Storage

No moving parts, shock resistant, and incredibly short seek time are some of many benefits you get from a solid-state hard drive. However, for now, the price for a SSD is so incredibly high that calling "insanely priced" might not be an over statement. It's hard to justify (or to afford for that matter) spending about $1,000 for only 64GB when you can pay about 10 percent of that cost for a regular 200GB laptop hard drive.

So how about making our own SSD?

Sans Digital just released the CR2T CompactFlash card enclosure that might make … Read more

No, I am not talking about something that's for or from an airplane. It's simply a network attached storage device from VOX. The full name--don't hold your breath, you've already read the creative part--is BlackBox Dual Bay Gigabit RAID Shared Network Storage. As if the naming it BlackBox were not sensational enough, VOX decided to paint the device silver.

Other than the confusing, yet very telling name, the device is actually straightforward. It's a dual bay NAS device that supports RAID 0 and RAID 1. It's always nice to have the option of using … Read more

Recently in a blog about hard drives with built-in disaster protection, I mentioned that off-site backup could be time-consuming and inconvenient. I wasn't entirely right.

The name is Datto and it's the realization of an idea of a network-attached storage (NAS) device that automatically syncs its entire content to a remote server so that you have an off-site backup copy in case of disaster.

Datto's NAS devices come in two sizes: 100GB and 500GB, which cost $399 and $500, respectively. However, that's just for the devices; you'll have to also pay an annual fee for … Read more

Seagate announced today its newest device to join the network attack storage (NAS) community: the Maxtor Central Axis.

Slated to be available in North America next month, the Central Axis promises to be a central space that hosts regular data files as well as digital content for home users. The Device supports the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) standard, meaning it will work very well with DLNA-compliant devices such as the popular games consoles Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3.

The Central Axis will also come with an easy backup solution that backs up data from any computers within … Read more

As if being the first and only vendor that offers the largest pocket-size external hard drive, wasn't enough, OWC announced today the first 320GB external had drive that runs at 7,200rpm, the Mercury On-The-Go 320GB 7,200rpm. This is actually not the first high-speed compact external hard drive (and definitely not one with the most creative name, either), but it is the first that offers 320GB of storage space. The first 7,200rpm portable hard drive is the G-Tech G-Drive, the rest of compact external drives spin at only 5,400rpm.

The new Mercury On-The-Go drive has the … Read more

SmugMug, a photo host geared toward prosumer and professional photographers, launched a new service Monday called SmugVault.

As the name would suggest it's all about storage, but not just for the standard slew of files you'll see supported on sites like Flickr or Google's Picasa. Instead, SmugVault is all about the files professional or advanced users end up with, like the RAW and TIFF files from high-end digital SLRs, and the PDF and PSD files from post-processing.

The service is tapping into Amazon.com's S3 cloud storage to serve up all that space, and offering users … Read more

OK, I admit it. I want options, even though, most of the time I don't have much use for them. Take pocket-size external hard drives, for example. I want them to be compact, light, pretty, bus-powered, and especially I want them to support USB 2.0, FireWire 400, and FireWire 800. (I would take eSATA, too, though, that wouldn't make sense until it's bus-powered capable). However, the truth is, I've used mostly just the USB 2.0 connection for personal purposes. So today, I decided to find out if FireWire 400 and FireWire 800 are worth … Read more

For serious syncers who routinely work from multiple computers or mobile phones, SugarSync is, in more ways than one, a premium solution to file-transferring problems. More flexible than some competing PC-to-PC syncing software or mobile and PC remote access services, Sugar Sync weaves in elements of both. Lite sync some folders for online back-up and fully sync folders or files to load them on each of your computers. A change to one file exacts a change to all.

SugarSync doesn't do everything, and the mobile functionality could use some usability finessing. There are also a few tricks worth knowing … Read more

I've yet to see a 500GB external hard drive for less than $80, even on Black Friday. But Buy.com has the Micronet Fantom Titanium II 500GB USB drive for $69.99 shipped (after a $20 mail-in rebate). That's a lotta storage for not a lotta cash. (Somewhere my old grammar teacher is feeling faint.)

This 7,200-rpm drive promises solid performance and near-silent operation, as it's housed in a fanless enclosure. It's not much to look at, but, hey, you're paying for gigabytes, not glamour. CNET hasn't reviewed the drive, but a couple users gave it high marks.… Read more