It all depends on what you are planning on using it for. In all honesty, not everyone is going to need a 500gb external hard drive. However, when you begin to consider how much abuse you put your personal computer through on a daily basis, you may start realizing just how much you may require such a device, but there are a few things you must consider before you head our your door!
The first thing is obvious: what do you do? If you are a photographer, then you are most definitely going to require a 500gb external hard drive, no questions asked! Your portfolios are going to be rather extensive when compared to the average image editor. You will have enhanced photos, projects that have more than one file, portraying both the final and the rough drafts. All in all, if you are a photographer, frankly, I am surprised you haven’t purchased a 500gb external hard drive yet. However, if you are like me… a writer, then a 500gb external hard drive may be a little overkill. I have been writing off and on over the past ten years, and the amount of files I have accumulated have not even come near exceeding my personal computer space. Text files are very much different from digital picture files by megabytes. All I own is a simple 10gb external hard drive, and that will continue to serve my needs for years to come.
The second thing that you must consider is whether or not you will need to carry your files to other locations. A 500gb external hard drive offers your files the ability to be transported from one location to another, especially of the hard drive carries with it the USB 2.0 connection interface feature! This feature allows your hard drive to be connected to any personal computer, receive power and start linking with the system to which it has been connected. This is just one of the many features that the 500gb external hard drive may offer users, however, that solely depends on which brand you purchase.
According to the information presented to you above, you should be able to extrapolate whether or not purchasing such an extensive external hard drive would be necessary. By examining your daily file creation and storage necessity, you will be able to determine rather quickly whether or not a 500gb external hard drive is required within your home office system and, more importantly, whether or not you will be able to come close to using everything that you have paid for. We all know that in today’s world, saving money is one of the more important things families can do right now. That said, there is such a thing as spending your way into poverty. These drives can cost anywhere between $50.00 to $100.00 more than your average external hard drive, and if you are not in true dire need of a large capacity, then why spend the money on something that will never be used?
Food for thought…
Filed under External Hard Drives Articles by on Jan 24th, 2010. Comment. 
Well, yes. Yes, you could. But would you be getting everything that is available? When you purchase just any external hard drive, would you be coming anywhere near close to tapping into the technological advances that this particular field has been developing? This may not seem like such an important thing, but when you witness what our crazy world is going through for any amount of time, you will quickly agree with me that identity theft, file protection and economical advances have become more than just luxuries… they have become necessities. This is what you must look for….
One of the main things you must look for in a external hard drive is its ability to encrypt your private files. Many of the identity theft scams during the past few years have been the direct result of people not protecting their digital files at home. One family experienced as a result of them not shredding their files before throwing them into the trash. This may seem irrelevant to the situation I am presenting, but when you think about it, ask yourself what would happen if somebody broke into your home and stole one of your external hard drives, particularly the external hard drive that had your band information stored. Or, in a more common scenario, what would happen if you were filling out an online application and had to store the file on your external hard drive because you were completing it in a public location. As soon as you get out of your seat, you accidentally drop your external hard drive… what then? If your external hard drive does not have a 128 bit encryption feature at least, you run the risk of strangers getting face to face with your personal information and, if these strangers have yet to grasp a sense of morality, your financial future as well.
Another thing to consider is space. Let’s say that you are an artist and need a backup file for your projects. Whether you are a graphic designer, photographer or a writer, you are going to need to store your files on a separate drive, even if it is for back up purposes. If you are a photographer, then you are really going to need a lot of space, that is, if you are going to be backing up your entire portfolio. That said, external hard drive systems come in various sizes and shapes, and if you are not careful, you might be getting a 500 GB external hard drive, which would take you only a few months to fill (maximum), or a 1TB external hard drive, which is exactly what you will need for your future endeavors to be preserved.
The point is – be extra careful what you purchase. Yes, you could purchase any external hard drive, but when it comes down to it, are you purchasing an external hard drive that will full meet your needs?
Filed under External Hard Drives Articles by on Jan 22nd, 2010. Comment.
You might be asking yourselves, “how will a 1tb external hard drive purchase bring me any ounce of freedom?” Well, it wont, per say, but when you think about all of the features that come inherently with a 1tb external hard drive, you might think otherwise.
The main thing that is offered by the 1tb external hard drive to users is, quite obviously, space. This particular kind of external hard drive usually comes with features that greatly enhance the users’ ability to take advantage of all the most technologically advanced software available. For example, 1tb external hard drive systems usually come with an encryption system, either a 128 bit or a 256 bit, offering a whole new level to personal security. These systems are needed in order to maintain your individuality from those that see absolutely nothing wrong with invading personal space, stealing files for the sole purpose of taking identification numbers and making a commercial benefit.
The 1tb external hard drive system can also come with Energy Star technology, saving more than just your personal identity. When you use the older external hard drive models, you would normally have to plug them into the wall, despite the fact that you connected it to your home computer with a USB cord. Now that technology has started to research more green methods in providing for the general public, the more modern 1tb external hard drive systems have a specially powering tool that runs through the USB 2.0 connection interface, empowering the 1tb external hard drive through its connection with your personal, home office computer system. That said, the levels of energy conservation are actually far more than one may believe, think or imagine! I use a 1tb external hard drive with a USB 2.0 connection interface, and it wasn’t until a few months after initially hooking it up that I started to see a real difference in my electric bill every month. The Energy Star hardware really saves you money, as well as the hassle of transporting your 1tb external hard drive from one location to another, as it can be simply connected through any USB port and be instantly powered and ready to go.
Another amazing feature that comes with the 1tb external hard drive is the level of available file storage. Many of the brands that offer 1tb external hard drive systems also offer consumers the ability to access an online storage site, offering a digital backup to any one of the many files that may carry with it a rather sensitive piece of personal information. This backup site is built right into the corporate company’s website, making it extremely safe and trustworthy to store sensitive information on, though, if you have an encryption system already in place, this particular connection may or may not be a necessary feature.
Author’s Box: this article and all of the information therein, was taken from the author’s personal experience with, and market research of 1tb external hard drive systems.
Filed under External Hard Drives Articles by on Jan 20th, 2010. Comment.
Have you ever spent serious time looking over all of the features listed besides the long line of external usb hard drive systems at your local electronic retailer? Even on any online store, you are able to find a long listing of external usb hard drive systems, all of which offer a wide variety different features applications, capable of doing amazing things, but all of which are completely unknown to you. If you are like me, then this is how you feel when you are looking at anything that has been developed over the past ten years, but it is the understanding of what these products can do for both you and your home office that make them a worthwhile investment, and I am here to help!
After months of researching and reading over all there is to know about external usb hard drive systems, I have come to understand something that I have never before considered: we need external usb hard drive systems! The level of security that it offers home offices is absolutely paramount in these volatile times! For example, just a few months ago, I read on CNN that a man had his entire identity stolen while he was still a child, and all because the technology to save his most important files and encrypt them was yet to be invented and available for the general public. After purchasing a paper shredder and other home office security measures, the one thing that he truly required to keep his digital files safe was an external usb hard drive!
One of the features that make this possible is the 256 bit encryption system! This system offers users the chance to not only save their personal information on their external usb hard drive systems, but it also offers them the ability to encrypt their files in such a way that only the user him/herself would be able to access them! What a treasure! We are now living in a world where people have no respect for one another, where people’s personal identity can be stolen by simply knowing one small number, and the general consciousness has been seared to the point of believing that, in the case of furthering one’s financial future, taking advantage of somebody else’s financial future is within moral means. The external usb hard drive system enhanced with the 256 but encryption system to assist you in avoiding such an unpleasant circumstance.
Before you can secure your files, you first must be able to get your files onto the external usb hard drive, and that is where the EMC / HD software comes into play (EMC for Microsoft OS, HD for Macintosh OS). This system offers a smooth transaction connection between your home computer and your external usb hard drive, making it possible to transfer all of the files necessary, while cutting the time of transfer in half, that is, when compared to the transfer speed of more older external usb hard drive models.
Filed under External Hard Drives Articles by on Jan 19th, 2010. Comment.