Portable storage solutions today

MacAndy · Jul 15th, 2005, 04:01 PM

Hi all,

I'm looking for portable storage solutions, primarily for being able to cart around about 300-400Mb of data at any given time, not much but wondering what my best solution is.

I had a 128Mb USB drive "stick" but it seems to have problems connecting to my PB Ti400 at home and reliability with keyboard insertion was flaky at best. Some keyboards handled it, others didn't, especially annoying when transferring larger files. Are the bigger "sticks" reliable?

I looked at one of those Porsche "designed" things at CSC a few mornings ago. Isn't Porsche dead? Because those tinny looking things certainly are pretty crappy. The smallest one had rubber runners that were falling off the display model. I can also save $100 or more by NOT buying one of these.

Ideally I'd like a firewire drive that I don't have to plug in. And should be about the size of a pack of cigarettes. Oh, wait, I dont' smoke... make that the size of a couple of Kit Kat bars ;-)

Is anyone using their iPod for large file transferring? What's the hookup and transfer speed like on those things?

Any suggestions? If anyone has anything used they want to part with let me know.

MacDoc · Jul 15th, 2005, 04:14 PM

Biggest is 100 gigs for Pocket drives. $329 in stock 3 year warranty.
120 coming soon but likely much more$$$$

200 gig non bus powered $199 and 250s $239 they are about the size of a pocket book.

Using a 5 1/4 case means you can use a standard power cable. 6" x 3' x 9" and the cooling is a bit better on the larger drives.

Orion · Jul 15th, 2005, 04:45 PM

I have used a Lexar JumpDrive (256Mb) for the past 2 years or so with no problems (once a computer froze while reading a file and I had to repair with Drive Utility -- not the drive's fault). 1Gb and 2Gb drives are coming on the market quickly and 512Mb seems to be the low end. As long as whatever you buy is rated as a "low-power USB" device it should work in any USB port. If rated "high-power USB" then it will have to be plugged directly into the computer or a powered hub. As I understand it, the larger the capacity the higher the power rating.

<a href="http://arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/flash.ars/1">Ars Technica did a review</a> that should help, if only to see what specs you should look for.

If you are looking for an external drive (10+ Gb) then a 2.5" laptop drive enclosure would suit. They can be bus powered (so no power brick to lug around) but check the specs as this isn't always the case. Most today are USB2.0 but there are some that also come with FireWire (better for sustained read / write). Momobay has some good ones. There are more issues to worry about with the drive enclosures (compatibility / conflicts) but the sheer volume of space you get is the benefit.

Re: iPods -- A friend used his 1Gb Shuffle to transfer files, another uses his iPod Photo to do the same. Best to have them PC formatted (for larger iPods = only via Windows) so that they can be used on any machine. I'd recommend the Shuffle if you're going to buy one for this purpose.

( whew ^_^; )

MacDoc · Jul 15th, 2005, 05:15 PM

Oops read that as Gigabytes. nnot MB........

Shuffle would work as would any iPod.

CN · Jul 15th, 2005, 07:05 PM

An iPod is really fast for transferring files (firewire!). If you are not talking about gigs of data, a shuffle might do (and no cord needed because its basically a thumb drive!) and of course both would work well with your TiPB!

MacAndy · Jul 18th, 2005, 09:30 AM

	Quote:			Originally Posted by MacDoc
	Oops read that as Gigabytes. nnot MB........ Shuffle would work as would any iPod.

Howdy MacDoc,

OK, so a shuffle would do. When plugged in it shows up on the desktop as a separate drive I would guess? Like my digital camera does?

To be honest, I doubt I'd ever use it to play music [sacrilege maybe, but I have enough music sources and just put an updated stereo/CD deck in my '65 Mustang].

Thanks for the tip.

scootsandludes · Jul 18th, 2005, 10:51 AM

if you don't plan to listen to any music, then get a thumb drive, it will cost half as much as a shuffle. Or for less then the price of a shuffle you can get one of MacDoc's portable FW drive. Way more storage, and faster and more reliable then USB2. They're pretty sleek. My friend bought one off him a few years ago, and she couldn't be happier.

vince

MacAndy · Jul 18th, 2005, 03:46 PM

	Quote:			Originally Posted by scootsandludes
	if you don't plan to listen to any music, then get a thumb drive, it will cost half as much as a shuffle. Or for less then the price of a shuffle you can get one of MacDoc's portable FW drive. Way more storage, and faster and more reliable then USB2. They're pretty sleek. My friend bought one off him a few years ago, and she couldn't be happier. vince

Hi Vince,

OK, *THAT's* what I really needed to know, thanks!!!

gmark2000 · Jul 18th, 2005, 03:50 PM

I have a SmartDisk 5 Gb FireFly Firewire drive that I can sell you for $80. It uses the same hard drive as the original 5Gb iPod. It's very portable and comes with its own neoprene case and firewire cable.

Bosco · Jul 18th, 2005, 04:01 PM

I use CD RW and DVD RW disks to cart stuff between here and work. It's VERY cheap and small.

And the latest, fastest burner will run you a lot less than a "portable" drive.