I needed an external hard drive for my notebook computer, and bought a 250GB unit for just over $100. But it was a pain, what with its long USB cable and larger power supply cable crowding for room behind my notebook computer.
Last week, I clued in to "portable hard drives." I have never before understood their point: small capacity, large price. Then I came across a notation that explained their purpose:
- small form factor
- no power cable (power provided through the USB cable)
The relatively low capacity is simply a function of the small size.
The local London Drugs had models from three vendors. I'd've picked the Le Cie, but the store only had 40GB models for $100 -- much too expensive! The Maxtor's design was too ugly for my liking.
In any case, I picked the highest capacity model available, since that is usually the best bargain: the most GB per dollar. In this case, it was Western Digital's 120GB drive for $150. It has a trendy glossy black finish, and is just over a 1/2-inch thick (and 3" x 5" -- just slightly larger than my Palm TX).
Attaching it with the short USB cable to my notebook computer, the drive didn't need any drivers; it was immediately recognized by the XP operating system. Auto-run software offered to install backup software, which I declined. It also comes with Google software -- unnecessary for me.
When on, the unit emits a blue glowing circle. Perhaps the only thing I don't like is that the light does not blink during data transfer.
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