eSATA

Western Digital has announced the immediate availability of a new 6TB Mac-formatted storage solution. Created with digital artists, graphic designers, photographers, legal and medical workers in mind, the dual-drive My Book Studio Edition II system is fully compatible with Apple Time Machine, supports RAID configurations, and benefits from four connectivity options. The drive bays are user-accessible for upgrades or maintenance, and there's a capacity gauge to keep you informed of how much space remains. Read More

I've had plenty to say about Apple's bizarre, pro user-hostile MacBook Pro I/O roadmap over the years - like the shock removal of FireWire 400 in late 2008 and the removal of ExpressCard from the 15" in 2009 - so it's incredibly refreshing to write about the inclusion of Thunderbolt, a decidedly "Pro" I/O interface with seemingly no downside, in the latest refresh. Read More

Plextor's new external Blu-ray writer is designed with speed in mind. The PX-LB950UE offers a 12x write speed for single-layer Blu-ray media and 8x for double layer. The company has also thrown USB 3.0 and eSATA connectivity into the mix to help keep waiting time to a minimum and there's in-device labeling technology for professional-looking disc production. Burn accuracy, quality and stability is given a boost with the inclusion of a low vibration system and 8MB buffer. Read More

Having been responsible for the daily tape backup routines in various office locations in a previous working life, I can tell you it's a royal pain in the behind. The PopDrive system from DHK Storage puts a couple of 2.5-inch form factor HDDs in a RAID configuration so that if one fails, it can be replaced without fear of data loss. The lightweight, pocket-sized unit's drives can be swapped out without the need for tools, and physical connection to a computer system is made possible via 3Gb/s eSATA or USB 2.0. Read More

The GoFlex ecosystem, heralded by Seagate as the next step in the evolution of its FreeAgent external drives, not only features a selection of USB 2.0 storage options but also a host of different interchangeable plug and play cables and adapters to give users flexibility when upgrading drives to eSATA, USB 3.0 or FireWire 800 connectivity. Read More

The laptops used by mobile gamers have to be powerful beasts in order to offer the kind of smooth, detailed graphics and slick gameplay exacting users demand. The latest example to make claim to the title of fastest laptop in the world is the X8100 from Taiwan's Clevo. The credentials begin with a choice of three Core i7 processors, either one or two nVIDIA GeForce GTX graphics processors with SLI technology support, a 18.4in full high definition display, up to 8Gb DDR3 memory, space for up to three SATA drives and touch sensitive hot keys. Read More

The biggest advantage of laptop computers over their desktop cousins is their portability, but the flipside is that they are significantly harder than desktop PCs to upgrade. Bumping up the hard drive capacity, upping the screen size, or adding better speakers can be achieved with the addition of multiple peripherals, but continuously plugging in and unplugging these extra devices can get to be a real hassle. Zemno’s DeskBook Pro portable docking station eases the pain considerably, and its ModBay Technology enables the DeskBook Pro to support internal connection of hard drives, batteries and peripherals. Read More

With the official release of Windows 7 just around the corner, Gateway has introduced a new line of all-in-one desktop PC’s that take advantage of the multi–touch capabilities of the highly anticipated operating system. The competitively priced One ZX Series combines stylish design with impressive features aimed at both the serious and more casual user. Read More

The Nexto eXtreme ND2700 is a 320GB 2.5" SATA drive in an enclosure with two memory card slots, enabling the backup of CompactFlash, SD/SDHC, MMC/MMCPlus, MS/MS Pro-HG/MS Pro MagicGate, and xD cards (and more, with an optional adapter) without a computer. It can also backup straight from your camera using the USB OTG port, and features USB 2.0 and eSATA connectors, the latter of which means you can pull data off the drive at an average of 60 megabytes per second. Read More