Holiday Gift Guide: External Disk Drives

Welcome to TUAW’s 2011 Holiday Gift Guide! We’re here to help you choose the best gifts this holiday season, and once you’ve received your gifts we’ll tell you what apps and accessories we think are best for your new Apple gear. Stay tuned every weekday from now until the end of the year for our picks and helpful guides and check our Gift Guide hub to see our guides as they become available. For even more holiday fun, check out sister site Engadget’s gift guide.

One of the most popular accessories for any Mac is an external disk drive. Whether you’re using a Mac Pro to edit video professionally or a MacBook Air as an email and web-browsing tool, an external drive is useful for backups or providing additional storage for files that would overwhelm the internal drive in your Mac. In this edition of the Holiday Gift Guide, I’ll describe some of the choices you may wish to consider when thinking about purchasing an external drive.

Sizing An External Drive

If you’re using an external drive for Time Machine backups, you need at least 1.2 times the maximum amount of space on your primary drive for Time Machine to work. As a rule of thumb, I’ve always recommended buying a drive at least twice the size of your primary drive. If your primary disk drive can provide up to 1 TB of storage, get a 2 TB external disk drive. That will be large enough to store a bootable clone of your drive plus a good number of Time Machine backups.

My personal rule of thumb is to get us as much hard drive as you can afford, and the recent bump in drive prices due to the Thai floods means that you’re going to pay more for the capacity you need. What this means is that a 2 TB drive that was available for about US$60 back in the summer of 2011 is now pushing $170. Be sure to check the prices for any drive before you make your purchase, as pricing is very volatile at this time.

Portable Drives

Owners of MacBooks — Airs, Pros, and the regular old garden variety MacBook — are probably more in need of external drives than desktop owners. Laptops have a higher probability of being dropped or stolen, so keeping them backed up is important. If you happen to buy the low-end MacBook Air with a built-in SSD, you only have 64 GB of storage, so an external drive might be a necessity to store media files.

Portable drives should be light, durable, and bus-powered to be truly useful to the MacBook owner. The last thing you want to have to do is carry around an AC power adapter for your hard disk drive; you should be able to just plug it in and use it. Fortunately, most of these drives are bus-powered USB 2.0 or FireWire 400/800 models, so you’re in luck.


Some of my personal favorites at this time include the Iomega eGo Helium Portable Hard Drive ($149.99 for 1 TB, $99.99 for 500 GB), the OWC Mercury Elite Pro mini ($265 for 1.5 TB, $119.99 for 320 GB), and the LaCie Rugged Hard Disk ($159.99 for 500 GB).

Desktop Drives

Have an iMac or a Mac mini? A desktop disk drive is the answer for your storage and external backup needs. Desktop drives are characterized by larger physical size, external power requirements, and generally lower prices than portable drives.

The least-expensive desktop drives are connected to your Mac through a USB 2.0 cable, while more expensive drives will also include a FireWire 400 or 800 port. You can also purchase Thunderbolt-equipped desktop drives, which are included in the next section of this gift guide and work with most new Macs.

For iMacs, one of the best-looking and relatively fast drives is the Iomega Mac Companion ($239.99 for 2 TB, $369.99 for 3 TB). Western Digital’s MyBook Studio is another large-capacity drive at a bargain price — the drives originally retailed for $249.99 for 3 TB of storage, although the hard disk shortage at this time is driving prices much higher.

Performance Desktop Drives and RAID

For those who are using their Macs for video editing or who need mass amounts of storage, performance desktop drives and RAID arrays are a good idea. When I’m referring to performance desktop drives, I’m talking about those that are generally fast drives with a fast interface. Solid State Drives (SSDs) are in this category, as are Thunderbolt drives. RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Drives) uses two or more drives to provide either speed or redundant mass storage that can withstand the loss of a drive.

Solid State Drives are getting bigger and faster, and for many newer Macs, they’re a built-in feature or configure-to-order option. External SSDs are silent and fast, making them popular with a growing number of Mac users. OWC’s Mercury Elite Pro mini drive can be configured with a 480 GB for $899.99 — expensive, but very fast.

Drives using the fast new Thunderbolt interface are still rare, but are starting to appear from many mainstream drive manufacturers. LaCie’s Little Big Disk Thunderbolt series comes in 1 TB ($449.95), 2 TB ($549.95) and 240 GB SSD ($899.95) editions to fill your need for speed.

Two RAID drives that I tested in 2011 were the WiebeTech RTX224-QR ($499 with no drives, $1099 with two 3 TB drives installed) and the CRU-DataPort ToughTech Duo QR ($429.99 with no drives from some retailers, price varies on size and use of HDD or SSD in the array). The latter drive is quite portable. The RAID products from Drobo remain popular despite being somewhat slower than traditional arrays, with the traditional FireWire 800 / USB 2.0 4-bay Drobo available empty (bring your own drives) for $399 and the 8-bay DroboPro for $1,499 (empty, supply your own drives as needed).

The Cloud Alternative

If your needs for backup space and storage aren’t huge, and if you have a relatively fast broadband connection, then maybe you should consider the cloud alternative. There’s no need for a physical external drive; you’re just sending bits to a drive somewhere on the Internet.

For backups, there are several very good services that work seamlessly with Mac OS X. Some of my personal favorites are Backblaze ($50 a year for unlimited storage), Dolly Drive ($96/year for 250 GB of Time Machine-compatible cloud storage), and Carbonite ($59 annually for unlimited storage).

I like to work with documents in the cloud, since it’s easy to collaborate with co-workers and also use files between devices. Apple’s iCloud (free for 5 GB of storage, $100 a year for 50 GB), Dropbox (free for 2 GB of storage, $99 a year for 50 GB), and Box (free for 5 GB of storage, 50 GB for $19.99 per month) are all well-known and respected cloud services for Mac and iOS.

Conclusion

An external disk drive is a gift that remains useful for a long time. Although prices are a bit higher this year than before, there are still some bargains to be had if you shop around. In this gift guide, I’ve just named a few drives that I’m familiar with, but you can find many other models by perusing the websites of the manufacturers.

Holiday Gift Guide: External Disk Drives originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 29 Nov 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Safari 5.1.2 out now, fixes memory leaks, stability

Apple has released version 5.1.2 of Safari, now available in a Software Update near you. The new version, according to the notes, increases stability, fixes a few issues that could cause hangs and memory leaks, and fixes an issue that would allow web page to flash to white. No more more freaky strobes when loading up a new URL, hopefully.

The patch also allows web pages to show PDF content right inline with the rest of their web material, which is a nice option for programmers who need to show content that way. In fact, we’ll just say we’re looking at you, restaurants — can’t you just pay someone to translate that menu into CSS and HTML instead of making us read the PDF directly. Sheesh. Safari 5.1.2 is a 40.2 MB update, and does require a restart. Grab it at your leisure.

Safari 5.1.2 out now, fixes memory leaks, stability originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 29 Nov 2011 19:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Daily Update for November 29, 2011

It’s the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You’ll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what’s happening in the Apple world.

You can listen to today’s Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here.

No Flash? Click here to listen.

Daily Update for November 29, 2011 originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 29 Nov 2011 18:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Infinity Blade 2 and The Sims FreePlay get previews

It’s likely going to be another banner week of releases on the App Store, headlined by the long awaited sequel, Infinity Blade 2. Chair Entertainment has released a developer diary, which you can watch below, and holy swords of power, Batman, this game looks good. As we’ve heard before, the game is much bigger, offers all-new styles of gameplay (dual wielding can apparently let you duck lower, to replace the absence of your shield), and has more enemies, weapons, and content. It’ll be great, and it’s out Wednesday.

Elsewhere in upcoming iOS releases, EA has announced that it’s turning The Sims into a free-to-play title for iOS, with time-based elements similar to games like We Rule and Battle Nations. The Sims FreePlay will use The Sims as a backbone, so you’ll still be running a simulation of life in The Sims’ world, but there will also be things to do such as baking or gardening that will take time and earn XP, and the game will be monetized with in-app purchases that will likely speed up or add to gameplay. It should be interesting. EA’s freemium take on The Sims is due out next month sometime.

Infinity Blade 2 and The Sims FreePlay get previews originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 29 Nov 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Phone Arts shows off original works created only with iOS

This is one of the more interesting art projects revolving around Apple’s touch devices — Phone Arts is a series of works that highlights pieces made specifically with the iPhone or the iPod touch. We’ve seen art made with iOS apps and devices before, but this is a little different. Rather than using the phone to create some version of an oil painting or a sketch, these pieces strike me as art that you can look at and know right away that it could only have been created on the iPhone’s screen.

The picture above is one example of how this is done, using the Notes app on iPad and some symbolic text, but all of the works in the iPhone Arts gallery looks like they were created with a digital surface. As the page says, these pieces “explore the boundaries of the phone to create graphic illustrations and designs.” Really interesting. I’d love to see more experimentation like this.

[via Today and Tomorrow]

Phone Arts shows off original works created only with iOS originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Alfred 1.0 offers enhanced global hotkeys, URL handling, more

One of my favorite Mac utilities, Alfred, has been updated to version 1.0 with a long list of super new features. The biggies include greatly enhanced global hotkeys and my favorite, an option to remember URLs for quick use in the future. Note that the new features require the optional Powerpack. those of you who’ve put off buying it will like to know that it’s still available at the discounted price of £12 (the 1.0 price of £15 hasn’t kicked in as of this writing). Here’s a look at Alfred 1.0.

Global Hotkeys

Global Hotkeys are keystrokes that can open a file, perform an action, etc. regardless of the frontmost application. They’re an extremely handy way to access oft-used files or perform common functions. Alfred 1.0 offers a number of ways to use this powerful tool.

To get started, open Alfred’s preferences and click the Hotkeys tab. There’s a two-pane layout, with categories on the left and hotkey assignments on the right. The categories include apps and files, extensions, system commands, iTunes and finally paths and URLs. Click any category to create a new hotkey assignment.

There’s really so much that can be done here that I’ll explain just two common setups. First, I’ll assign a hotkey to a folder. I’ve got a project folder buried deep in Dropbox that I dip into almost every day. So, I’ve used Alfred to create a hotkey combination to open it for me.

With the hotkey preference pane open, I first click the “+” symbol and select Apps and Files from the contextual menu. Then I’ll simply browse to the folder and assign a keystroke. Since many are in use by the OS, I chose to double-tap the Command key. Now all I’ve got to do his quickly hit Command twice and my folder opens up in the Finder, no matter what else I’m doing. Awesome!

I’ve also assigned a hotkey to a favorite URL (see if you can guess which one). The process is the same: click the “+” symbol and then choose Paths and URLs. This time I chose a double-tap of the Shift key.

The other hotkey extension categories really open up the functionality. For instance, the extensions category will let you run a shell script, an AppleScript, a workflow or a file or group. You can also issue a number of system commands (like restart, shutdown, sleep and more) or control iTunes. It’s an extremely useful feature.

URL History

Speaking of URLs, Alfred now supports URL history. This is something I loved when I used Quicksilver. Basically, you can have Alfred remember a URL by typing the whole address in Alfred’s main window once and hitting Return. That’s it! To view saved URLs, open the Features preference pane and then click the Features tab. Next, click URLs/History to see and edit the list. From then on, Alfred will recognize that destination and make it available in its main window with just a few keystrokes.

Those are just the main features. Other niceties include an improved payment system and an option to copy current search results with Command-C. You can get the full run-down here.

Alfred is one of the apps I immediately install on any Mac I’ll use for a length of time. It’s a huge time saver with a very devoted team behind it. I recommend Alfred highly. Those who have already purchased the Powerpack will receive an updated license in the mail. Otherwise, take advantage of the low price and buy it. You’ll be glad you did.

Alfred 1.0 offers enhanced global hotkeys, URL handling, more originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 29 Nov 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

iFixit offers transparent rear panels for iPhone 4S

iFixit released transparent rear panels for the iPhone 4 several months ago, which put the surprisingly attractive innards of Apple’s smartphone on display. Apple must have tweaked the internals of the iPhone 4S just barely enough for that panel to be incompatible, because iFixit has now released a new rear panel specifically engineered for the iPhone 4S.

For a limited time at a price of US$29.95, iFixit is selling a kit that includes the rear panel, a “liberation kit” that includes the special “pentalobe” screwdriver necessary to remove the existing panel, a screen protector, and a “thirsty bag” that will dry out your phone if it has an unfortunate encounter with liquid. iFixit will continue to sell the back panel by itself for the same $29.95 once the promotion ends.

Swapping out the rear panel on an iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S is incredibly easy once you have the proper tools at hand; I swapped out the panel on my old iPhone 4 in less than five minutes earlier this year. If you’ve cracked your iPhone’s rear panel and are looking for a somewhat quirky replacement, iFixit’s transparent panel might be what you need.

iFixit offers transparent rear panels for iPhone 4S originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Daily Mac App: Image Bucket

You don’t realize how important batch processing is until you are faced with 50 photos that need to be resized from 3872 x 2592 to 640 x 480. Processing each photo one-by-one in an image editing app would take an hour. Instead of wasting your time with such a tedious task, you can turn to an app like Image Bucket, which will do all the work for you.

Image Bucket is a batch image processing app for OS X. It’ll let you resize, flip, rotate and watermark a group of images all at once. You can even change the file format of an image or modify the name of a file by tacking on a prefix or postfix.

The app can sit in the dock or at the side of your desktop. You simply select the files or folders you want to batch process and drag them onto the app. This will open a dialog box with all the different resize, rename, and watermark options. Select your option, click start and sit back while the images are processed. The app is pretty fast; a batch of 10 images takes about 5 seconds to process.

The batch tool does a good job modifying the images, but it’s not perfect. The rename option doesn’t fully rename the files. It adds a prefix and a postfix, but won’t replace the name. This is inconvenient when you’re doing screenshots and want to get rid of the date and time stamp in the image’s name. The app also doesn’t have any algorithm options for resizing. As a result, the images are not as sharp as they could be. This is fine if the image is going to end up on a general website, not so good if you want it to showcase your photography skills.

Overall, I am pleased with Image Bucket. It’s a nice companion to Pixelmator which I use for basic image editing. It’s fast and always available in the dock which makes it easy to use. And for $3.99, it’s priced favorably, too.

Daily Mac App: Image Bucket originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Try out Windows Phone 7.5 Mango with your iPhone

You love your iPhone with a passion that knows no bounds. But that’s not to say that occasionally your head isn’t turned by a good-looking feature on another smartphone platform. If you’ve been curious about some of the capabilities and user interface glitz of Windows Phone 7.5 (AKA Mango) you’re in luck. Microsoft has figured out a way for you to try out those features on your iPhone, so you don’t have to embarrass yourself going to a Microsoft Store or playing with a Windows Phone device at Best Buy.

How do you sample a juicy Mango without actually catching cooties from touching a Windows Phone? It’s easy — just point your browser to http://aka.ms/wpdemo, and you are presented with a sparkly representation of the Windows Phone 7.5 Metro UI that you can touch and swipe.

I’ll admit it. I went and took a look at Windows Phone 7.5, and then I washed my hands with a sterilizing soap, and put in eyedrops in an attempt to get the UI out of my eyes. But it’s well worth a look, just so you know what passes for a mobile operating system in Redmond, Washington.

Try out Windows Phone 7.5 Mango with your iPhone originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 29 Nov 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Rolling Stone magazine coming to the iPad

Unlike its competition, which jumped at the chance to get its magazines on the iPad, Wenner Media has been slow to embrace the tablet and its digital subscriptions. The publisher is finally ready to take the plunge and is preparing to bring Rolling Stone Magazine and US Weekly to the iPad in 2012. These two magazines will be tablet versions of the print magazine and, sadly, won’t offer any new or unique content.

Before it kicks off Rolling Stone, Wenner will test the waters with a tablet app about the Beatles. The app will be an enhanced version of Rolling Stone’s The Beatles: The Ultimate Album-by-Album Guide. The print version of the album guide has little-know facts about every track on every Beatle’s album. The digital version will include this treasure trove of information and add both song samples and interviews with the band. It will be available starting December 1st.

Rolling Stone magazine coming to the iPad originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 29 Nov 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

RIM’s Mobile Fusion to offer iPhone security

With its smartphones becoming increasingly unpopular and its PlayBook tablet a total flop, Research In Motion (RIM) is searching for a way to improve revenues. Now the company has come up with an idea that might help it remain relevant in the enterprise market. RIM has announced Mobile Fusion, a new device management tool that allows corporate IT departments to perform a number of security functions on mass deployments of iPhones, iPads, and Android smartphones.

Some of the features that will be provided when Mobile Fusion arrives are already available for iOS devices, including the ability to remotely wipe or lock devices that are lost or stolen. However, Mobile Fusion is also set to provide additional capabilities such as allowing IT departments to set password rules and control what apps are installed on a device.

RIM hopes to bring its enterprise-quality security to the iOS realm in the first quarter of 2012 and an undisclosed price that is said to be “competitive.” The Mobile Fusion product runs next to existing BlackBerry Enterprise Servers behind corporate firewalls, and RIM seems confident that the product will catch the attention of companies who are deploying iOS and Android devices in large numbers.

RIM’s Mobile Fusion to offer iPhone security originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 29 Nov 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Little Printer to add tiny, adorable printing for iPhone and Android

Little Printer by Berg Cloud is a cute concept for a printer that’ll produce a daily newspaper for you. It grabs the headlines from your social feeds, emails, news sources, horoscopes, puzzles and more. You can choose what it will print and when it will print using a companion app for your smartphone.

The Little Printer is designed to place an emphasis on appearance and presentation. It’s not just a dump of information; each print-out will be formatted to be pleasing to the eyes and easy to read. It prints the information ticker-tape style which makes it easy to grab and go.

Of course, the concept of printing stuff that is already on your phone — which you’ll presumably also be taking with you when you leave the house — is a little bit odd. Still, for things like shopping lists that you want to check off or flight schedules where you’ll need to turn off your mobile device, it could come in handy.

Berg Cloud will begin accepting pre-orders for the beta edition of Little Printer in 2012. You can sign up at the company’s website to receive an alert when it becomes available.

Little Printer to add tiny, adorable printing for iPhone and Android originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 29 Nov 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Daily iPad App: Stuck on Earth

Stuck on Earth is one of those ‘really good ideas’ that only seems obvious after you’ve seen it and spent some time with this free app.

It’s designed for travelers and especially photographers. Move a map to any place on earth, and as you zoom in you will begin to see photographs taken at those locations. The photos come from Flickr and other sources, and the developers check those images by looking for embedded GPS coordinates so the photos appear at the right place on the map. Many of the photos have comments, and you can get directions to any of the locations from directly inside the app.

It’s a great way to explore things that are near you that you’ve never seen, but also it’s a really useful resource when you’re on the road. If you plan for a future trip, you can save the locations and photos on your iPad so you won’t need connectivity.

There are also some built-in tours, like the 50 best amusement parks and top bridges to visit. Pictures can be shared via Twitter, Facebook, or email.

I started by giving the app a quick once-over, but I got drawn into the photo locations in my local area and before I realized it I had spent more than an hour exploring. I revisited some favorite photo spots in Europe, and explored places in Asia I’d like to visit. Soon, I’d given the app a few hours of my time, and it was a great experience. I also found the app useful to compare some of my photos to those of other photographers. It’s instructive to see other approaches to the same subject.

Photos vary in quality of course, but most are relevant and excellent. Many of the photos are curated, so overall the experience is good. You can also submit your own photos. When you first set the app up, it will ask your name, and from then it will greet your personally when you sign on. I found the voice and sound effects a distraction, but thankfully you can turn both off.

The app is easy to use, and beautifully designed. The app is free, at least for now, but the experience is so rich I would have been glad to pay for it. If you love to travel, and you do a fair bit of photography I can assure you this app is a worthwhile download. It was developed by Trey Ratcliff, one of the most experienced landscape photographers around. Every so often you’ll run across one of his outstanding photos as you explore the app.

Stuck on Earth is a 120 MB download and requires iOS 4.2 or greater. Check the galleries for some screen shots.

Daily iPad App: Stuck on Earth originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

iTether app allows tethering even if your plan doesn’t (Updated: Apple pulled it)

Update: Despite Tether’s assertions, Apple has pulled this app from the store.

Update #2: Tether confirmed in a blog post that Apple pulled its iTether app because it could place a burden on a carrier’s network. It appears that iTether may be gone for good. Apple reportedly “offered us (Tether) no way to remedy the solution.”

BlackBerry users may remember TetherBerry, an app that lets you share your BlackBerry’s cellular Internet connection with a computer. It caused a storm because it was one of the first third-party apps with tethering functionality that actually worked. The company behind this app is now disrupting the iOS world with iTether, the iOS version of their tethering app.

The iOS app lets you share your cellular Internet connection with your laptop or desktop via USB (WiFi or Bluetooth is not supported). It requires you to run an app on your iPhone and a companion app on your PC. The two apps bridge the connection between the phone and the computer. It doesn’t require you to jailbreak your device, so everyone with a computer, a USB cable and an iPhone can use it.

I’ve used both the BlackBerry and the Android version and they worked great. I haven’t had the chance to use the iOS version because Tether’s servers are down and I can’t download the Mac software needed to get it to work.

The developers behind iTether told MacRumors that the app is in the iOS App Store with Apple’s blessing. “We were very clear with Apple what our app did. They asked us a bunch of questions and then approved us.” If you really want the app, you should grab it fast as it may disappear once carriers start to complain to Apple. If you buy the app, be aware that carriers could detect that you’re using it and shut you down.

The app, iTether, is available for US$14.99 from the iOS App Store.

[Via 9to5Mac]

iTether app allows tethering even if your plan doesn’t (Updated: Apple pulled it) originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 29 Nov 2011 09:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

ioSafe Rugged Portable external hard drive takes a bullet for your data

Last October I told you about the ioSafe SoloPRO fireproof external hard drive. It’s one of the best options for protecting your data from physical harm. However, since the drive weighs 18 pounds, it’s not ideal for those who need portability. That’s where the ioSafe Rugged Portable comes in. Weighing little more than one pound, it’s considerably lighter and smaller. And although it’s not fireproof like the SoloPRO, it is almost everything-else-proof.

The ioSafe Rugged Portable comes in two connection flavors, USB 3.0 or a USB 2.0/Dual Firewire 800 combo with options for a 500 GB or 1 TB 5400 RPM hard drive. As you can see from the image above, the drive looks pretty slick, made from a single billet-machined aluminum enclosure. However, what sets this drive apart from almost any other is that its bullet proof. You can literally take a shotgun to it without harming the drive and, more importantly, your data. I don’t own a gun, so I didn’t test out the bullet resistance, but The Wall Street Journal did in this entertaining video. However, I did test out some of its other protections (including water and drop protection) and the drive worked perfectly afterwords.

Besides being bullet proof, the ioSafe Rugged Portable is also crush proof up to 5000 lbs; water proof for up to 3 days in 30 feet of water; UV ray, blowing sand, blowing dust, rain, salt fog, icing rain, and freezing rain proof for up to a continuous 24 hours; drop proof up to 10 feet; and chemical proof from diesel fuel, oils, hydraulic fluids and aircraft fuels for up to an hour at 12 feet. The drive also features a built-in Kensington security slot and “any reason” data recovery, even if the data loss was your fault.

Thanks to its superior data protection capabilities, it’s no wonder the ioSafe Rugged Portable is used by huge companies and the US Navy. But because of the specialty nature of the drive, you will pay a premium to own one. The 1 TB model I tested is US$299.99 with 12 months warranty/data recovery service, while a 500 GB model is $199.99. Currently the ioSafe Rugged Portable isn’t sold in Apple retail stores, but you can pick it up at Apple’s Online Store, on Amazon, or from ioSafe directly.

ioSafe Rugged Portable external hard drive takes a bullet for your data originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 29 Nov 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments