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Portable Storage?

Posted by Cliff on from the movable-data dept.

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."

12 of 479 comments (clear)

  1. iPod? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    40 GB, plus music, for $399? Why would you choose anything else?

    1. Re:iPod? by UberPfloyd · · Score: 5, Informative

      The RIO Karma player is another storage/music solution to consider. It play Ogg files too. http://www.digitalnetworksna.com/shop/_templates/i tem_main_Rio.asp?model=261/

    2. Re:iPod? by aardvarkjoe · · Score: 5, Funny

      I, for one, am glad that the iPod advertisements have been moved out of the headlines and back into the comments where they belong.

      --

      How can we continue to believe in a just universe and freedom to eat crackers if we have no ale?
    3. Re:iPod? by EvanED · · Score: 5, Insightful

      'cause you can get a 200 gig external drive for $125 on Pricewatch?

      Not saying that the iPod is a bad option, but really, if you're just looking for a storage device and not an MP3 player, it is probably not the way to go.

    4. Re:iPod? by Onan · · Score: 5, Interesting
      Hah. The "they don't corrupt data" was a nice little jibe; you didn't actually make the incorrect accusation that ipods corrupt data, you just implied it. Very cute.

      Traditionally the Archos devices have been perfectly fine as long as you don't mind that they're huge. But actually, a quick glance at the site at the moment does not in fact show any products that are either larger higher capacity than ipods or lower price, much less both. The players they're offering appear to top out at 20G for $350, versus a 20G ipod for $300. And given that they're based around the same 1.8" drives that ipods are, I'd be very surprised if there's any difference in speed.

      So mostly this looks like a low-end ipod, 31% bulkier, with a quarter the cache, and $50 more expensive. In what way is this "better"?

  2. Thou hast open the flood gates by prof_peabody · · Score: 5, Funny

    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...

  3. USB Keys by gr0ngb0t · · Score: 5, Informative

    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.

  4. Two birds with one stone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Use this AND be a babe magnet!!!

  5. Um, ThinkGeek? Hello? by ElForesto · · Score: 5, Informative

    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.
  6. ars technica usb review by KI0PX · · Score: 5, Informative
    Ars Technica has a good USB 2.0 Hi-Speed drive review covering several USB flash drives. I got a 256MB SanDisk Cruzer Mini from newegg for $37 and was very pleased (works on Linux well).

    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.

  7. Re:ximeta - MOD PARENT UP by BenFranske · · Score: 5, Informative
    As others have said, the Ximeta drives are not really good at standards support. They sound really cool and all but they're really just USB drives with a strange USB to ethernet adapter built in. They require you to install driver to access the drive. Let me repeat they do not use smb they use a driver that emulates a local USB port over ethernet. I don't know if it has changes but one of the ones I played with didn't even support TCP/IP it used a strange protocol on top of ethernet meaning the device wasn't even routable and had to be on the same segment. I would stay away from these if you're serious about the network ability of the solution. As far as I can tell they are ok for USB access though.

    Overall it's a good idea, but very poorly implementd

  8. Re:Horrid Requirements by Gubbe · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Look, Ask Slashdot is meant as a forum where one person can raise an interesting question that gets a variety of answers in the form of different opinions from different people who have expertise in different areas. This benefits the entire slashdot community by offering a good range of solutions for everybody's needs.

    Had the original asker asked a very specific question about portable storage just for his needs, he probably would have gotten a bunch of answers suggesting one and the same thing and no-one else would have got anything out of the entire discussion. Now we have the opportunity to discuss different portable storage solutions where each and every slashdotter can find a solution that fits his/her needs instead of just the needs of the person who asked the original question.

    That's what Ask Slashdot is about.