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Western Digital's My Book Live Duo marries RAID and cloud storage, bytes everywhere celebrate
Not only is it the chunkiest My Book we've ever seen, but it possesses the otherworldly ability to live in the here and now and the hereafter. Analogies aside, the new My Book Live Duo is hailed as such: "a personal cloud storage system that combines the benefits of shared storage and remote access with double-safe backup or increased capacity of a dual-drive system with RAID." It's compatible with Mac and PC systems (and yes, Time Machine support is thrown in for good measure), and you'll find a pair of drives within the casing alongside an 800MHz CPU and an Ethernet port. WD's hawking these in 4TB (2 x 2TB) and 6TB (2 x 3TB) capacities, and if you weren't already sold, the units ship with support for the company's WD2go remote access platform -- something that's accessible via the web, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch or Android. Finally, there's a DLNA-certified media streaming badge, and it's available as we speak at select US retailers for $399.99 (4TB) / $499.99 (6TB).
Hitachi introduces several new Mac hard drives
Just ahead of the first days of CES 2012, Hitachi has introduced a line of new hard drive solutions for the Mac. The drives range in capacity from 750 GB up to a whopping 8 TB, and cover the gamut from internal drives to desktop and mobile solutions. The internal drives that Hitachi is bringing to the table include the 2.5-inch 5,400 rpm 1 TB Travelstar 5K1000 and 3.5-inch, 7,200 rpm 4 TB Deskstar 7K4000. Both of these drives have full support for the 6 Gbps SATA 3 standard. The mobile drives are bus-powered, with the G-Drive mobile using a FireWire connection and coming with 1 TB of storage. The G-Drive mobile USB uses the USB port, and comes in both 750 GB (US$150) and 1 TB capacities. On the desktop front, Hitachi has announced the G-RAID which uses the Deskstar 7K4000 drive described earlier. The G-RAID comes in an 8 TB capacity (4 TB RAID 1) for $900. The G-Drive comes in four different capacities from 1 TB to 4 TB, with prices ranging from $200 to $450. The G-RAID and G-Drive come with FireWire, eSATA and USB 2.0 connectivity. Noticeably missing, however, is any mention of Thunderbolt connectivity.
Transcend's StoreJet Cloud packs inbuilt WiFi, streams media to iOS devices
Yeah, Seagate's GoFlex Satellite and Kingston's Wi-Drive already have this market on lock, but you won't find us kvetching about a healthy dose of competition. Transcend has just outed yet another product in its growing StoreJet lineup, with the StoreJet Cloud stopping by the FCC for a cursory glance prior to being formally revealed here in the States. We're betting it'll get an official reveal next week at CES, where it'll offer wireless media streaming to (at least) iOS devices via an associated app. It looks as if streaming to traditional web browsers will also be supported at launch, with Android support following shortly thereafter. Unfortunately, it also looks like pricing is apt to keep this thing away from the masses, with a paltry 64GB model rumored to run $300.
Seagate shores up its hard drive business, finalizes Samsung purchase
It's taken the pair a fair few months to hammer down the details, but it's finally official: Seagate now holds the figurative keys to Samsung's hard drive business. According to the press release, Seagate will retain some Samsung employees as well as gaining access to the electronics manufacturer's solid-state storage for future products. Samsung will hold onto a 9.6 percent stake of Seagate and cash money said to total around $1.375 billion. You can still expect to see remnant Samsung hard drives floating around next year while Seagate decides how it's going to further its storage business -- hopefully involving more than just shrinking warranties.
Ask Engadget: best sub-$150 SSD?
We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget inquiry is coming to us from Aaron, who was inspired by our Primed article on SSDs to buy one of his own. If you're looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com. "I've really been thinking about upgrading to an SSD. Speed is a big plus and I'd prefer a SATA 3.0, but I'm concerned about reliability and keeping my budget to around $150. What SSDs are Engadget readers using and what would you recommend? Thanks!" So come on people, is there a beloved SSD that you'd love everyone to use? Do you prefer Crucial to Super Talent? Can you really upgrade to a decently-sized SSD for under $200? Help a brother out by shouting loudly and proudly (inside voices only, please) in the comments below.
Hitachi outs a pair of 4TB HDDs for your storing pleasure
We here at Engadget believe that, while keeping data in the cloud is certainly convenient, one can never have too much local storage space. Hitachi shares our enthusiasm for commodious HDDs, and has rolled out a pair of 4TB drives to keep all your movies, music, and photos close to home. For those wanting to up the ante in their desktop machine, the Deskstar 5K4000 should do the trick with a SATA 6Gb/s connection and 32MB buffer. Its stablemate, the Touro Desk External Drive, brings the same HDD in an onyx enclosure and connects to your computer via USB 3.0 -- plus you get 3GB of cloud storage free from Hitachi. (Who says you can't eat your cake and have it too?) The 5K4000 is available now for a penny under $400, while the Touro will cost $420 once it hits the market in January.
Intel cuts Q4 revenue forecast by $1 billion due to hard drive shortages
We've already seen quite a few companies lower their forecasts in the wake of the Thailand floods and subsequent hard drive shortage, and it unsurprisingly looks like Intel is no exception. The company issued a press release today advising that its fourth quarter revenue is now expected to come in at $13.7 billion, plus or minus $300 million, and not $14.7 billion (plus or minus $500 million) as previously expected. If you do the math, that means the company is taking around a $1 billion hit in revenue, due largely to a reduction in the worldwide PC supply chain that's led to a drop in processor purchases. According to Intel, thing should begin to turn around in the fourth quarter, when it expects computer sales to be "up sequentially," although it notes that hard drive shortages are expected to continue into the first quarter, with a recovery anticipated to take place over the first half of 2012. The company's full statement is after the break.
Retro gadget orchestra nails House of the Rising Sun, puts your garage band to shame (video)
YouTube user BD594, also known as James Cochrane, is no stranger to pushing retro tech to its musical limits. Back in 2009 he coaxed a scanner, an Atari 800XL and a host of other antiquated gadgets to perform Bohemian Rhapsody. The results, while certainly enjoyable, were a tad tone deaf. Well, in the years since he's tweaking his "musicians" and his orchestra has just issued its second single -- a stunning rendition of House of the Rising Sun, in the style of the Animals. Seriously, this staple of '60s high school rockstar wannabes is absolutely nailed by the assortment of hard drives, oscilloscopes and the scanner. Cochrane isn't alone in his quest to turn obsolete tech into musical magic. Christopher Mitchell managed to hack a Ti graphing calculator and floppy-disk drive into a monophonic media player. While his accomplishment is impressive, he loses this round for wasting his skills on the saccharin stylings of Cold Play. Check out both videos after the break.
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 RTX220-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: The all-purpose Mac setup
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. Holiday deals are in full swing, and now is the time to start thinking about your gift list. If you are a Mac owner or buying for one, we have a list of some must-have accessories that'll help you create the best all-around Mac work (or play) environment. External Keyboard/Mouse If you have an iMac or a MacBook Pro, your system already has a nice keyboard and mouse/trackpad combination. Mac mini or Mac Pro owners will benefit greatly from a nice keyboard and mouse. Top of the list is Apple's wireless keyboard and its Magic Trackpad (US$69) or Magic Mouse ($69). The Apple wireless keyboard ($69) is rock solid and perfect for desktop use. If you pair it with a Magic Trackpad, you can duplicate the awesome keyboard/trackpad combination of the MacBook Pro/Air. The Magic Mouse is also an excellent product for those who prefer a mouse to a trackpad. External Monitor This is another category applicable only to Mac mini and Mac Pro owners whose systems ship without a monitor. Most people connect any old monitor, which you can do if you have the right Thunderbolt/Mini DisplayPort to DVI or VGA cable. If you really want a treat, you should take a closer look at Apple's Thunderbolt Display ($999). At 27 inches, this display is big and beautiful. It also contains a MagSafe connector that'll charge your MacBook Pro/Air and has a Thunderbolt port that can be daisy-chained with other Thunderbolt devices. External Speakers External speakers are essential for all Mac owners, because the ones that ship on a MacBook Pro/Air and the iMac range from merely decent to mediocre. One excellent but expensive choice is the Sonos Play:3 ($299), a wireless system that lets you pipe your iTunes library all over your house. We reviewed this system earlier this year and liked it quite a lot. There are also a handful of AirPlay-compatible speakers on the market now, including the Philips Fidelio SoundAvia, SoundCurve, SoundRing and the SoundSphere, which was reviewed by our sister site, Engadget. There's also the JBL On Air Wireless ($200) and the compact iW1 from iHome ($299). You can find a full list of AirPlay speakers at the AirPlaySpeakers.com website. If you're looking for wired speakers, Bose is an excellent choice if you can afford it. Otherwise, you can't go wrong with a mid-range offering from Logitech or Creative. Printer Every computer needs a printer, and there a lot of options for Mac owners. If you have a Mac and an iOS device, you will want to grab a printer with an AirPrint option, so you can print documents wirelessly from your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. Pickings were sparse when AirPrint was first announced, but most major printer companies now sell AirPrint-compatible models. Apple has compiled a recent list of AirPrint compatible printers from Canon, Epson, HP and Lexmark. You can find this list in an article on Apple's support website. Backup Device Every computer owner should back up their data on a daily basis, and Mac owners are no exception. Apple has made backups easy with Time Machine, a backup utility that ships on every Mac. The best choice for a backup storage device is Apple's Time Capsule (starts at $299). It's an Airport Extreme wireless router with built-in storage for backups. It'll provide an almost zero-configuration way to start backing up your data. If you already have an AirPort Express and only need a hard drive for backup, you can purchase an external drive like the Western Digital My Book for Mac (starts at $139). If you need additional storage or RAID support, there are other options like the LaCie Network Space 2 (starts at $159) or the Netgear ReadyNAS Duo (starts at $299). Drobo and Pogoplug also sell backup solutions that offer greater capacity and additional features like cloud storage and media streaming. We've reviewed several of these products in the past, including the Drobo FS (starts at $699), the LaCie Network Space 2 and the Pogoplug ($45). Wi-Fi Router Another must-have for any home network is a wireless router, and your best choice in the Mac world is the AirPort Express ($99) or the AirPort Extreme ($179). Both have several Mac-specific features like built-in support for AirPlay and AirPrint which makes it attractive for Mac owners. The AirPort Express is the smaller of the two and is great for travel and use in apartments and smaller homes. The AirPort Extreme is its bigger brother and is great for use in a larger house with multiple machines. If you think the Airport Extreme is out of your price range, then you'll want to read our article about buying the Airport Extreme to see if its multiple features change your mind. If you still decide to go with a non-Apple product, you'll want to find a model that has gigabit ethernet, support for 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, and a USB port. D-Link, Netgear and Linksys make quality wireless routers. External Hard Drive Most Mac owners will want an external hard drive for file storage. You can choose from a portable, smaller drive like the Western Digital MyPassport for Mac ($199) and the LaCie Starck Mobile (starts at $109). LaCie also has a series of rugged drives (starts at $160) such as the Rugged Mini and the Rugged Safe, which includes biometrics and an encryption option. If you don't need the portability of a smaller drive, you'll want to consider a larger hard drive like the Western Digital My Book. We recently reviewed the 3 TB My Book Studio model. All these drives are formatted for the Mac and can be used for basic file storage and USB-based Time Machine backups. Those who want ultimate peace of mind in a storage device should look at the ioSafe drives. They are expensive, but they offer protection from fire and water. We recently reviewed the SoloPro model (starts at $249). iPhone owners may be interested in the GoFlex Satellite (starts at $209) from Seagate, a portable drive that lets you transfer media from your Mac and watch them on your iOS device. Wireless headset/headphones There are a variety of wireless headphones and headsets on the market, but the best ones for the Mac connect via Bluetooth. All Mac computers ship with Bluetooth and will easily connect to a pair of Bluetooth cans without the need for a USB dongle. I have a non-Bluetooth wireless headset from Logitech and am always losing the dongle. Plantronics makes several headphones and headsets that'll work with the Mac including the popular BackBeat 906 headphones. There's also Jabra, which makes the HALO headset and other less expensive models. We recently reviewed the NuForce BT-860, which is another inexpensive but capable wireless headset. When shopping for someone else, make sure you buy the right product -- headphones are for listening only and headsets are for listening and talking. Battery Backup If it hasn't happened to you yet, it will. One day, you will be in the middle of editing an important document and a power surge or outage will cause you to lose your work. Notebook owners can skip this advice, but desktop owners need to keep reading. To protect your precious iMac, Mac mini or Mac Pro, you should be using a battery backup. They provide surge protection as well as a backup power source, which gives you ample time to save your documents and shut down your computer in case of a power failure. The most widely available consumer models are made by APC, and they cost as low as $60. CyperPower also makes a decent battery backup, and their latest Adaptive Sinewave models (starts at $130) feature a pure sine wave electrical output. This clean source of energy is better for sensitive electronics. Accessories for the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air owner MacBook Pro and Air owners could use a few accessories specific to their portable needs. There are the protective accessories like the InCase cover for the MacBook Pro/Air, the Moshi Clearguard keyboard protector ($25), Trackguard trackpad protector ($12) and the PalmGuard palm rest protector ($20). You can also add an anti-glare film like the RadTech ClearCal (starts at $20) if you have a MacBook with a glossy screen. We've used some of their products in the past, and they make quality stuff. MacBook Pro/Air owners always on the run may want a 3G/4G portable hotspot device so they have an Internet connection everywhere they go. They probably also need an external charging source like the HyperJuice external battery (starts at $160). Of course, they will need a case, and there are a variety of cases ranging from the ultra-rugged Pelican cases (starts at $200) to the sleek WaterField Designs bags, which are great for the MacBook Air. Other devices that make having a Mac fun The iPad ($499), iPhone ($199 for 4S) and Apple TV ($99). All three devices can share content via iTunes, AirPlay and iCloud. You easily can watch the videos on your Mac using the Apple TV and share your photos seamlessly between your iPhone and iPad using iCloud. Because they are so intertwined, it's great to have all these devices in one household. If there's any must-have accessory that you use with your Mac, share it with us and others in the comments.
OCZ Octane SSD benchmarked, new Indilinx controller holds its ground
Maybe it's just interference from our seasonal goggles, but isn't there something quite cheery about SSD reviews? In the case of OCZ's Octane drive, our good spirits derive from the sturdy performance of its freshly-conceived Indilinx Everest controller, which ought to keep big players like SandForce and Samsung on their toes. HotHardware just reviewed the $369 $879 512GB variant and found that it delivered fast boot-up times, strong read speeds and writes that were just shy of enthusiast-class drives. Follow the source link for the full and possibly festive benchmarks. Update: Sorry about the optimistic price error. Guess we got carried away with all the holiday discounts. As many of y'all spotted, it's the 256GB version that goes for $369. Update: We just added links to reviews from AnandTech and Storage Review, which both arrived at similarly positive conclusions.
Holiday Gift Guide: Accessories for all
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. Let's be honest -- while you might plunk down the cash for a MacBook Air or iPad for your loved ones, you're probably not going to go all out on a brand new device for your co-workers and acquaintances. But that doesn't mean you can't still support the various Macheads in your life -- no matter how many Apple devices someone might have, there are many more accessories for those various devices lining the shelves at Best Buy. Cases, plug-ins, covers, and stick-ons, oh my! Let us take you on a quick tour through the Mac accessory landscape, and help you find some really great recommendations of all different prices for all of the Apple devices in your life. Even if there isn't a Mac fanatic around you who needs some of this stuff, no worries. Just bookmark this page, and come back after the holidays, whenever you yourself have unwrapped that big package "designed in California" that's sitting underneath your tree this year. The PlugBug Perhaps the hottest Mac-cessory this year, the PlugBug turned all kinds of heads when TwelveSouth finally released it earlier this month. Yes, it's just a charger, but no, it's not just a charger -- it's a super useful and well-designed accessory that already works with those cords you got in the Apple box. You can charge both a MacBook (or Air or Pro) and a USB device like an iPhone or iPad from just one outlet, and all you need to pack in your bag is the usual cords and this little red adapter. It's a great, smart device that adds just a little bit of color to an already very Apple way of thinking. ($34.99 from TwelveSouth) The iCade There were a few arcade cabinets for the iPad out this year, but the original iCade by ThinkGeek and Ion Audio. It originally started up as an April Fool's joke, and then was made real: An actual miniature arcade cabinet, complete with buttons and a joystick, that you can plug your iPad in to play arcade games on. The list of compatible titles is long and growing, so anyone in the house who loves playing old-school games on the iPad will really enjoy this one.($79.99 by ThinkGeek) TenOne's Fling and Fling mini for iPad and iPhone Again, there have been some very similar competitors pop up in this space, but when it comes to attaching a physical joystick to Apple's touch screens, the Fling is the original and the best. It's suprisingly simple, but feels and works great, especially on games where you'd normally use a virtual joystick, but it provides the tactile feedback that Apple's no buttons policy just can't match. Go ahead and buy a two-pack -- you'll need them both. (Two-pack is $29.95 for the iPad, $24.95 for the iPhone at TenOne Design) Keyboard covers by KB Covers Whether you're typing on a MacBook or a wireless Apple keyboard, a good keyboard cover can keep things clean and make your keyboard last longer and work better, no matter what your fingers have been touching lately. And KB Covers are the best we've seen -- not only are they made of a nice tough, stretchy plastic, but they're extremely useful, providing easy visual access to custom shortcuts for almost any app or International keyboard layout you'd ever want. No matter what Mac or keyboard model you have, or what you're doing with it (from editing in Avid to playing World of Warcraft), there's a KB Cover for you or your gift-getter. (Various prices, at KB Covers) The Peel The Peel system can be complicated, so it's not necessarily for everybody. But for just the right person on your gift list, it might be perfect. The Peel consists of both a "fruit" unit that sits on your home entertainment system and plugs into your television, and then an app that runs on your iOS device, and can be used to not only control your A/V setup, but also find various shows and things to watch according to your tastes. We didn't think the Peel would work as your usual remote, unfortunately, but for the right gadgethead interested in using an iOS device to make their TV watching experience a little better, it would be a great gift. ($99 at Peel) A case! Yes, there will undoubtedly be a lot of iPhones and iPads sold this year, and odds are that everyone who gets a new one under their tree will also need to find an excellent case for it. Many times, this tends to be a very personal choice, so you might want to think twice about getting a case for some one, or at least remember to be gracious when you find out it's not exactly what they wanted. But still, there are plenty of great cases out there, from cases that make your device look like a book, to something you can use with a little more functionality as an actual wallet. Cases can be as individual as the people who buy them, so be a little careful as to which one you pick out, but the right choice for the right person can be a terrific and memorable gift. (Various) Remote-controlled fun Sure, functionality can be important, but sometimes you just want to have a little bit of remote fun with your Mac. How about a remote-controlled USB missle launcher that can even be activated over the Internet? One of those Ar.Drone quadricopters that can be controlled with your iOS device? Or you can even be the first to nab a Sphero, a little remote-controlled ball that's arriving just in time for Christmas later on this year. There's lots of kooky fun to be had with your Apple devices -- sure, it may not be too practical, but if you've already got all of the power Apple has put into these machines, why not put a little bit of it to work in real life? (Various) A hard drive Finally, we'll leave you with a choice that's a little more practical than those toys: Even with the advent of iCloud, the one thing any Mac user will always love getting is more hard drive space. With all of the apps coming out all of the time, and lots and lots of content being made and edited, anyone with a Mac or even an iPhone or iPad could probably use a few more gigabytes (or even terabytes) in their lives. Western Digital has released a few excellent standalone hard drives meant for Mac this year, but especially during Black Friday and the holiday season afterwards, Best Buy or any of the other big box electronics stores are usually running some great deals on external hard drives, so you can easily pick one up for around $50 or even under that some times. If you want to go a little more fancy, you can check out the Iomega Mac Companion, meant specifically to work with a Mac as a high-capacity backup drive. But whatever kind of storage you choose, there's no question that the Mac fan in your life will appreciate the extra digital storage space. Happy holidays! Here's hoping you find just the right gift for the Mac lover in your life this year!
Western Digital purchase of Hitachi's hard drive business approved by EU regulators
Two of the hard drive industry's biggest players will soon be just one company. European Union regulators have given a conditional thumbs-up to Western Digital's plans to snatch up Hitachi's storage division for $4.3 billion. The companies are the second and third largest hard disk manufacturers in the world (respectively) behind Seagate, which purchased Samsung's HDD division back in April. Out of concern for the quickly consolidating market, regulators only approved the Western Digital deal after assurances that the company would sell off some its production assets, including a manufacturing plant, and transfer some intellectual property to the new unit being put on the auction block. As soon as WD finds a buyer it'll be free and clear to take over Hitachi's HDD division. So, anyone interested in a hard drive manufacturing plant?
Iomega introduces new large capacity portable hard drives for Mac
Iomega introduced a new line of portable hard drives for the Mac yesterday. Called the Iomega eGo Mac Edition Portable Hard Drive, the drives come in two sizes -- 500 GB and 1 TB -- and are designed with a special case to withstand drops from up to seven feet. The drives have two FireWire 800 ports and a USB 2.0 port and require no power supply, so they're nice large backup drives to pack with you while traveling for work or pleasure. As with the previous new Iomega drives that TUAW has tested, the Helium Portable Hard Drive and Mac Companion Hard Drive, the eGo Mac Edition drives come complete with a USB 2.0 cable, a FireWire 800 cable, and a FireWire 800 - 400 adapter cable. The 500 GB version has a suggested retail price of US$179.99, while the 1 TB version will be available soon for $229.99. For more information about all of Iomega's newest Mac-only hard drives, be sure to read the press release below. Show full PR text Iomega Completes New Line of Hard Drives for the Mac With Launch of Iomega eGo Mac Edition Portable Hard Drive *** Three Drives Offer Something for Every User of Mac Notebooks & Desktops: 256-Bit Hardware Encryption Keeps Files Secure Desktop Drive Delivers Quick Charge for Your iPad Up to 3TB on the Desktop, and up to 1TB for New Portable Models All Three Mac Drives Include Bundled Iomega Protection Suite With Mac-Specific Software San Diego, November 10, 2011 -- Iomega, an EMC company (NYSE:EMC) and a global leader in data protection, today announced the completion of its new Mac-oriented hard drive line with the launch of the new Iomega® eGo™ Mac Edition Portable Hard Drive, an on-the-go stylish drive with plenty of storage that can withstand drops and still travel easily in a pocketbook or briefcase. Combined with the recent launches of the Iomega® Helium Portable Hard Drive and the Iomega® Mac Companion Hard Drive, Iomega now has a complete new line of portable and desktop hard drives for Mac users. All three new drives are formatted HFS+ for compatibility with Mac computers right out of the box, making them perfect complements to today's Apple notebooks and desktops. "Iomega's new line of hard drives for the Mac gives enthusiasts everything they need in versatile, high performance storage," said Jonathan Huberman, president of Iomega Corporation. "The new rugged Iomega eGo Mac Edition Portable Hard Drive and the compact Iomega Helium Portable Hard Drive are ideal for mobile users, creative professionals and digital enthusiasts who demand a stylish and sure way to store, share and backup all of the files on their Mac computers. On the desktop, the stylish Mac Companion Hard Drive delivers plenty of storage and interface options as well as a first-of-its-kind quick charge for an iPad. All three of these new Iomega hard drives are compatible with Mac Lion OS and Time Machine, giving Mac users the form and function they want as well as the peace of mind that their data is safe and can be automatically backed up." Two Well-Rounded Portable Hard Drives for Mac Users Available in 500GB* and 1TB** capacities, the new black Iomega eGo Mac Edition Portable Hard Drive has two FireWire 800 ports and one USB 2.0 port for fast performance and versatile connections. The eGo Mac Edition Portable Hard Drive includes a Drop Guard™ Case to help protect the drive from drops of up to seven feet. The eGo Mac Edition Portable Hard Drive requires no external power supply, and comes complete with three cables: one USB 2.0 cable, one FireWire 800 cable, and one FireWire 800-FireWire 400 adaptor cable. Available in 500GB and 1TB capacities, the new Iomega Helium Portable Hard Drive has one USB 2.0 port and a durable aluminum case, giving mobile users and others peace-of-mind when traveling with their Iomega Helium Portable Hard Drive. The Helium Portable Hard Drive requires no external power supply, and comes complete with one USB 2.0 cable. One Powerful Desktop Hard Drive Available in 2TB and 3TB capacities, the new Iomega Mac Companion Hard Drive utilizes a fast 7200 RPM 3.5-inch hard drive in a space-saving design that fits perfectly on the base of the Apple iMac or an Apple monitor. Adding peripheral devices to your Apple computer is no problem with the Mac Companion Hard Drive. The stylish silver and black drive includes two FireWire 800 ports, one USB 2.0 port and a two port integrated USB 2.0 hub that lets you connect multiple devices such as a printer or other external storage device. The Mac Companion Hard Drive doesn't require the user to buy extra cables – the drive comes complete with one FireWire 800, one conversion FireWire 400-800, and one USB 2.0 cable Of the many features included with the Mac Companion Hard Drive, Mac users may most appreciate the first-of-its-kind high powered USB charging port for their iPad, iPhone or iPod. (Apple portable products sold separately.) The charging port is a high-powered 2.1 Amp hookup that makes it easy and convenient to charge your iPad and other portable Apple devices so they're ready to go when you are. *** The new Iomega Mac Companion Hard Drive is the only major branded external HFS+ Mac desktop hard drive on the market today that incorporates a high powered Apple device charging port and a two-port USB 2.0 hub. Three Drives + Plenty of Software = Total Solutions Unlike many competing hard drives, the new eGo Mac Edition Portable Hard Drive, as well as the Helium Portable Hard Drive and the Mac Companion Hard Drive, all boast local and online backup, as well as encryption and anti-virus software: 256-bit AES encryption keeps files on your drive safe from prying eyes. The Iomega Protection Suite, a comprehensive offering of powerful Mac software that includes: Iomega® QuikProtect for simple scheduled file-level backup. MozyHome™ Online Backup for convenient online backup of up to 2GB free. A free 12-month subscription of Trend Micro™ Smart Surfing for Mac allows users to shop, bank and surf online while staying safe from attacks to your identity and confidential information. Availability and Warranty The new Iomega® eGo™ Mac Edition Portable Hard Drive is available worldwide in a 500GB model and a 1TB model. The new Iomega® Helium Portable Hard Drive is available worldwide in a 500GB model and a 1TB model. The new Iomega® Mac Companion Hard Drive is available worldwide in a 2TB model and a 3TB model. The Iomega Mac Companion Hard Drive and the Iomega Helium Portable Hard Drive are now available at Apple stores; the Iomega eGo Mac Edition Portable Hard Drive will be available at Apple Stores later this month. All three products are also available or will be available at other select retailers and etailers worldwide. All three products include a three-year warranty with registration. For more information about Iomega storage products, please go to www.iomega.com. About EMC EMC Corporation is a global leader in enabling businesses and service providers to transform their operations and deliver IT as a service. Fundamental to this transformation is cloud computing. Through innovative products and services, EMC accelerates the journey to cloud computing, helping IT departments to store, manage, protect and analyze their most valuable asset - information - in a more agile, trusted and cost-efficient way. Additional information about EMC can be found at www.EMC.com. About Iomega Iomega is a worldwide leader of innovative storage solutions for small businesses, distributed enterprises, home offices, and consumers. A wholly-owned subsidiary of EMC, the world's premier information infrastructure technology provider, Iomega has shipped more than 14 million terabytes of storage since its inception in 1980. Today, Iomega's portfolio includes industry-leading network attached storage solutions that utilize world class EMC storage and security technologies as well as Iomega's Personal Cloud technology; one of the industry's broadest selections of portable and desktop hard drives; multimedia drives that make it easy to view video and Internet content in the living room; and the one-of-a-kind Iomega® SuperHero™ Backup & Charger for iPhone. To learn more go to www.iomega.com. Resellers worldwide can visit www.ioclub.net. NOTE: This release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined under the Federal Securities Laws. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of certain risk factors, including but not limited to: (i) adverse changes in general economic or market conditions; (ii) delays or reductions in information technology spending; (iii) the relative and varying rates of product price and component cost declines and the volume and mixture of product and services revenues; (iv) competitive factors, including but not limited to pricing pressures and new product introductions; (v) component and product quality and availability; (vi) fluctuations in VMware, Inc.'s operating results and risks associated with trading of VMware stock; (vii) the transition to new products, the uncertainty of customer acceptance of new product offerings and rapid technological and market change; (viii) risks associated with managing the growth of our business, including risks associated with acquisitions and investments and the challenges and costs of integration, restructuring and achieving anticipated synergies; (ix) the ability to attract and retain highly qualified employees; (x) insufficient, excess or obsolete inventory; (xi) fluctuating currency exchange rates; (xii) threats and other disruptions to our secure data centers or networks; (xiii) our ability to protect our proprietary technology; (xiv) war or acts of terrorism; and (xv) other one-time events and other important factors disclosed previously and from time to time in EMC's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. EMC disclaims any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements after the date of this release. *1 GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes **1TB = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes *** For the fastest charge, the Mac Companion Hard Drive must be connected to the computer via FireWire rather than USB 2.0. © 2011 Iomega Corporation. All rights reserved. Iomega, Drop Guard, and SuperHero are trademarks or registered trademarks of Iomega Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. EMC, MozyHome, and LifeLine are trademarks or registered trademarks of EMC Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.
Seagate merges Barracuda range, renounces small platters for hungry storage diners
Seagate's decided its desktop drives were getting a bit flabby. It's ditching the Green and XT brands, and in turn, deeming the entire range Barracuda. The revamped series now carries 1TB platters rather than the five 600GB layers in the older models and all will run at 7200RPM with a 64MB cache. It's part of an initiative to slim a bloated inventory channel for the company's OEM partners. Those with an environmental bent should know that the new drives more than match the Green's environmental prowess, whilst those who are speed hungry will be excited to hear news on the mooted new Barracuda XT. This replacement XT will match the hybrid stylings of the Momentus XT, a hybrid HDD that includes a 4GB SSD to increase cache speed. The 3TB monster will be available for $179.99 as soon as it hits the shipping channels -- which, so far as we can tell, should be anytime between next week and next year.
Dear Aunt TUAW: What is the lifespan of a large-capacity hard drive?
Dear Aunt TUAW, So here's the deal. There are 8-terabyte drives on the market now which, unless you are working for a production company or shooting buckets of RAW, you are never going to use. That's just extra space, which is great! Except, what is the lifespan of those drives? Will they fail on the average user before they even get close to capacity? If so, what would you recommend for the average user as the best value? In other words, if I do minor photo and video editing, keep a lot of photos, download a few movies and have a decent iTunes collection, will my need for storage hit 1TB or 2TB before they fail? Your loving nephew, Phillip Dear Phillip, Although Uncle Chris is snarking quietly about "640 K should be enough for anybody" jokes, Auntie is going to ignore him and try to do her best to answer seriously, because one's drive space never exceeds one's grasp. As a rule, Auntie recommends replacing hard drives (especially those used for Time Machine backups) every eighteen months. There is absolutely no science or engineering behind her answer, only a lot of frustrating experience. Of course, you can say that any machine with moving parts is technically prone to failure at any moment... Eighteen months is about long enough for each new generation of storage to appear on the market and to ensure that fresh storage will meet your ever-growing data needs: it's never just about RAW images. There are home movies, TV shows (hello rapacious EyeTV recordings), audiobooks and more. The minor photo and video editing that you've described, plus a few movies and a decent iTunes collection can happily live on 1-2 TB for a while, and you'll know when you're about to burst at the data seams. Just make sure the age of your drives and backup system doesn't put your data at risk. Hugs, Auntie T.
OCZ RevoDrive Hybrid review roundup: a speedy and spacious storage solution
Ever since we spent some time with OCZ's RevoDrive Hybrid back at Computex, we eagerly awaited its arrival so that it could be put through its paces. Well, the time has come for the $500 storage mongrel to face the music and for us to find out if it adds up to more than the sum of its SSD and HDD parts. Hot Hardware found the RevoDrive Hybrid delivered on its promise of mind-blowing peak transfer speeds of almost 1GBps, with performance that could only be matched by dual SATA III SSDs in a RAID 0 setup. Everyone spoke well of the Dataplex software that manages the RevoDrive's caching, as it dutifully maxed out performance once it learned usage patterns. TRIM support was a welcome feature, but all noted the niggle that it must be used as the system boot device, so it can't pull duty as secondary storage. All in all, the consensus is that while the RevoDrive Hybrid may be too pricey for some, it's a darn good deal for the performance it provides. Of course, you don't have to take our word for it, so dig into the full reviews at the sources below.
Toshiba introduces tiny enterprise hard drives with big speed and big storage
You're probably laughing to yourself right now saying, "300GB? That's not big storage." But, hear us out. The oh-so memorably titled MK01GRRB and MK01GRRR are not your standard hard drives -- these are enterprise-grade disks that spin at 15k RPM and fit in a 2.5-inch bay. Toshiba claims they're the highest capacity 2.5-inch, 15k drives on the market, and we couldn't dig up any evidence to the contrary. The 6Gb/s SAS connection makes sure businesses get the most they can out of those platters spinning at break neck speeds and the GRRR models include a self-encrypting feature. The two drives will start shipping in both 147 and 300GB sizes in Q1 of 2012, but pricing has yet to be announced. Check out the PR after the break for a few more details. Update: Seagate wrote in to let us know that they had a similar drive at the same size, capacity and speed earlier this year. So, take that, Tosh.
Seagate GoFlex Cinema puts up to 3TB of media files at your TV's disposal
Seagate's latest addition to its GoFlex line of hard drives is dubbed the Cinema and, as you've probably guessed, it's designed to hook up to your home entertainment system. Inside is a set of spinning platters up to 3TB in size, and around back are HDMI, composite, and S/PDIF hookups. This isn't just some hard drive with a marketing gimmick though. The hardware itself is capable of pumping out 1080p video in a slew of different formats (including MKV and MP4 amongst others), and even comes packaged with a remote for perusing your media collection from the comfort of your milk crate couch. The GoFlex Cinema is available now in Europe, starting at €99 ($136) for the 1TB version and climbing to €179 ($246) for the 3TB model. No word yet on US pricing or availability.
320GB hard drive coming to Xbox 360 S models for $130 this month
Finally, you can stop being jealous of your friends who waited until 2011 to buy a 360. The 320GB hard drive included in the Gears of War 3, Modern Warfare 3 and assorted other bundles will go on sale by itself later this month for $130. We know what you're thinking. "Joystiq, isn't that roughly 200 percent more than I'd typically pay for a hard drive that size?" That's true, dear reader, but Microsoft's got an ace up its sleeve: The hard drive comes with an Xbox Live download code for Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars, a $20 value!* So now who's getting the great deal, huh? ... What's that? Still not you? You say a better pack-in would be a bottle of heinie lube? Well now that's just vulgar. *Note, that deal doesn't go for Japan, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia and the UAE, because the Force is illegal there.
