Mac Users and Elegant External Hard Drives

Every distinguished Mac user needs an elegant external hard drive to match the aesthetic and functionality of their computing needs... Most graphic designers, artists and video/music producers do a great job of ensuring their data is backed up to the best of their ability and this loyal Apple computer connoisseur sets the record straight on using the ioSafe Solo as an external hard drive for mac.


Read the complete hard drive review here: http://tonedefsystems.com/forum/weblog_entry.php?e=137

PogoPlug + ioSafe = Cloud Computing without the Drizzle

Let's face it, cloud computing has it's advantages (off site, remote accessibility, etc) but even Google can mess it up sometimes...thus proving that a combination of on site and off site are best. As technology changes, prices drop for the consumer and in today's computer world you can buy a fireproof hard drive for the same price as a regular hard drive - it makes cents$$, there is a lot of value there. The only downside is that you are relying on a mechanical drive (susceptible to failure).

Along comes the Pogoplug!!
The Pogoplug connects your external hard drive to the Internet, easily allowing you to share and access your files wherever you may be. This includes smart phones! Simply connect the Pogoplug to network and attach an external drive. Simple. Done.

By combining the Pogoplug and ioSafe external hard drives you can get on site data protection from fire and flood and the benefits of mobile file access and sharing.

Two great products (both got big thumbs up at CES this year) combined can help solve your data backup strategy in a very cost effective manner.

500GB Hard Drives

Comparing Apples to Oranges
A quick search of some of the popular e-tail outlets brings back a wide range of external hard drives in a wide variety of flavors and features. From aluminum clad with flashing lights to bamboo wrapped versions, it can be a challenge when you compare all of the options. So let's take a look at a regular 500GB hard drive

Interface Options

USB 2.0 (USB 3.0 soon?!??!?)
FireWire
Ethernet

Value Added Features

Push Button Backup
Free Backup Software
Fireproof
Waterproof
Data Recovery Service

Cache Buffer Size

8MB, 16MB or 32 MB

Hard Drive Speeds

5400 RPM, 7200 RPM or 10,000RPM


Looking for the extraordinary disk drive? This is not your typical 500GB hard drive, it's fireproof up to 1550 degrees F and waterproof for 3 days at 10 feet of saltwater.

Solo Drive and Reformatting

The ioSafe Solo hard drive comes out of the box with NTFS formatting. For the Mac world, users might want to reformat. If the external hard drive is formatted FAT32, both Macs and PCs can read the drive, however there is a limitation to the max file size - limited to 3 GBs

Google Confirms Cloud Backup Not Secure

Google, Inc. has reported that a software bug has publicly shared online documents for many of the users of Google Docs application service.

This security risk highlights the importance of storing documents on site in secure environment. Moving documents over an internet connection always opens your data up to a security risk.

The age old question of offsite vs. onsite data storage continually comes to the forefront.


Read More... here

A great alternative to offsite data backup and storage is to use a secure rugged hard drive from ioSafe. The Solo external usb device is both fireproof and waterproof and can be bolted down for added security. If you backup your primary hard drive to an external disk you protect your data from loss.

Apple Airport Extreme and ioSafe Solo

Several users have reported mixed results with combining the Apple Airport Extreme with the ioSafe Solo hard drive.

According to the ioSafe website, "Currently compatibility is the Apple Airport Extreme is not supported. Several users have reported mixed results with combining the Apple Airport Extreme with the ioSafe Solo. We are working on resolving the issue but cannot guarantee compatibility at this time. Try updating the Airport Extreme firmware to 7.4.1 as this has worked with some users to enable compatibility."

Hot Deals on ioSafe Solo End March 6th, 2009

The best value in external hard drives (approx. $0.22 per GB) comes to an end this Friday, March 6th 2009. Introductory pricing on the ioSafe Solo, a fireproof and waterproof hard drive, has been in effect since January 6th.

For little more than the cost of regular external hard drives you can get fire and flood protection for your data...it's a no brainer for any business or home user that has precious digital photos and video.

Inside every ioSafe Solo is a 7200 RPM Seagate hard drive (offering the best in reliability). To see a live review, go to YouTube and search for ioSafe Solo.

The 1.5 TB Solo includes a FREE UPGRADE to the 5-year warranty with a $1,000 disaster recovery service - but this offer ends tomorrow!