Portable Storage? 479
An anonymous reader asks: "I need a portable storage solution, as I strongly desire to keep my personal stuff separate from my work stuff. In the past I have used some types of portable external hard drive (via USB connection), but I wasn't too pleased with the quality of the barebones models I found at Fry's. With so many new types of portable storage out (USB keys, 2.5" drives, full drives with enclosures, etc) I would appreciate some feedback from others using this type of device regarding what their favorite brand or model is. Remember: bigger storage is better, as is smaller size."
ximeta (Score:5, Informative)
www.ximeta.com
Re:ximeta (Score:3, Funny)
NDAS is a good solution. Ximeta makes drives with USB 2.0 + Ethernet, (choose one) pretty cheap compared to plain USB/FireWire drives. Plug into your work PC with USB, take it home and use it to fileserve on your enet.
Clicky [ximeta.com]
Re:ximeta (Score:5, Insightful)
Otherwise, those things look neat.
Re:ximeta - MOD PARENT UP (Score:5, Informative)
Overall it's a good idea, but very poorly implementd
Re:ximeta (Score:3, Informative)
Alternatives (Score:3, Insightful)
It sounds like there is a need for an embedded Linux-based external storage case. Imagine a very small (but well-ventilated) external drive case that had an embedded Linux system (with Firewire, USB2.0 and Ethernet) built in. The idea would be that you could plug in any ATA drive and it would automatically detect, format, and share the drive.
Red Hot Linux (Score:4, Funny)
http://www.ximeta.com/images/ndo_diagram.gif [ximeta.com]
Re:ximeta (Score:2, Informative)
gShares.net [gshares.net]
Re:ximeta (Score:4, Informative)
www.ximeta.com
If you are using this solely as a personal drive then it is pricey, but ok.
If you plan on sharing it then don't buy. It's crappy and crippled "sharing software" (and I use that term loosely) is terrible. You have to install special software to access it and you have to issue passwords for people to be able to write to the drive.
Re:ximeta (Score:4, Interesting)
1GB USB drives (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:1GB USB drives (Score:3, Insightful)
iPod? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:iPod? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:iPod? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:iPod? (Score:5, Insightful)
Not saying that the iPod is a bad option, but really, if you're just looking for a storage device and not an MP3 player, it is probably not the way to go.
Re:iPod? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:iPod? (Score:3, Interesting)
One more thing to consider - most external HDDs aren't portable, meaning they're not really supposed to be lugged around. The external HDDs I've bought all have a warning in the manual about that. The iPods use notebook hard disks, and are (supposedly) more hard-wearing. I use mine every day to copy
Re:iPod? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:iPod? (Score:5, Interesting)
Traditionally the Archos devices have been perfectly fine as long as you don't mind that they're huge. But actually, a quick glance at the site at the moment does not in fact show any products that are either larger higher capacity than ipods or lower price, much less both. The players they're offering appear to top out at 20G for $350, versus a 20G ipod for $300. And given that they're based around the same 1.8" drives that ipods are, I'd be very surprised if there's any difference in speed.
So mostly this looks like a low-end ipod, 31% bulkier, with a quarter the cache, and $50 more expensive. In what way is this "better"?
Re:iPod? (Score:3, Informative)
Wrong and wrong. Plug any ipod into your PC, and it will show up as a harddrive. You can browse it directly, you can copy music files off of it without any additional software, and you can create extra folders to store your own files in (as I have done for storing large video files). It's just a USB/firewire hard disk. The only thing you need extra software for is finding the actual music file that corres
Re:iPod? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:iPod? (Score:3, Informative)
Just a note from a happy owner.
Re:iPod? (Score:5, Interesting)
It may not be able to hold a charge on its own, but it still works great as a tiny bus-powered firewire hard drive. An external firewire drive doesn't hold a charge, either, so what's the difference?
And if down the road your needs change, you can always replace the battery for $50 and you've got yourself a music player!
Mobile phone with Bluetooth and MMC (Score:3, Informative)
Xix.
Re:iPod? (Score:3, Insightful)
iPod? Only with a Mac (Score:3, Insightful)
On the Mac side, you have really easy access to the iPod as a hard drive, including the ability to boot from the iPod. That makes the thing pretty nifty right there, but there's also the FireWire transfer rates and other niceties that let you know t
Re:iPod? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:iPod? (Score:5, Informative)
I have also never heard of data loss caused by an iPod. It's a standard hard drive. Treat it as you would most devices that store data and it will work fine.
Re:iPod? (Score:5, Informative)
iPods configured to sync with a Macintosh will be using an HFS+ file system. A PC formatted iPod will use a FAT32 partition which apparently allows you to use your iPod on Windows and Mac OS X computers without paying any special software. I would guess that most Macintosh based iPod users have HFS formatted drives--especially if they use it as an external hard disk.
Not the end of the world, but it is something to keep in mind if you're going to be working in a mixed environment. Tossing your term-paper onto your iPod only to find out that Windows can't read your data when you get to school is just not a pleasant situation to be in.
Re:iPod? (Score:5, Informative)
Also something of note, Windows has a certain tendency to want to format HFS+ devices plugged into it and this can be dangerous if you don't know what to do.
ONLINE (Score:4, Interesting)
Thou hast open the flood gates (Score:5, Funny)
Not many people have the drives anymore, making my data very secure.
In fact when I find working drives I break them to insure my security...
Re:Thou hast open the flood gates (Score:2)
Re:Thou hast open the flood gates (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Thou hast open the flood gates (Score:3, Funny)
Worked for me (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Worked for me (Score:2)
Anyway, pardon the rant. Seriously, how's it working out?
Oh! the Punchcard.. (Score:4, Funny)
Get an iPod (Score:2, Insightful)
Oh, and it plays music.
Re:Get an iPod (Score:4, Insightful)
I would think the USB key devices would be best for what you're wanting to do, but I've never used one.
Re:Get an iPod (Score:4, Interesting)
And they make these short little cables
Re:Get an iPod (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Get an iPod (Score:2)
Sorry, but I beg to differ [bbc.co.uk].
Re:Get an iPod (Score:3, Informative)
I was going to post "Get an iPod", but it looks like a whole lot of other people beat me to it.
So instead of doing so, I'll expand on the benifits of doing so:
I love my iPod with my PowerBook. I routinely use it for storing backups of my data (even though I have the 3G 15GB unit, I'm currently only using about 3GB to hold the ~1050 songs I have
Re:Get an iPod (Score:3, Interesting)
Once I used a digital camera as a storage device to get network drivers onto a Windows 2000 workstation.
On the hiding data side, for awhile I had jokingly stored my filesystem's encryption key (loop-AES for the curious) on a 5.25" Sim City install disk. At other times the key has been on a 3.5" AOL 2.5 disk and the
If you have the cash... (Score:2, Informative)
And hey, it's an MP3 player, too.
iPod (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:iPod (Score:5, Informative)
Re:iPod (Score:3, Informative)
It was merged for a while in 2.4.27-pre and rcX, but Marcello rolled back the patch in the last release candidate. So you will have to wait for 2.4.28 or use 2.6.7.
Free and Net support UDF. Looking at the source code in 5_2_RELENG one of the first lines is VFS_SET(u
USB Keys (Score:5, Informative)
Re:USB Keys (Score:2, Informative)
IPod... (Score:2, Redundant)
Re:IPod... (Score:4, Interesting)
(Signed, "one fourth of my hdd mp3 is now bad sectors after having accidentally dropped it")
Re:IPod... (Score:3, Informative)
iPod? (Score:2, Insightful)
Besides, if you're a mac user, you will soon be able to seamlessly carry your home directory around (Google for Home on iPod).
Just my $0.02
Sorry, but you asked (Score:3, Informative)
The answer is Firewire and Lacie or a iPod. Self powered and with a Mac either can easily be used to boot the host computer from -- my Lacie is the backup for my Application directory tree and User accounts which can be booted from with the loaded host OS [X].
Yes, they can both work with Windows too.
Lacie are very, very nice (Score:3, Interesting)
Antidote for Maczealots: iPod killer! (Score:4, Informative)
Mine has 40GB of disk space (which is what the guy needs) shows as a hard disk (which works in Linux, Winblows and that other OS I suppose), play many different digital music formats, is an FM radio, voice recorder and allows to record directly from another device (both digital and anlaog input).
The only problem is that is a bit bulky, but ehwn compared to some external disks it becomes a nobrainer when it comes to disk storage on the move.
Even better: Neuros! (Score:3, Informative)
I looked at the iRiver, and liked it very much (they have some pretty cool designs), but ended up going with the Neuros. Personal choice and all, you know.
Plus, since it uses standard 2.5" drives, I put in a 40GB I got fo
Two birds with one stone (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Two birds with one stone (Score:2, Funny)
No one can answer that question (Score:4, Insightful)
How portable do you need it? How much space do you need? What kind of interfaces do you have available? How fast does it need to be?
There is no one best storage solution, there are many different bests depending on what's needed at the time.
Throw out some more specifics, and maybe someone can help you out.
Re:No one can answer that question (Score:4, Insightful)
Firewire (Score:2)
My laptop doesn't have USB 2.0, but it did have firewire so that's why I chose firewire. It will work fine in windows and linux. I formatted it as FAT32. Now while that's not the best thing to do for a 160 GB
Well.. (Score:3, Informative)
I personally only buy external drives for video stuff so I get 3.5" ones.
Another option would be to get an iPod or iPod mini type device.
I have a 128 meg USB keychain and I really like it. It's a Transcend JetFlash. But it's only good for documents and the occasional set of photos or MP3s.
Personally, this stuff is pretty obvious, just Google around. It's not like there's some kind of hidden mega-cube storage out there that only a few people know about. Pretty basic stuff.
Um, ThinkGeek? Hello? (Score:5, Informative)
Re: As a pround /. reader I concur by saying: (Score:3, Funny)
WTF is OSDL? Wait, I thought Andover.net owns Slashdot?
It's quite simple, but expensive. (Score:4, Informative)
Re:It's quite simple, but expensive. (Score:3, Insightful)
Erm, how do you figure that you don't have to worry about losing your work? The BiggerDisk is 4x250GB drives RAID 0'd together, so instead of risking your work on one drive going bad, you're going to lose your work if any of the 4 drives go bad (somebody else can to the MTBF calculation - it's not 4x more fragile, but it's not far off).
CF Cards (Score:2)
2GB cards appear to start at $133 on pricewatch.
I've heard other folks have had trouble with these wearing out, though.
20G Archos GMINI120 (Score:2, Interesting)
Cruzer Mini (Score:2, Informative)
I switch between Mac an PC quite abit and this is perfect as it does not require a driver for MacOS v9.1 or higher or for win2000 and XP.
Try... (Score:2)
Lots of funky advice in here (Score:2, Informative)
Use a Firewire/USB2 to a small 3.5" combo enclosure (some are barely larger than the drive, which is damn small).
250+ GB... works on USB1 (ie. everything), USB2, and Firewire systems. No worries.
Slow day on Slashdot (Score:5, Funny)
Dear slashdot, I am looking for some kind of input device that allows me to enter words onto my computer. Can you help.
Seriously, why is this on the front page - when anyone with half a brain can figure out the answer is either a $40 USB key or an iPod or equivalent depending on the size.
Drivedock (Score:2)
Personally I use a no-name 2-bay 3.5" firewire enclosure with an aftermarket Zalman fan and a resistor on the fan to slow it down. Its very quiet and reasonably cool, and I rarely move it so the size isn't an iss
Smart-drive (Score:2)
From my experience so far, avoid Firewire+USB combo devices like the plague. My old external enclosure cannot be made to work using kernels > 2.6.4 using either USB2 or Fir
PQI iStick (Score:5, Interesting)
It's absolutely minute - far smaller than any other USB key device I've seen. It has a funny shaped contact at the end that looks like it shouldn't fit in a USB port but works perfectly.
It's made of study plastic and comes with a wallet-sized carrier/protector slightly larger than a credit card. Mine is a mere 64mb but they come in flavours all the way up to 1gb.
It works out of the box with no problems. You can use a small utility that comes on a mini-CD to add a password protected partition.
It even has a cool LCD embedded under a thin layer of plastic that gives a funky glow when transferring!
Heartily recommended. (Usual disclaimer: no relationship whatsoever with manufacturers or retailers other than I like their product.)
Tiny Storage Drives. (Score:2)
They have 2 tiny USB2 drives that range from 20 to 80 gigs. And support just about any OS that has USB drivers.
this one [thinkgeek.com]
"MAC OS 8.6 or higher
Windows 98/98SE/ME/2000/XP
Linux Kernel 2.4.5 or higher
DOS level support"
Or this one [thinkgeek.com]:
"Requires Microsoft Windows 98/98SE/2000/Me/XP, Macintosh OS 8.6+, or Linux Kernel 2.4+, available USB Port (To achieve USB 2.0 speeds, your computer must be USB 2.0 enabled), CD-ROM Drive for driver installation or
External USB/FW drive - get the iPod (Score:2, Interesting)
The iPod, with an extra dock, is a far superior solution. And the bonus of playing your tunes allows you to completely separate yo
a few options... (Score:2)
I Use 3 Types Depending on Need (Score:2)
128MB USB key
MMC Reader and multiple MMC cards
20GB Archos MP3 player / hard disk
The USB key is just handy and easy to take anywhere. It's the sneakernet of our day.
The MMC cards can be read by my Palm, used in my camera, and the small USB reader plugs into everything else. Lots of small, easy to carry storage. Hard part is keeping track of all the small MMC cards.
The Archos is a multi-function unit that does the heavy lifting, yet is still quite portable. (Y
Smartphone and internet (Score:3, Insightful)
The main problem with the portable solutions I've tried, such as zip disks, cd burners, usb doohickies and handheld storage is that you need to actually carry it around. And hassle with hooking stuff up to use it. Things you have to carry around can get broken.
Also, you have the issue of instant access anywhere. Sure you can use a USB keychain, but can you read it at the mall without a device?
In any event, you need a device, that device might as well be your cell phone, since you carry it everywhere. The smartphones out now have little insertable media; this might do the trick for you, but you still have the issue of syncing and all that bother.
So my solution is to keep my data on broadband server, access it from anywhere with my smartphone, access from work/home on my broadband connection.
The best of all worlds, even backed up regularly by the sever admins.
Horrid Requirements (Score:4, Insightful)
No budget requirement, except small.
No physical size requirement, except small.
No capacity requirement, except big.
So basically, you don't know what you want, probably don't know why you want it, what it has to do, or what you're willing to spend on it, but you want the answer?
Good luck.
Re:Horrid Requirements (Score:5, Insightful)
Had the original asker asked a very specific question about portable storage just for his needs, he probably would have gotten a bunch of answers suggesting one and the same thing and no-one else would have got anything out of the entire discussion. Now we have the opportunity to discuss different portable storage solutions where each and every slashdotter can find a solution that fits his/her needs instead of just the needs of the person who asked the original question.
That's what Ask Slashdot is about.
What about this? (Score:2, Funny)
Never mind..
ars technica usb review (Score:5, Informative)
I'll second the vote for an iPod if you want more than that. I just bought a 20GB 3G iPod from our local university bookstore for $250, since the new 4G model just came out.
An iPod is not ideal (Score:3, Interesting)
If you're bringing a lot personal of stuff to work every day, you're better off just getting a bus-powered USB2 2.5" hard drive enclosure. Or finding a way to shift your stuff onto a server that's accessible from work. For example, I have all of my emails on Gmail, so I don't need to think about humping them 'round on a drive.
Partly sarcastic (Score:3, Insightful)
Ext SATA? (Score:3, Interesting)
No drivers and only a reboot away to very highspeed transfers.
iFolder (Score:3, Insightful)
Put another way, the network is your hard drive....
The last computer I used that wasn't on the net was getting DBAN'd for the junk heap, er, garage sale.
Overkill (Score:3, Informative)
How about the iPod? (Score:3, Interesting)
Of course you could also look at some of the cheaper alternatives such as the Dell Digital Jukebox or iRiver.
2.5" USB/Firewire (Score:4, Interesting)
http://www.frontierpc.com/productlist.aspx?Categor yID=CA-1705/ [frontierpc.com]
has a really good selection. If you're looking at USB enclosures, make sure you get one that either has an external power supply, or has a second USB/ ps2 connector to draw power when you're not on a powered USB hub or are on an older laptop.
My 40 GB ipod... (Score:4, Informative)
15GB for my moderated music collection, the rest of the space as a mirror of my
Anyway, if ipod (I *REFUSE* to mac up the spelling of ipod) is too pricey, try a USB/firewire 2.5" hdd enclosure; relatively cheap (particularly if you take a trip to asia) and quite small, size of a small PDA; so relatively portable. Most come self powered (from usb/firewire) or with a separate USB~power cable.
Anyway, just my 0.02.
err!
jak.
Re:My 40 GB ipod... (Score:3, Interesting)
Linux *can* read ntfs, mac too... given correct modules; writing to NTFS from linux is fun but ultimately painful. The solution is to use vfat for portability.
In my opinion anyway
err!
jak.
Well, here's your problem.... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Depnds on the time for which you want to store (Score:3)
Maybe I'm just operating on past experience with floppies and I don't trust anything magnetic and plastic for long periods of time.
Re:FireFly & FireLite from SmartDisk / iPod (Score:3, Informative)
You can find 15 and 20 GB iPods for $199 to $249
You get both firewire AND USB + well
It also gives you solitare and breakout to boot!
My extra 2 to reply to the parent - the iPod is the smallest drive that includes both firewire and USB (that I know of) - to me there is no comparison in terms of speed and data integrity - firewire USB