Smart Tech Buy

While writing about several external hard drives in the past, we at SmartTechBuy have not focused much on Apple products.  Enter the Apple Time Capsule, so named as to back up a lifetime worth of your data!  At 1 TB worth of storage space, it’s true that the Time Capsule should be able to back up your present and future life, that is until we go entirely virtual.  What makes this external hard drive different however is that it is also a wireless router so you can network several computers to this for storage.

Windows users might find it interesting that they have the ability to use the Apple Time Capsule, although Mac users will obviously reap the greatest benefit via Leopard’s Time Machine feature.

At prices starting at around $498, the Time Capsule is very pricey for the amount of storage it offers, but hey, it’s an Apple.  Click here to find the cheapest deal on the Apple Time Capsule and if it’s what you have been searching for in your home office.

You can also find the Apple Time Capsule in a 500 GB version.

Well have no fear, here’s a few tech ways you can apologize to your sweetie.

Suggestion#1
(I call this the “Nothing says I’m sorry like giving her proof you screwed up so she can whip it out in the future for whatever argument to prove that you are, once again, wrong.”)

Suggestion#2
(The “I’m sorry and here’s something expensive that tells you just how sorry I am.” approach)

This is the strategy where you purchase her that kewl laptop she’s always wanted as a token of your love for her that she can take with her wherever she goes.

Of course, nothing will make this gesture quite as impressive as using your digital camera to take a self-portrait and using your favorite image editing program add a heart-felt message or poem — then setting it to be her default background. Or you could go with something a little less embarrassing and generic.

Here’s an example:

Suggestion#3
(The “that was the last straw so she left me, now I’m going going to get myself a consolation item.”)

This past Christmas, I saw a lot of deals on external hard drives, especially ones that had a terabyte (TB) memory capacity.  Wow, that’s huge!  A TB for those that don’t know, is the equivalent of 1,000 gigs.  To my even greater shock, I found out that there are hard drives out there that have 2 TB capacity!!!

Holy cow, I’m not sure what anyone outside of a digital movie production studio would need that type of memory, but it’s just so cool!  Just for a little perspective, this is what YOU could do with 2 TB of memory:

Photos - 640,000
Videos - 2,000 hours
Music - 33,320 hours

Check out external hard drives today and start filling it up (and backing up your data)!

Looking for cool tech-gifts to give people for Christmas? Well, let me suggest some cool little USB drives because they’re portable, able to store large amounts of data, convenient, and they are getting stylish. Heck, some are even collectables in limited edition sets! Trend setters, nerds, and the average Joe can take pride in sporting these babies at the local internet hotspot or Cybercafé.

mimobot: Designer USB Flash Drives
These little suckers combine technology and art in one twistedly cute way and are a good way to tell people you have a sense of humor. These drives come in 512MB, 1GB, 2GB, and 4GB capacities which range in price from $39.95 to $109.95 and are manufactured by mimoco a self described “…designer toy studio meets consumer electronics brand…” Heck, I believe them. These USB drives are sure to delight children, teens, and adults alike. With their Halo, Starwars, and Happy Tree Friends lines of USB drives as well as their limited edition designer lines, these USB drive are the definition of cool and hip collectables. Get them before they run out!

Sony Micro Vault 4GB
The Sony Micro Vault is a fine example of class with its black with silver trim motif. Extremely modern and sleek, it won’t seem out of place at the company meeting or at your desk. Its USB port slides in for protection leaving no cap to be accidentally misplaced and its large capacity for storage (4GB) makes it an extremely portable alternative to a full sized USB external hard drive. However, priced at $79.99 you may want to carefully consider your needs before getting this as an external hard drive will provide you with more space for a little more money.

Corsair Flash Survivor 16GB
The Corsair Flash Survivor not only looks rugged — it is rugged. Encased in aircraft-grade aluminum, water resistant to 200M with its waterproof seal, and protected from vibration or impact damage with a molded shock dampening collar this little soldier can be take practically anywhere. Its storage capacity is an awesome 16GB which is the size of a small hard drive! I imagine black ops soildiers use these things to ensure survivability of their precious information… or not. In anycase, this little soldier comes with the True Crypt security application (Windows Vista/XP/2000 only) which allows you to encrypt your drive with AES-256 encryption to make sure your files stay safe from prying eyes. All this protection does come at a price however, $199.99 to be exact. If you have extremely important data that needs to be really portable tho, this is the way to go.

Victorinox SwissMemory 1GB
I will be dating myself by saying this, but I don’t care. Growing up watching MacGyver and his little adventures everyday made me think that Victorinox was the coolest company with the “awesome-est” product — the Swiss Army Knife. Seeing the way he got out of all those predicaments with only his Swiss Army Knife, it made me want one! Through the years however, my tastes have changed and well, it doesn’t seem as cool to have one anymore. That was, until now. Victorinox has come out with the SwissMemory line which includes a 1GB USB 2.0 Drive model priced at $112 even. High-tec and old-tec?! Count me in! Now if only they’d bring back MacGyver, except this time, he’s a hacker that uses his USB… nah,that’s just plain retarded.

If those USB drives don’t suit your tastes, you can take a look at the ubiquitous “others” to see if there is anything there you find a bit more to your liking.

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#1.  Dell XPS 720:  I need a new computer and the Dell XPS 720 fits the bill.  With 2GB of RAM, 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Q6600 Quad-core chip, 256MB nVidia GeForce 8600 GTS, and 500 GBs this is the perfect machine to help me play today’s PC games, work, and watch media.

#2.  Samsung HL-S7178271″ Rear-Projection DLP TV:  I might spend a lot of time on the computer, but I also love watching TV.  Oh how I would love to watch the Lakers play on a 71″ 1080p DLP TV!

#3.  Bose Acoustimass 16 Series II 6.1 Home Theatre System:  How can you watch TV on a 71″ TV and not have a Home Theatre System?  That should be criminal.  I want to bring the theatre experience in my living room or, better yet, experience video games live I never did before.  Imagine playing Halo 3 or Call of Duty with surround sound on a 71″ TV…..

#4.  Apple 8 GB iPhone & Accessories:  iPod + Phone + Safari browser makes this a perfect combination.  You can watch YouTube videos, surf the net, play flash games, or even listen to free music with the internet capabilities of the iPhone.  Of coarse as an iPod, you can listen to your iTunes or mp3s!  Best of all, you know longer have to carry a phone and an iPod.  Of coarse, to best utilize the iPhone you need to get the accessories for it: ear phones to drown out the outside world, car adaptor to keep it charges even on the road, and a carrying case to protect it.

#5.  Garmin GPS Map:  If you have ever been in the same car as me, you would know I get lost more than Ryoga Hibiki of Ranma!  Well, I did not get GPS with my car, but now I can.  I normally leave 30 min to an 1 hr before Mapquest says I need to leave to get somewhere because I get so lost.  If I had a Garmin, I would not have too!  Of course there are alot of different Garmin’s depending on your price level. 

#6.  Shure SE310:  Do you want to use noise cancelling head phones but do not like how it catches your hair, squeeze your head, or look like huge ear muffs?  Well, now you can get noise cancelling ear phones and eliminate those problems.  The Shure SE310 not only blocks out the sound around you but also has strong base.  

#7.  Tivo HD:  Do you have a HD DVR from your cable or dish company?  Are you frustrated by the fact it does not skip commercials or does not have enough memory?  Are you annoyed by its crappy search capabilities?  Do you want to be able to program your HD DVR from the internet or move shows from your HD DVR to your computer but you can not?  Well now you can with the Tivo HD.  Tivo started the DVR industry and is still ahead of the cable companies when it comes to usability, features, and quality.  

#8.  Lingo Voyager II12 Language Pocket Translator:  During the last year, I went to China, Korea, and Japan, and I had no clue what anyone was saying.  The Lingo Voyager II and other translators would have helped me a lot.  Even if I could not understand what they were saying, I wish I could have asked for directions.  Tokyo was not much of an issue, but no one in Shanghai or Seoul (unless I was in my hotel) was able to understanding me.  Pocket translators are a must buy for foreign travels who are not familiar with the are they are traveling too.

#9.  VUDU Box:  Sometimes I want to rent a movie without having to go to a Blockbuster or putting it on my Netflix que.  The VUDU Box lets you do just that by allowing you to rent movies online.  Of coarse you can just rent it for 24 hrs, but you can just rent it the instant you are read!

#10.  Victorinox SwissMemory 2GB Flash Drive:  Most people, such as myself, love Swiss Army pocket knives, and now I have a justification to carry it around at work.  It is not a pocket knife its a pocket flash drive!  The utility of a pocket knife merged with a flash drive.   I probably would never use anything but the flash drive. but its cool….

If you’ve been told once, you’ve probably been told many times: Backup! Backup! Backup Your Files! Let’s face it, losing your data sucks and it is very expensive to recover so, backing up your files will save you time and money. CDs and DVDs are great, but they can scratch easily and, like vampires, have adverse reactions to the sun so my backup media of choice is the external HDD. I currently have two MadDog USB2.0/Firewire External HDD enclosures with a 233GB and 250GB Toshiba HDD, a SeaGate 750GB FreeAgent Pro drive, and a Western Digital 120GB Passport Drive. Life spans for these HDD vary but typically, you can expect the drive to work for as long as the warranty on them is (usually 3 or 5 years).

MadDog 3.5” HDD enclosures
If you have working spare HDDs laying around and don’t know what to do with them, this would be a good way to go. I have a black aluminum anodized Mega Vault enclosure with FireWire and USB2.0. It stays fairly cool to the touch even if I have it running all day and the big “Mad Dog” logo on the front lights up a bright blue so it is easy to tell when it is on or if my computer is accessing information from it. The FireWire connection makes transfers fast and that makes manually backing up files easy and painless. However, because it is just an enclosure it does not have a backup program and there is no encryption on the drive which leaves your files exposed and easily accessed. However, in exchange, it gives you the flexibility to choose the size of the HDD and swap out old or damaged ones which can save you money in the long run as long as the enclosure works.

Western Digital Passport Drive (80-250GB)
Small and portable, yet lots of space to store extraneous files to keep my Laptop’s HDD lean. The WD Sync™ tool is easy to configure and use and comes with a “Lost and Found” feature where you can input your details incase you ever lose your drive and an honest person picks it up.

Passport is able to import your bookmarks from IE or FireFox and has a secure browsing feature in which all the temp files from your internet surfing are stored on the WD Passport Drive and not on the internet café’s computer so only you will know where you’ve been. The only gripe I have about this function is that I like to use FireFox but the secure browsing feature only works with IE — which is probably why all of your stored bookmarks open only in IE as well. The program also keeps all files that you have synced with it on the HDD so if you work with your files on a public computer there will be no copies of that file transferred to the computer and the changes you made will be synced to your computer when you return home. There is one small light on the front to indicate if the drive is on or is being accessed.

Notes: when you get this drive you may want to go to options>file options and check to see that you are backing up all file extensions or else you may just think you are backing everything up and find that files are missing. Also, Passport uses AES encryption so all your data will be secure from prying eyes. The only thing is, there is no way to recover a lost password which means that you will lose all your information if that happens.

SeaGate FreeAgent™ Pro (12-750GB)
Aesthetically pleasing. That is how I would describe this piece of equipment. The connection ports at the base of the device is defaulted with a USB2.0 & eSATA connection but can be swapped out with two FireWire slots so you can daisy chain it with other FireWire drives. Data transfers are fast, and the version I have (750GB) leaves more than enough room to backup all of my data.

FreeAgent™ Pro’s interface is easy to use and makes the HDD utilities easily available so you can check on the status of your external with ease. It also provides an easily accessible way to create restore points and revert back to a previous state — if that sounds familiar it should be because it is WinXP’s System Restore function with a SeaGate skin thrown on. Also apart of the package, is SeaGate’s backup software (based on Memeo’s software of the same name) which makes backing up your files to multiple locations simple and easy. An added bonus to the software is that you can choose whether to encrypt your backups or not. If you are the type to easily forget passwords, this is a god send as you can leave it unencrypted so that you can access your back-up files with ease — although it means that anyone else will be able to as well.

Some gripes I have are that the power indicator for this drive in an orange strip which encircles the drive and so is easy to see in a moderately lighted room but hard to see in bright light. The power button is a little funky as you need to hold it down longer than one would think to turn on the device — I mention this because when I had first tried to power on the drive I thought it was broken because it did not immediately respond as I expected it to.