrying your personal files to work to mess around with them.
I installed one recently for a guy who does a lot of video. The hardware is beautiful and has a professional feel. I didn't try it on a mac but in xp it just appeared as a drive like it's supposed to.
I use my 64MB (and my wife's 128MB) USB keychain drive to transfer files from my work (T-1) PC to my home (dialup) PCs. OpenOffice and other large downloads fit on the 128MB drive, and miscellaneous files (such as discreetly recorded and incriminating .wav and MP3s) fit on the 64MB drive.
Your co-workers will either not notice or not care that you have plugged some small plastic thingy into the back of your PC. It's faster than burning a CD and easier to transport.
Important: Do not physically pull the USB drive from the PC without first ejecting it via the appropriate software command. I scrambled data that way and learned my lesson.
Apple hardware is expensive compared to commodity PC stuff. You can buy a 200GB USB HD for about $130.
If you are going to use it between home and work, why not just get a SATA HDD and install the enternal SATA panal that comes with most new motherboards?
No drivers and only a reboot away to very highspeed transfers.
Sometimes I wish I was a plumber, then I'd know how to deal with other people's shit.
Put another way, the network is your hard drive....
The last computer I used that wasn't on the net was getting DBAN'd for the junk heap, er, garage sale.
"The most sensible request of government we make is not, "Do something!" But "Quit it!"
I'm using LaCie 2.5" one precisely for what you've described - to keep my shit separate from shit owned by my employer.
6
This is the model I own: http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?id=1010
One good thing about it is that it doesn't require a separate power supply - it's USB powered. They have even smaller (physically) models, but those are much more expensive.
35-90GB of storage per cartridge. 8 times faster than tape.
We're installing these at work for most of the backups.
-Nick
"A plan fiendishly clever in its intricacies"- Homer Simpson
I needed to replace my Seagate TR5 tape drive with something faster (and cheaper, as it turns out.)
Portable USB enclosures for 2.5" disks are CHEAP. Some are sub $15, and $30 will get you Firewire and USB. I went through a few vendors looking for something that was well supported under linux, ended up with something using Prolific chips. Enclosure + 40GB 9.5mm hard disk was less than $100, all it took was a screwdriver included with with enclosure to put it together. Newegg had everything I needed.
Nicest part -- if you pick lower power drives like Fujitsus, the thing is easily powered by a powered USB hub, no extra cables/adapters required. Makes backups a breeze.
I'm reasonably sure you can do it with an 80GB drive for under $150.
...I wound up scavenging some old laptop 2.5" drives from the job. They were being thrown away, so i grabbed em and bought some enclosures. I have a couple of 12G and a few 5G models. they are small, and come in handy even if the capacity is small by todays standards. I had a consultant tell me he bought a 60G laptop sized drive and stuck in an enclosure.
--- I was far from home, and the spell of the Eastern sea was upon me. -Lovecraft-
I own one, read about 'em right here on good ol /.
.wav...
:)
And for a little more than a 40gig iPod, you can get an 80gig Neuros.
They totally kick ass.
You can broadcast to any fm radio with it, nice in any car... plug the charger into the wall and all the recievers in your house will pick it up! (undocumented) can you say personal radio station?
You can record with it, up to 48khz
Oh, yeah! did I mention its also a harddrive?
(and no, they dont give me any kickbacks for posting this, nor do i work for them. I just love the product
I have good luck with the Maxtor One-Touch drives. The ones I have include Hi-Speed USB2 and FireWire400, and hold 250Gb. I'm using them as part of a backup rotation. (By the way, BackupExec 8.6 doesn't play very well with removable drives, but it can be made to work if you fuss over it enough. BE 9 is supposed to work much better.)
:-)
The drives are kinda bulky, too big to fit in all but the most spacious pockets. I happen to have a jacket with pockets spacious enough... almost. This resulted in a 1-meter drop test onto a concrete sidewalk when I was walking home one day. It put some nicks and gouges in the aluminum case, but otherwise did not hurt the drive.
My advice: Get a carrying case, too.
With reasonable men I will reason; with humane men I will plead; but to tyrants I will give no quarter. -- William Lloyd
I have probably 2 terrabytes worth of tape. Much of the data isn't DIFFERENT, but it means I can reproduce my machine from years ago. And a year ago. And a month ago. And last week. Oh, I periodically take a set of tapes and box it up and mail it across the country to a friend (who then recycles the tapes I've previously sent and occasionally sends them to me). I can drop a tape off a desk and I won't even ding the little plastic case. I've had tapes fail. But when it's a full backup from 2 months ago, and I have 1 and 3 months ago, I can recover. I've currently got QIC 150, 8mm (5gb), DAT4 and want a DLT, but it's too costly for home. Oh, and the QIC60 tapes from 1989 work just fine. (burned 30+ QIC tapes to a DVD a while back. Then made another copy.).
I have a 300 gig external Maxtor USB 2.0 & firewire HD & love it. Several friends have bought them on my recomendation and had good results. It's great semi-portable storage. You need to drag around the power brick along with the drive, and probably the USB or firewire cable.
I also have a 512mg USB 007 thumbdrive. It works great for transporting smaller stuff for really portable storage. I'm not sure I'd reccomend the 007 for a thumb drive as some of the others I've seen have been a little more sturdy & had better caps. But it's been rock solid for me and is in no way bad.
If you want links just copy & paste to Google/Froogle.
I see a lot of posts suggesting something like an iPod, but isn't that sort of overkill? $250 just to store files? Add to that you will probably lose it within the year. Just get a USB flash drive. $20 for 128 megs or half a gig for under $60. Small, cheap, and easy to use.
Mathematics is made of 50 percent formulas, 50 percent proofs, and 50 percent imagination.
It comes with quite a bit stuffed in with the player in the blister pack. I like the remote myself, but the print and the controls are very tiny (need good eyes). It duplicates almost all the controls on the main player. BTW, in addition to all the above, it's also an FM radio. :) Formats supported: MP3, WMA, WAV, ASF, OGG. (Records in only MP3/WAV.)
The joystick is a little tricky to operate, especially with the player inside the carrying case. Once you learn it, it's very easy.
Negatives: no playlists creating capability in the player; you must create a Winamp playlist with either it or their included software if you want to pick a list of tracks to play. If using headphones (including their included ear-buds), they must plug into the remote if you're using it. If you're using third party 'phones from the remote, the plug is probably too big to fit the remote, so you need to hook up the included 6" flimsy extension cable. The battery is a Lithium polymer that while rated at 16 hours appears to be non-replaceable.
http://www.iriveramerica.com/
http://www.epinions.com/pr-iRiver_iHP-140_MP3_Play er
I use the CF card in my camera. I've got OpenOffice.org on it for easy FOSS evangelism. Just make sure the camera you get emulates a USB drive (most do, although some have alternate modes). Or CF cards and a $5 reader from your local store.
I use a 20 GB Pocketec. It's small (2.5"), cheap ($150), USB2, bus powered and best of all has a on/off switch for when you don't want it showing on your work system. They also have 1.8" version. www.pocketec.net
Ok, this is buried so deep in the thread, you probably won't see it, but I have absolutely found the best solution if "portable" means very portable, but the size of a paperback book.
Removeable IDE hard drive trays from computergate.com are less than $10 each for inner and outer tray. They have some that cost more, too. I bought 12. I installed one frame in a CDROM bay of every computer I access, as the secondary master, and for both masters on my main computer. This allows for alternate booting of other drives/OS. Very cool feature.
Harddrives. Ebay, computergate again, or anywhere. I have over a dozen different drives, from 1.6gb to 200gb. Easy to find 40 gig drives for under $50. Very easy.
Now I can format a drive as bootable or not, partitioned how I want, and take it anywhere. If a computer I use crashes or won't boot (think Windows) then I can take the drive out, mount in a tray if it is not already and mount it easy on another computer to fix.
I can add or update the capacity easily and cheaply. I can try out different OS's on small cheap drives (like $10 10gig) without the risk of messing up my install, and with 5 seconds worth of tray swapping with the computer off.
Here is a typical setup, YMMV:
(6 x $8) + $10 = $58 for trays
(3 x $50) = $150 for three 40GB drive
(2 x $100) = $200 for two 200GB drives
(1 x $25) = $25 for one 20GB drive
Total cost: $385
Total storage: 540GB over 6 disks
For me, it was the cheapest and easiest solution, plus offers other benefit including alternate booting, ability to migrate a portable drive to a permanant one and ease and cost to upgrade.
Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
I have more than a few of these babies laying around. And the best thing is that Circuit City seems to have them on sale every other week. They are rugged (I actually keep mine on a key ring...in my pocket all day) and super easy to use (no drivers with anything newer than win98.
NOW THAT IS REAL ULTIMATE POWER!!!!!
lameness filter drivel inserted here.
Overall it's a good idea, but very poorly implementd
Sorry, I just couldn't resist. I carry around a full Mac OS X 10.3.5 install, plus all my system fixin' utilities on my brand-spankin' new 4G 40GB iPod, and I *still* have 35GB free for tunes or other files. I like it so much, I bought my wife one, too! With a PocketDock, I can boot any compatible Mac from it and fix the internal HDD.
But, I also have a nice LaCie DataBank 20GB HDD. Bus-powered off of USB 2.0 and FireWire 400, and it's about the size of an iPod (uses the same 1.8" HDDs). I have the older 16mm thick version, but there's a 13mm 20GB now, and also a 40GB (16mm? Go look it up...). The one I have is also loaded up like my iPod.
My two older LaCie PocketDrives (2.5" 20GB) are also handy, though not as portable, as they have two FireWire ports where the DataBank has only one, so they can be daisy-chained. The PocketDrive is only bus-powered off of FireWire, but comes with an AC/DC convertor for USB usage.
The PocketDrives come up to 80GB, now, I think.
I got my DataBank on clearance at an Apple Store for 200USD. Both the DataBank and the PocketDrive work with Mac's and PC's. I'm going to get another Data Bank so I can keep one formatted FAT and one formatted HFS+.
An iPod is a fun, and actually reasonably economical solution to this problem. So much so that it was a feature that Apple promised to integrate into the Panther release of OS X (10.3):
3 849.shtml
http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2003/10/2003100818
However it was pulled. Speculation centered on the notion that the iPod is not designed for usage patterns that entail extended continuous disk activity. But, I've not read a conclusive explanation for the feature's disappearance.
-S
I think the most flexible/cost effective way is a case with a USB 2.0 and a firewire port. Pricewatch lists an 80 GB notebook drive for $130, and a case to hold it costs under $100, even with an Oxford bridge, well-supported under Mac OS X, Linux, and AFAIK, Windows XP. This should be fairly compact as well, as laptop drives can generally draw enough power from USB and (6-pin) firewire ports to function, without needing an external power supply. I currently use such a case with a 20 G laptop drive to move stuff between my PowerMac running linux at work, and my PB running OS X at home.
If access speed is not important, you considdred just storing your stuff on the net?
There are lots of options here of widely varying complexity, including:
1) Get a gmail account and store files as attachments.
2) Scp to your broadband connected home server.
3) VPN to your broadband connected server, mounting your disks over the internet.
The upside is unlimited storage and perfect data synchronization.
The downsides are complexity (either in setup or operation) and, of course, speed.
Another upside is that, you may already have the broadband connected server and/or a Gmail account, so the cost is nil.
At one point in time my laptop hard drive went (I was running Windows of course). So I wanted to salvage my data some how. My solution... I went and bought a 60GB SmartDisk Firelite drive at Best Buy... then, I carefully removed the notebook drive from the casing and secretly installed the new drive in my laptop... completely voiding any warranty of course.
r ef er=froogle&id=1002442
The end result, I now have a 20 GB drive full of my old files that I am now using for portable storage. I also upgraded my hard drive too. The speed is excellent on USB 2.0 and also works on USB 1.1 -- Some of these drives also come with Firewire if you prefer.
So, I am very pleased with it so far. I take with me everywhere and never had data corruption yet.
For more info, you can do a search in Froogle. Here's a sample from CompuPlus...
http://www.compuplus.com/insidepageNoLinks.php?
Why not just order the parts yourself and buy a mini USB enclosure for a 2.5in laptop HD?
i tem&part=HD-227-U2
I have a sanmx HD-227-U2 and just pulled a 10gig HD out of a dead laptop, and I have instant storage. For about 25 bucks.
Here's a link http://www.sanmax.com/products/index.cgi?display=
I went for cost-effectiveness over fancy micro-sized stuff.
;)
I work nights doing what basically amounts to a combination of security work and tech support. I get VERY bored, so I decided I wanted to mod NWN in my spare work time (since I can't do it at home on the slack box).
I picked up a USB 2.0 Hard drive shell for US$35 bucks online, then went to Newegg and got a 40GB drive for US$46. Works great for me and my budget, though I've given up NWN and now I use it to transport epsxe and a bunch of ISO images.
I keep my personal stuff written on white legal pads, and my work stuff written on yellow legal pads.
...::----::...
I am in no way affiliated with this sig.
stop shopping at fry's. Everything I've ever found there is cut down stripped versions of better products purchased elsewhere. The savings you get for the performance losses aren't perportional.
i have several usb memory devices 128MB and 256MB, but the largest device i have is a 40GB 2.5inch drive(fujitsu i think) installed in a generic external 2.5inch case with a usb2 interface. this one is excellent and very fast.
iRiver? I've had this little jem for abouth a month and its absolutely indispensible. I ripped all the cds I have onto it(I'm on the road and don't carry that many cds) and it still has something like 15 gigs free. So I use that space for files and other miscellanea. It works out really well as a USB 2.0 HD(20 gigs) and is pretty sweet as a music player. If I recall correctly, it supports the most formats of any mp3 style player available, not to mention, it has a better interface than the iPods(thats in my opinion too of course.) At $320, you can't go wrong, especially since it connects to your comp as a USB mass storage device, which means its cross platform as all getout. Happy hunting.
I've been burned by two shoddy laptop hard drive enclosures. Its *extremely* difficult to find any realy information about these things as most are "house brand" relabeled POS crud.
Can anyone recommend a reliable and decent enclosure for a 2.5" hard drive? I'd prefer one that costs under $50, but I'm having a hard time locating anything that looks like it'd acutally work.
I always get the shakes before a drop.
My laptop harddrive (40 gigs) is filling up because of all my VMware images (about 30 gigs). I'm needing to offload it onto a portable usb device since I don't use em all the time.
I'm thinking an IPOD as well, but at 30 gigs it doesn't leave much room for music....
Work and play don't mix in these tumultuous job markets keep your stuff off the mans equipment. Under a dollar a GIG this is unreal. I remember an argument in 1981 about upgrading to a one megabyte hard drive from the 750 k model for a little over $100. WOW talk about a drop in the price.
John Anthony Hartman
How about 20GB in the size of a small cell phone?
o ol s/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1019010
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchT
I'm surprised no one has mentioned this. At 20GBs for $300 or 40GBs for $400 (and soon [we hope] 60GBs for $500) the iPod isn't that cheap, but it works with Linux, Windows, or Mac. And with USB 2.0 or Firewire it transfers pretty quickly. And its so stylish!
Of course you could also look at some of the cheaper alternatives such as the Dell Digital Jukebox or iRiver.
The USB drive I use has been dropped quite a few times and still works perfectly! Who needs a tape backup or a flash device? These devices are fast and durable.
If I get another one of their drives, Ill get a Firewire version for the extra transfer speed.
Greg
I just bought a Speedzter2 and a Seagate Momentus 40GB for about $180. It's bus powered and reasonably fast with firewire.
http://www.pocketec.net/
or
http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/drives/5ad4/
Supersmall, USB2.0, all metal body, comes with a padded case. The ONLY complaint is that the drive end of the cable does not appear to be standard.
Would highly recommend.
http://www.frontierpc.com/productlist.aspx?Categor yID=CA-1705/
has a really good selection. If you're looking at USB enclosures, make sure you get one that either has an external power supply, or has a second USB/ ps2 connector to draw power when you're not on a powered USB hub or are on an older laptop.
200GB drive
Nexstar usb2 enclosure
My Linux Command of the Day site : LCOD
Newegg has a PQI Intelligent stick USB key, 1 gig, for $97. It's the size of two pennies, and it's fast. Smallest drive you can get, and the price is right.
I don't have a link now, just type it into the search. I paid $103 for mine a week ago, and they've dropped the price by $6.
Need Free Juniper/NetScreen Support? JuniperForum
Small it is...uses the the same 1.8" drive used in the ipod, available in 20GB($165) and 40GB($253) capacities.
7 &SearchEngine=PriceWatch&SearchTerm=10374007&Type= PE&Category=Comp&dcaid=1688
Product specs @: http://apricorn.com/product_details.php?ID=412
Lowest price I've found @: http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=1037400
reat it as you would most devices that store data and it will work fine.
I've always wondered about this. I don't buy anything with a portable hard drive, because my experience with hard drives since before they existed was not to:
1. Drop them.
2. Hit them.
3. Get them too hot.
4. Get them anywhere near magnets.
5. Move them while they're spinning.
It seems like all of these rules would be broken in an iPod. Do these things (iPods) last, or do the hard drive heads hit the platters the first time you drop it 6"?
I don't respond to AC's.
WTF is OSDL? Wait, I thought Andover.net owns Slashdot?
CAn'T CompreHend SARcaSm?
Oh man does that bring back memories. We had a 44 MB Syquest (winchester) drive. It was slow and loud. Though it interfaced our Macs and PCs via 5 MB/sec SCSI-1, I think the true transfer rate was something like 600 KB/sec.
We used to lust over the Iomega Bernoulli drives, removable like the Syquests, but faster and larger capacity. They even had a 230 MB version back when 160 MB hard drives were the norm. Prices for those Bernoulli drives and cartridges were INSANE though.
Anyone remember the 22 MB Floptical drives? I've seen some Macs with external floptical drives and Silicon Graphics used to offer it as an option for their Indy workstations. Sure seemed like a huge step up from the previously "exotic" 2.88 MB 3.5" floppies that NeXT used in their cubes and slabs.
We've used a couple of these around the office.. USB2.0/firewire 2.5" laptop drive enclosure (also have a 3.5" and 5.25" version). Aluminum, worked with linux, freebsd, windows, mac without extra drivers, powers off USB or firewire on most computers, BIG BLUE LED.. HOW GOOD CAN IT GET??!
c ription=17-145-156&depa=0
Seriously though, these have worked really well and are cheap ($38). Add laptop hard drive and stir.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?des
My favorite is my 256MB Steel dress style USB watch.
There are a bunch of USB-powered harddisks out there. Several companies offer the 1-4G variety. Freecom offers USB-powered drives with up to 80G capacity, and they have really tiny 20-40G drives.
I, too, would like to carry data around. Now it's not particularly cost effective to carry all my data since it is heavy and I travel a lot.
But, if you want to go partners, I'll follow you around carrying all your data while I carry all my data. When we stop anywhere I'll use my data and you have full access to yours.
Know your pads. One time pad: good for cryptography. Two timing pad: where to take your mistress.
Their Cruzer Minis, Micros and Titaniums are great. Really durable, up to 512MB of storage, optional encryption, write protect, and they're small. Plus, the Cruzer Mini has an optional MP3 addon part, which turns any Cruzer Mini drive of any capacity into an MP3 player.
"Sometimes you have fun, and sometimes the fun has you"
Capische?
Know your pads. One time pad: good for cryptography. Two timing pad: where to take your mistress.
I'm surprised Steve Jobs hasn't sued them yet!
My case requires two USB ports on the computer, but it is a hell of a lot faster than just one plug, and requires no extra power.
READY.
PRINT ""+-0
Seems to be you should use the one thing made for sharing files, the mighty internet (lower case). You must have a machine at home, send files there, or ssh (or even Remote Desktop) into it and copy stuff directly to it.
Could use more information, how much data, etc.
-m
http://www.invisik.com
I don't understand. Why don't you just boot off the iPod? That works great.
Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
check out iomega's micro mini line (64mb up to 512mb). they're wonderfully tiny - about the size of a usb plug.
I trust a Buffalo external 100gb hd. I have used a number of them and also compared prices, as far as I can see Buffalo always works and is priced well too. Mine does usb 1/2 and firewire, I have used it with win98, win2k, and linux, desktops and laptops, currently it has vfat and ext3 partitions, it just works, period. It would be nice to have raid in it, or a faster interface, but probably the best thing right now would be for me to get another one and back it up!
So it's more expensive, and larger, than the iPod? Wow, guess you like oggs a lot.
I'm glad you're happy with your choice.
Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
Well, they're really on top of that Linux support. Just look at their graphic on the NetDisk page; clearly their Linux support is is Red Hot!
http://www.ximeta.com/images/ndo_diagram.gif
My Dad uses and is satisfied with this. I however am pretty satisfied with my extrenal 80GB Firewire Drive and 256MB USB Pen Drive.
Sony's new Hi-MD recorders have a data storage function. Plug the unit into a USB port, and you can access it as a USB Mass Storage device. You can keep 1GB of data on the new Hi-MD discs (~US$7), or store 300MB on a reformatted 80 minute standard MiniDisc (~US$2). The main problems are 1) Hi-MD blanks are a bit rare right now (hopefully this problem won't last long), and 2) the data connection is USB1.1. If the slow transfer speed isn't a problem, you might want to consider it.
Since work paid for it, it's kind of nice to have up to 512 Mb always on me and be able to speak to just about any Mac laptop you can buy. Pity my PC needs a Bluetooth dongle.
Xix.
"Everything is adjustable, provided you have the right tools"
Definately the best storage for the money here. These things are great. http://www.archos.com/products/prw_500455.html If you look around a bit, you could find one about $180. 20GB and not much larger than a MiniDisc.
I use my digital camera with a large-capacity compact flash card. It's not as small as a USB keychain, but the $$$ serves two purposes -- store a hard drive backup, or have the capacity for a bevy of vacation photos -- just not at the same time.
I swear, the bigger the drive gets, the more words they tack on. But that's the widget I use. Granted, it's primary purpose is music, but the transfer capability is quick and handy.
a /
Unfortunately, it requires special software for Windows. Apparantly there's software for Linux, but it's in early stages.
http://www.nomadworld.com/products/Jukebox_ZenXtr
Not that this wasn't entirely predictable.
...He's in management.
Yeah dude, backup everything on USB keys so when you lose your keys and can lose your backups as well!
John Kerry is a Joke!
He bought his when the 20GB iPod was $400 or $500.
The iRiver is now under $270.
Thanks for the clarification.
So it costs $30 less and is larger in size.
More power to 'em.
*strokes iPod lovingly*
Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
is my weapon of choice for this; of course, our IT policy does NOT allow portable storage in the building (sensible, if you ask me); we dont actively enforce this (I suggested copper loops around all the doors :), but a thing to consider.
/home/>username directory from my personal linux box.
15GB for my moderated music collection, the rest of the space as a mirror of my
Anyway, if ipod (I *REFUSE* to mac up the spelling of ipod) is too pricey, try a USB/firewire 2.5" hdd enclosure; relatively cheap (particularly if you take a trip to asia) and quite small, size of a small PDA; so relatively portable. Most come self powered (from usb/firewire) or with a separate USB~power cable.
Anyway, just my 0.02.
err!
jak.
It sounds like there is a need for an embedded Linux-based external storage case. Imagine a very small (but well-ventilated) external drive case that had an embedded Linux system (with Firewire, USB2.0 and Ethernet) built in. The idea would be that you could plug in any ATA drive and it would automatically detect, format, and share the drive.
The best gadget I've ever bought - the iRiver 20gb/40gb MP3 player. It's small (considerably smaller than any HD's), sleek, has a nice battery and works as an USB hard drive. And if you happen to have MP3's or WAV's on it, you can just press a button and listen to them anytime :)
-e
-el
I concur. I have a red Ximeta 160Gb with the Samsung drive (actually the same hard disk I have in my desktop as well) As a USB 2.0 drive it is zippy and very reliable. But the NDAS based network support is terrible, drivers are buggy on Windows and on Mac OS X (they are "beta" - I couldn't even get them to mount a disk) They use a goofy generated security key that is very cumbersome and multiple users can only get READ access and not write access.
I would check out Linksys's new storage products...
Pat
Hi, I'm using, well used, a 3COM Storage Server. It's a nice product with a 40GB Disk that acts as a NAS. I wanted to change the disk to a bigger one and just tried to copy all partitions to the bigger drive and expand the data partition. Problem is: none of the tools i used produced a running clone of the old disk. When I gave up, the original disk didn't boot either... Has anyone out there informations about this product, has changed a disk or knows where to get information or support (since 3com doesn't offer any service anymore). Thanks Hendrik
The usb2.0 version is very fast and is a half of the size of most other thumbdrives. I think it goes up to a gig.
If you have nothing useful to say post as AC.
Sounds like a simple question, but what filesystems are used inside keydrives or external harddisks? And does it make any difference to the user?
I don't know about y'all, but I use my 256 MB USB Duck.
'If you're flammable and have legs, you are never blocking a fire exit.'
This seems to be what you are looking for.
I use a 2.5" Fujitsu drive in an external aluminum enclosure, connected to my IBM Thinkpad T40 via a USB 2.0 cable. I have ext3 on this disk, and use it primarily to store all my Oracle DBF files.
The disk gets the power from the laptop via the USB cable.
The disk has been with me around the globe, worked from airplanes, hotel rooms, islands, etc.
Simpy
In the UK:
W eb ProductID=85285
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?
A quick google demonstrates that this drive can be purchased for $100-$150 in the US
My Lacie 120Gb Hard Drive has been an excellent buy, at around GBP£100 it has been cost effective on a price per Gb scale (remember the days of pound per Mb) I store my whole CD collection on it as well as business data when traveling to and from work. It requires an external power supply to function so not completely portable, but for it's size compromises on practicality are affordable. I'm still waiting for the day when Microsoft provide support for booting the OS from an external USB device. Then i'll be able to take my desktop and settings and programs and data everywhere with me.
I use a 2.5" notebook harddrive in a USB2 external case. It is very small and has great performance. The case cost me £5 + £3pnp from eBay. Notebook HDD are a little expensive but it is great being able to carry 80GB with me anywhere and it work on almost any system (Windows 2000, ME, XP, 2003, Linux, Mac, etc.).
:)
On systems that support booting from a USB mass storage device I can even run a system from it! This is what I do at work as I have 600 systems all identical (well almost) spec and just plug one of the external drives and boot from it to repair any problems I have. It is similar to ERD Commander except it IS Windows and not a WindowsPE. The ultimate admin tool IMO
I have tried several at work. The critical part is the drive - anything over .7 amps won't work without an external power supply. .5 Amp drives are your best bet - they work on any computer without an external power supply. The brand of the cage hasn't made much differnce with this.
If you want something even smaller, they have a FireFly drive that's only 3.3 ounces.
kuro-box
21st item down the page. (Apparently can't link directly.)
Add HD and you have a NAS. Price of the box is JPY 15,540
Runs Linux, so you can (theoretically) make it serve what you want. Now, if it only had a battery.
For the cost of the Firefly - you might as well get the an iPod which uses the same 1.8" hard drive for about $50 more in price.
... the most popular Mp3 player on the market
You can find 15 and 20 GB iPods for $199 to $249
You get both firewire AND USB + well
It also gives you solitare and breakout to boot!
My extra 2 to reply to the parent - the iPod is the smallest drive that includes both firewire and USB (that I know of) - to me there is no comparison in terms of speed and data integrity - firewire USB2.0. Firewire is MUCH faster. Also, you most likely will have to some unplugging if you have a USB device - you usually have an open firewire port.
Yell & scream & rant & rave... it's no use... you need a shaaaave ~ Bugs Bunny
1. Smallest size + smallest capacity + Most durable + expensive == USB thumb drive
2. 2nd smallest size + bigger capacity + expensive + mp3 player == iPod
3. Biggest size + biggest capacity + cheap == external 2.5" USB drive
4. Disposable 4.4GB/8.5GB + needs drive to write + cheap == DVDR
5. Syquest/zip/floppy == silly
About 6 months ago I got really frustrated with my University's 10mb storage limit (we're studying 3D animation and digital video for heaven's sake!) so I scoured eBay for some options.
I ended up buying a USB 2.0 drive enclosure (IBM Travelstar) and a 30gb 2.5in laptop drive. All up costed about AU$140 (US$100) which is cheaper (and often faster) than some of the USB keys out there.
It's quite small and comes with a USB cable with two plugs at the computer end in case it needs extra power (I've only needed this when plugged into laptops). I could carry the whole thing in my pocket if necessary, though probably not for prolonged periods.
I've had a few issues with my Gigabyte motherboard causing the drive to drop-out ("delayed write failed") occasionally, but I believe that if I get a good quality USB 2.0 card those problems should go away (currently using on-board). Drive slows down to USB 1.0 when 2.0 isn't supported. Almost every computer at Uni has some sort of USB port which is great.
The newer Mac OSes and Windows 2000 and above support the drive natively. Comes with drives for Windows 95/98, earlier Macs. Because of the large number of USB-enabled computers around I'd say it's a more versatile solution than a Firewire drive; although apparently the Firewire technology is slightly better suited to this purpose (and less overhead?).
Anyway, hope that helps some....
Simon.
I kind of have the inverted problem. I'd like a portable storage device that I can dump images to from a digital camera when I don't have access to a laptop or PC. I started searching and came across some pretty interesting devices. 20/40/60/80 GB mp3 players with built in flash card reader.
http://www.xpcgear.com/mp3player.html
Weird thing though, is I can't find any reference or review of these devices elsewhere. The site calls them "Voxdrives". If you look at the images, they say "X2Drive Pro". Googling either of those doesn't seem to return anything relevant though. Has anyone heard or have any opinion of these things? $211 for 20GB would beat loading up on flash ram, and you get the bonus of having MP3 playback. Are there any other devices out there like this that have built-in flash card readers?
thanks!
Got an old laptop?
Pull out the 2.5" disk and head over to ebay for a USB disk enclosure. For about $20 you now have a portable disk.
Not to bad I'd say.
Its SanDisk.
2 gbms.asp
Of course now it costs an arm and a leg, but it is nearly indestructible, will last you a decade or more, and is very portable. Your data will always be there, and it works on any device you can plug it into.
Here is the link:
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0401/04010808sandisk
Regards,
Roger Born
writing.borngraphics.com
Sorry. No refunds.
Considering the job desired (sneakernet file transfer, external storage), I wouldn't be so quick to suggest the iPod except for Mac environments. The music fonction is the main purpose for the thing, and the reason for the higher price (compared to normal media)
On the Mac side, you have really easy access to the iPod as a hard drive, including the ability to boot from the iPod. That makes the thing pretty nifty right there, but there's also the FireWire transfer rates and other niceties that let you know that Apple intended it to work with its own hardware first.
The biggest factor to consider is taking the music player to work. Some Information Denial departments frown on hard drives but allow PDAs and MP3 players. Maybe getting an iPod or a competitor with the same "access as a drive" function might be worthwhile...
For £16 (about $25) I purchased a Lexar JumpDrive, which is an empty USB 2.0 drive that slots for either Sony Memory Stick (Pro and standard) or an SD card. The great thing about this is that if I need more capacity I can buy a new memory card. Being I use a Sony digital camera and Sony Ericsson P900 smart phone (reads Memory Stick Duo) I can also use my JumpDrive to read their cards. The JumpDrive comes with a USB extension cable and is excellent value for money in my experience. (And no, I don't have any connection with Lexar.)
Remember: bigger storage is better, as is smaller size.
Really?
I wish I could moderate you +1 Insightful. Thanks for pointing that out for us.
Now its exposed to teh spamb0ts, you insensitive clod! :)
And its not as geeky..
I am a viral sig. Please copy me and help me spread. Thank you.
(Homer's voice)......Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm DLT!
The guy should use one of the Iriver music players.
Mine has 40GB of disk space (which is what the guy needs) shows as a hard disk (which works in Linux, Winblows and that other OS I suppose), play many different digital music formats, is an FM radio, voice recorder and allows to record directly from another device (both digital and anlaog input).
The only problem is that is a bit bulky, but ehwn compared to some external disks it becomes a nobrainer when it comes to disk storage on the move.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
I've been using an older iPod (5gb) for over a year now to transport data between home and work, and although I initially didn't plan on using the iPod much for music, I now have an iTrip (fm transmitter) on it and listen to it almost every day on the way to/from work. It's a fast data transfer, has no power brick to haul around, and fits neatly in my shirt pocket. For my uses, the ~3.7gb I have free for disk space is just right.
While I'm AT work, I use a usb flash/thumb drive to help transfer information to machines I'm working on. I started out with a pair of cheap 64mb drives, which quickly got changed to a 512mb drive. Later that updated to a 1gb drive, and so far that's holding out well. Read and write speeds are slower than the iPod, but for convenience, the flash drive beats all. I keep all my service and update files/apps on the flash drive and still have a good 250mb to spare. If I have to go on-site to say... install printer drivers, I can just stash them on the flash and go. That way, no nasty surprises when I get there like "what cd? no, this machine doesn't have an internet connnection, why, is that important?" Note that while USB 2.0 is touted as up to 10x faster, in reality it's only about 2-3 times the speed, and requires in most cases to be plugged directly into the computer. USB 2.0 drives will trigger a "insufficient USB power" warning if plugged into a keyboard or other unpowered USB hub, which does prove inconvenient at times. Still, all the larger USB drives are 2.0 now. I personally recommend the SanDisk Cruzer mini 1gb for it's large storage and very small size. They can be had for $150 anytime on ebay, or about $135 if you are patient. Beware of physically large (wide) flash drives, some do NOT fit into recessed USB ports. (my 512 was that way)
I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
You have two choices. You can choose a solution that lets you carry your stuff around or you can choose one that lets you get at your stuff without carrying it around.
:-( Stick in a bigger hard drive and you're good to go. Both of them run Linux and *BSD.
To do the former on the cheap with large capacity, why not get a small, lightweight, obsolete laptop like one of the Sony VAIO PCG-505 series or the original Toshiba Libretto? I had a wonderful PCG-505g for years until I accidentally spilled coffee on it, letting out the magic smoke.
To do the latter, you need on-line storage at the end of a broadband connection. I found a colo for $25/month, so I keep some of my stuff there. You could rent 800MB of disk from http://www.dreamhost.net/ for $10/month. I'm about to open my home box to outside connections, too. In either case, SSH and Kerberos are your friends.
Sometimes, I both carry my stuff and access my stuff with my Sharp Zaurus. It has two 256MB flash drives.
YOu could always try doing work stuff at work, and personal stuff at home? Crazy idea, I guess.
I just got an Iomega Rev Drive and I like, though I don't use it for portable storage quite the way you do. Here's a review. It'll be expensive to add a drive in each location, about $300 each, but once you do, its cheap to add unlimited capacity. The cartridges are about the size of a Post-It note pad and hold 35 GB, or up to 90GB when the data is compressed. They cost about $50 each. Overall its probably too expensive for what you need, but my experience with the quality is pretty good. Data is safe for 30 years, so the company says. See also the product page.
I strongly desire to keep my personal stuff separate from my work stuff
How much porn can you download at work that it won't fit into a half-gig USB key?
Actually, the iPod is an external hard drive; and it's visible either as a FireWire drive or a USB Mass Storage Device. So any OS that uses either of these standard device types can mount it.
The filing system on the drive is different depending on which OS you install iTunes or run the updater. On Windows systems, the drive is formatted as a FAT32 drive, whereas on Mac systems it is formatted with HFS+
Since Macs can read FAT32 systems, it is better to format your iPod on a Windows box first; then you can drag-n-drop files onto your iPod from either a Windows box or a Mac box (since Macs know about FAT32, but Windows doesn't know about HFS+)
Have used one for 6 months and no problems; even has a cool blue LED ;)
Possibly more expensive than larger models but has the footprint of a credit card and looks super-cool (almost as cool as an ipod).
I recently bought a laptop hard drive and an external enclosure for a laptop harddrive. Total i spent $160 (including shipping) 60 gb laptop harddive-$120 (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?des cription=22-153-010&depa=0), harddive enclosure $20(http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp? description=17-145-124&depa=0), fast shppping $20.
Beakthrough Nanotechnology Will Bring 100 Terabyte 3.5-inch Digital Data Storage Disks according to http://www.physorg.com/preview785.html/
Fact or fiction?
Kingston Storcase/Data Express DE75i-A
Its a metal frame (DE75i-RA100) and ide hard drive carrier (DE75i-CA100). Supposedly, NASA has deployed storcases in some of their projects. We use it in combination with Norton Ghost as part of a redundant backup for our Windows machines. If we get a virus, worm, trojan, corruption, etc. we just pull the drive and put in the last backup. Boom, we're back up in less than 2 minutes.
1)2.5" drive in quality case(some additional shock protection, you're gonna drop it). They come in 80gig now, maybe more. ;-)
2)FIrewire interface. Beats the stuffing out of USB and like USB can power the drive.
3)Knoppix CD, just in case your portable storage can't find a machine running linux
ZZ
I've got 40GB of portable storage, with USB 2.0 and FireWire, in my iPod . . .
MichaelMalak (look further on) has a really clever solution: he uses the memory-card of his digital camera for portable storage. Gets around the no-portable-storage-devices-in-this-company's-buil ding regime! Great example of 'lateral thinking'!
I carry everything on my iPod. The choice of Firewire, USB 1.1 or 2.0 means it works almost everywhere, plus I can hook it up in my car and listen to all my tunes. I set up synchronization in Windows and my Mac to keep my desktop and favourites with me and up-to-date, but usually work right off the 15GB drive.
Remember: bigger storage is better, as is smaller size
In related news...working fewer hours and making more money kicks ass.
dude.
And, if a 40GB ipod is too pricy, there is a p[lace where, after completing minimal requirements, will send you a 20GB version free!
9 944
http://www.freeipods.com/default.aspx?referer=830
It's been reviewed by Wired - don't have the link handy, though.
- Cheap
- Fast
- Good
This isn't a backup drive or something for occassional use you're talking about, you're talking about your data. Get over the barebones models and spend the money on something with a decent shockproof enclosure, a carrying case, and all the other features that make it actually "portable"This space for rent. Call 1-800-STEAK4U
I took an old laptop hard drive (10 gig) out of a boke down machine I found at a garage sale for $15, then purchased and external usb 2.0 enclosure (Echo Star 2.5 External Box) for $35. Put the hard drive in, tightened the screws, plugged in the included usb cable which includes an adapter (why I still dont know). I use it on my Debian machine and my Win XP machine with no trouble at all. I just created a mount point on my Debain machine in fstab and that was it. XP recognized it right off. The case also comes with a drivers disk if needed.
So for $50 I have a multi-platform external hard drive for all my personal stuff.
Also works on OSX.
Open Source, Open Formats, Open Doors, Open Your Mind "Break On Through to the Other Side" The Doors
When I got my iRiver, is was significantly cheaper than the equivalent iPod. FM tuner, sound recorder, multi-codec support, mass storage device: there are more differences than jus tthe oggs. It's barely larger than the ipod, too.
XML causes global warming.
The Linkstation from Buffalo seems to be a decent NAS. My supervisor and I have been drooling over them ever since we found out about them (and the NSLU2). Right now Buffalo is offering a $50 rebate and it seems the price is around $200 (w/o rebate) for 120GB version.
In Japan, there's another company that sells basically a rebranded Linkstation sans HD and it goes for about $140. It's a decent deal considering the 120GB Linkstation is $260.
And just if you're wondering, it does run Linux with ext3 formatted HD. I believe it runs 2.4.18 out of box on a PowerPC.
This guy's page ("English" here) explains how he hacks the box to do almost everything. You should be able to follow what's going on even though the machine translation sucks.
There's a tons of links to everything this guy has done, but the interesting one would be the hardware breakdown. The middle column is the NAS sans HD model and the last one is GigE version of the Linkstation. I don't think the gigabit version is out in the US yet, but it is in Japan.
I'm just waiting until payday so I can buy one of these...
- David
Sizes from 32MBs to 1GB, USB 2.0 compliant, prices ranging from mid-two-figures to mid 100s for the 512MB. I'm not sure if the 1GB model is available in the States.
I use them all the time for transferring data between Linux, Windows and Macs. No fuss, no muss. In any OS, it's just been plug and go.
Steven
They have 5.25 and 3.5 inch models. You can even find 8 and 11 inch models in older trash sites.
"Look Lois, the two symbols of the Republican Party: an elephant, and a fat white guy who is threatened by change."
They fit in a pocket/purse/whatever, and they cost about $1 each - about the same as a 3.5" floppy but store 100x more: ~200MB. Ximeta/ipod/keydrive solutions are less convenient (cables/free usb port), cost more, and require that the user knows how to use them. You can give a CD to anyone and be reasonably certain they will be able to read it.
So, the answer depends on whether you need to share the data or are using it yourself.
Spiritual Leader of Green Bay Net
Not sure why all the iPod/mp, and worksvery nicely chatter...I guess if you have a hammer, eveerything looks like a nail.
i on =1677572775&prodid=12439
v e- external-1.html
This is very simple.
Best size/volume/cost/performance is:
USB 2.0 aluminum external enclosure - $19.95
Toshiba 80GB hard disk - $194
Total cost: $213.95 (plus applicable taxes shipping)
Here are two links as example; I'm sure other vendors sell the same parts; shop around.
http://www.eebuy.com/IC/t_prddetail.bst?su_sess
http://www.meritline.com/usb-enclosure-hard-dri
You an also go the 1GB Flash drive route, but that runs a little over $200, or less through rebates. Very compact. Good for "small" amounts of data; I use it for backup of critical docs, etc. and quick transfers to others.
I have been vey satisfied with the solution(s).
(Sorry for the AC post; I know they don't get modded up, but I hope this information is of use.)
-Xavier
It WOULD suck to accidentally check your porn collection into CVS
I snagged a Kingwin enclosure on clearance for like 10$ somewhere, and slapped in my wife's old laptop harddrive, and I've been happy with that. It's got a suh-weet blue LED that lights up when it's plugged in (USB2.0) and I've not had any real problems with it. Some systems need a kick in the drivers, but most XP systems autodetect it just fine.
We like the cheap little USB 2.0 SD Card reader keys you can get at Wal-Mart for $20 of all places. You get your little $20 key, and then you can throw your SD cards into it and plug 'em into your workstation or laptop and they funtion like any old USB key. They are pretty cool - especially if a lot of your devices use SD cards (mine do...). If you don't already have some SD cards it may not be the most cost effective option.
The qualifier 'portable' begs an entire host of questions.
Is the intent only to store a backup of some data at a remote location? Perhaps instead you will be regularly accessing this data from random locals without additional tools or internet access.
Another separate class of scenarios would involve using this data repository while jogging, diving, or riding in a vehicle of any sort. In such a case, environmental conditions such as vibration, temperature, dust, and humidity will have to be considered for the storage devices operational abilities, not just its storage tolerances.
Perhaps we could better advise you with a more accurate representation of your requirements. But then again, isn't that always the problem of engineering?
Mac formatted iPods have three partitions. The first partition is very small, a few K, the second one about 40MB and the last partition (HFS+) is very big, and contains the data.
PC formatted iPods have two partions, the first one of 40MB and the second one (FAT32) contains the rest of the space.
If you dont believe me connect an iPod to a linux system and check the partition table with pdisk (Mac iPod) of fdisk (PC iPod).
I've not yet found an external storage solution that doesn't have a problem with overheating in any application (such as backup with dd) that performs looooong writes to the external drive. I've experienced about a 30% rate of failure in this application across various vendors because they do not design external storage to stay cool; only to look cool. Does anyone know of an external portable storage solution with lots of storage that is exceptional at cooling? BTW, to stay on-topic: http://www.xoxide.com/external.html http://www.xpcgear.com/fwenclosure.html http://www.maxtor.com/en/products/external/onetouc h/
http://www.directron.com/external1.html
- Have you ever noticed that the more you learn about technology, the more stupid you sound trying to explain it?
"Iomega REV Cartridge Drive 35Gb USB V2.0
$575.00"
Via Froogle.
That's a little pricey for another proprietary format. What is the product life of the format? Will there be an "issue" down the road. Will they sell? General purpose hard drives seem more appropriate and much less costly.
And, although tapes are very good, and only the oldest have not restored data perfectly, I would never replace a DLT with something like a REV, perhaps a blu-ray disk...
Well, no, since that would be the wrong address...
Bought my first pen drive, and the first time I used it I left it in the back of the school computer lab. duh. So now...the next purchase on the way is the USB watch - figure I'm less likely to lose something I look at all the time. plus, it's so geeky. http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/watches/5eec/
...no two people are not on fire.
I don't mind the not-really-random shuffle mode, or the gap between tracks - I only notice that one between tracks 1 and 2 of Sgt Pepper. But I'm worrying about the 9999 track limit, which is slightly low for a 40G player. I will hit ten thousand files long before I fill that thing up, and I would rather like to be able to play them all :-)
Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
The Bonzai Flash drive from Simple is gods little gift. It's USB 2.0 and uses removable SD and MMC chips for storage.
The 40GB iPod is nice for bigger jobs.
The 40 MB partition is needed by the iPod operating system for playing songs. If you want to, you can repartition the iPod like any hard disk and delete the 40MB partition. In this case the iPOD cannot play songs anymore, it is just an (overpriced) hard disk and the iPOD OS displays a message saying that the iPOD is in 'Disk Mode'. Fortunately this change is not irreversible, by using the Mac or PC iPod software you can restore the hard disk to its original state.
/dev/sda3 -ext2). I rebooted in Windows and tried to reload the songs to /dev/sda2 but the iPOD software did not do it, for some reason it did not like the new partition table. I had to restore the iPod to its original state, by using Apple software.
On a PC formatted ipod I left the 40MB partition (/dev/sda1) unchanged and split the big partition (/dev/sda2) into two primary partitions (/dev/sda2 -FAT32 and
The other thing to consider is that in some places, people don't like to see employees lugging in devices that are ONLY used for massive data storage from home. That makes some corps worry.
However, with an iPod you can at least *claim* that you are using it for listening to music while typing away in your cube, thereby complying with corporate policy about music files not being on corporate equipment, etc. etc.
Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
SB Mass Storage support registered. :~ # fdisk /dev/sda
/dev/sda: 15.0 GB, 15000330240 bytes
/dev/sda1 * 1 5 40131 0 Empty /dev/sda2 * 6 1823 14603085 b W95 FAT32
Attached scsi generic sg0 at scsi0, channel 0, id 0, lun 0, type 0
The number of cylinders for this disk is set to 1823.
There is nothing wrong with that, but this is larger than 1024,
and could in certain setups cause problems with:
1) software that runs at boot time (e.g., old versions of LILO)
2) booting and partitioning software from other OSs
(e.g., DOS FDISK, OS/2 FDISK)
Command (m for help): p
Disk
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 1823 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
Command (m for help):
If you're using Windows, any FAT-formatted device will do. If you want to re-format the drive for Linux, don't get an MP3 player. The USB mass storage protocol is sufficiently low-level that you can reformat a drive if you want to.
The 200gb is about $220 rock solid, fast and very portable
Bah. At the beginning of the year, I picked up a 20GB Neuros for about half the price of an ipod. It's a USB hard drive, plays many different formats (Ogg!), is an FM radio, an FM *transmitter*, a voice recorder, and allows you to record from another device (analog only, sorry to say).
I looked at the iRiver, and liked it very much (they have some pretty cool designs), but ended up going with the Neuros. Personal choice and all, you know.
Plus, since it uses standard 2.5" drives, I put in a 40GB I got for cheap.
Microsoft is to software what Budweiser is to beer.
$160 will buy you a 20 gig USB2 RCA Lyra personal jukebox.
It is terrible for playing MP3s (locks up every 20-30 minutes while playing), but is fine for portable storage.
Sam's club, baby.
All you gotta do is remeber to charge it. Not the fastest device in the world, either, but it has a nice hard rubber foam case.
Unless you plan on booting from it or something, I'd recommend it for portable storage.
WhiteWolf666 an exBush supporter. All you new-school,compassionate,save the children Republicans can rot in hell
I think she's just embarased to admit outright that she has actually paid for a .Mac account
You think something as trivial as what kind of a storage deal you can find is worthy of a discussion?
Get over yourself and get a grip.
I just got the DMC Xclef 500, and though it is a bit big, it is pretty cool. Doubles as an mp3 player, radio tuner, with voice recording, and 80 gigs, for a decent price... It froze on me this morning though. No damage, just had to reboot it. This is the first time in over a week of heavy use.
Also consider the iRiver H140. It has a 40GB HD and USB2.0, it plays MP3, WMA, ASF, WAV and OGG, you can use it to read text files (8 line lcd), it has a FM radio and a voice recorder,...
It's listed on Froogle for $356.00.
I use FireLites, too. They must be good; people keep stealing 'em ;-)
However, SmartDisk's advertising is just a tad misleading..... The picture in the linked page shows a lovely, calming blue light; the unit you get will sport a rather hideous green light. SmartDisk managed to change the photo on the packaging (not a small task), but somehow can't bring itself to simply swap in the new photo on the web site.
Similarly, the first review they link to speaks in "glowing" terms of the blue light and the excellent carry case....Yes, this was a wonderful case -- some sort of cushiony spandex that ably protected the case from table-top height drops; but the case is no longer included (nor, apparently, even available as an option).
(Yeah, I still carry FireLites, and I still recommend them; I just don't recommend buying them from SmartDisk until they clean up their advertising...oh, wait...maybe that's where all of mine disappeared to...)
education is no substitute for intelligence
you never said where you access this data from .
If you are connected to the net 24/7 at home set up Apache or similar and run your own web site. then you can store up the capacity of your home machine. In my case thats up to 500gb of storage.
Nothing to forget, nothing to carry, and always there (well as long as my ISp don't mess up)
make Linux, not Microsoft. sin(beast) = -0.809016994374947424102293417182819
Shouldn't that be "Funny"? "Babe magnet"?
I boot to DamnSmall Linux on a USB memstick. If you copy the /knoppix directory on the ISO to the root of the memstick it will boot, if you have a motherboard that will boot to USB and you have it set correctly. There is also a bootusb.img file you can put on a floppy that will do a basic linux bootstrap and then pass off control to the USB device. On older hardware, like my laptop, the USB ports don't get initialized soon enough.
--Somewhere there is a village missing an idiot.
This is a good solution if you are using a laptop,
and don't want extra wires or jump drives sticking
out of it. Costs about $140. It is basically
the mechanism that goes in an ipod I believe. I
don't think they sell higher capacity versions of
this outside the 'pod. Works great for my personal
data on a work laptop.
With that kind of qualifier, you just expect to pay extra for portability. I could have probably spent $1500 on a desktop that dwarfs my current laptop, but I'm sure not lugging that around on my back. ;)
There is a difference between "insightful" and "inciteful" other than spelling.
After all their failed, unpopular, and (worst of all) notoriously defective products, it amazes me that anyone would still trust an Iomega product for anything more important that downloaded pr0n.
Downmodding is the refuge of the weak. Don't downmod, make a better argument!
www.vosonic.com These digital wallets are very nice if you need a flash card reader plus a digital wallet for digital photography. Space is a question of how large a laptop HD your want to put in the thing. They feature an internal Lithium Ion battery as well. :)
It's referred to as the Printer's Triangle or the Law of Incompatible Goals : Good, Fast or Cheap - pick any two
If you want a job done fast and of high quality - it will be expensive.
If you want a job done fast and cheaply - it will be crap
If you want a job done well and cheaply - it will be slow
Sara
Designer, Gamer, Macgrrl in an XP World
After much messing around I have found the USB2/Firewire 2.5 inch Hotdrive with your choice of 4200rpm drive works in most cases. the odd thing that I have found with these units is the critical nature of the USB cable in the setup. I have gone through many different cables to find one that will power the drive without an external power supply and have found that the only one that consistently works is the old A to Mini B 5 pin I got at radio shack. this has been tested and oddly this cable is the only one I have found that self powers the unit from any machine I currently use or support. As for cases when this is not available I have a 6v removable multiple tip power supply, from Radio shack again, with the "h" tip for this case that works well and with additional tips can power a wide range of USB devices. http://apricorn.com/ has a number of 1.8" units that appear interesting if you want a integrated unit..... Anyone have suggestions on synchronization software for these units? I develop both at home and work and would like to sync from the removable to both locations?
I have it here, it runs a FTP and samba server; has some bugs but if the opensource community opens the image/firmware so we can fix everything ourselves; it's one of the better drives you can get.
It's completely in Aluminium, the interface currently best works under IE, since the drive crashes when using under Netscape.
The newest firmware supports multiple users with multiple priveleges.
PDF is also available here.
--- I am known for the ones who want to find me on the net. Is that a privacy risk or a privilege? One might wonder..
http://www.flash-memory-store.com/512mb-pen-drive- plus.html
Note that this isn't where I got mine, so YMMV.
Lasers Controlled Games!
I like Rubbermaid tubs.
Oh. Never mind.
Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
On a side note. I'd like to have a encrypted partition/image on my USB flash drive. It needs to be accessible from Linux and WinXP. Bonus points for OS X support too. Any solutions?
I like these...
2
http://www.compgeeks.com/details.asp?InvtId=123
Toshiba 5 GB hard drives, in PCMCIA format. Great for notebooks, compatible with PC-based pc card readers. Good for major projects or carrying around a lot of data. Also, you can have more than one to seperate out work or personal material associated with different projects / interests.
Sam
I haven't used an iPod with Windows, and I also haven't looked too closely at how the thing works in Windows. I just wanted to caveat that my Mac experiences aren't guaranteed on Windows.
I apologise for the fuzziness.
I hear-tell there's a new GMail filesystem hack. As long as your systems have internet access, you've got 1GB of hosted storage!