Pocketec Pockey DataStor USB 2.0 30GB: this device packs a lot of storage into a small, ultra-portable space.They say you can never be too rich, or too thin. They never mentioned "or have too much hard drive space." I'm guessing I'll never be rich or thin, but I do have enough hard drive space, and it's external, portable, hot-pluggable, bus-powered, thin, and light. I've been using the Pocketec Pockey DataStor USB USB in full Universal Serial Bus Type of serial bus that allows peripheral devices (disks, modems, printers, digitizers, data gloves, etc.) to be easily connected to a computer. 2.0 30GB hard drive for several months now, and can't imagine traveling without it. This is by far the smallest and lightest external hard drive I've run across. Even sweeter, it doesn't require a power supply (it pulls its power from its USB cable connection). You can get these babies in sizes ranging from 20GB to 60GB, providing a huge amount of offline storage Refers to disks and tapes that are kept in a data library. Offline data cannot be accessed from a computer or terminal until it is mounted in the drive. . They aren't as cheap as an internal IDE drive, but the prices seem reasonable for what you get: a standard 2.5" IDE hard drive, with an aluminum case, soft case, and the required (and easily replaceable) USB cable. Like most USB 2.0 devices, the Pockey drives provide blazing speed (ostensibly os·ten·si·ble adj. Represented or appearing as such; ostensive: His ostensible purpose was charity, but his real goal was popularity. 480Mbps) when connected to a USB 2.0 port, but a much pokier 12Mbps when connected to a legacy USB 1.1 port. However, few laptop devices currently provide USB 2.0 ports, so you'll probably have to purchase an inexpensive USB 2.0 PC Card device to take advantage of the significant speed increase you get with USB 2.0. (Laptops are trickling in with USB 2.0 support; you'll see much broader support this year.) Power woes Although the Pockey drive receives sufficient power from a USB 1.1 port to run at the slower speed, it simply doesn't get enough power from PC Card-based USB 2.0 ports. Try all you like, but that PC Card slot A socket for inserting a printed circuit board or a PC Card (CardBus card). See PC Card. just doesn't supply enough juice. It coughs and sputters like your manual starting lawn mower (without the noise and smoke), hut never quite spins up. To solve the problem, Pocketec ships a PS/2 and USB-based power cable that provides a pass-through PS/2 connector A 6-pin Mini-DIN plug and socket used to connect a keyboard and mouse to a computer. First introduced on IBM's PS/2 desktop PC, the port was later used by everybody else, first on laptops, then on desktops. Subsequently, many PS/2 connections have been replaced with USB. See DIN connector. (so you can still plug in a PS/2-based mouse), pulling power Pulling Power is a regional motoring programme shown only in the Central Television region on ITV1 since 1996. However it has been shown on the ITV1 network on a series trial basis and also as a filler programme at times. from that port. If that port doesn't supply enough power, the cable also includes a USB connector, so you can try stealing some power from another USB port A USB socket on a computer or peripheral device into which a USB cable is plugged. See USB. on your computer. It isn't a perfect solution, but it works; and, until more laptop computers supply USB 2.0 ports, it's the best solution. (If you're near an electrical outlet, you can also supply power directly to most USB 2.0 PC Card devices. The one I'm using, from IOGear, has a standardized 5V power supply that works with several other devices I use.) Of course, like any powered device, the Pockey will suck the life out of your laptop's battery. I used mine to listen to some favorite tunes during a recent flight, and the battery definitely drained faster. I haven't done any scientific tests, but the drive, running constantly as it does when providing a source of MP3 files, takes a measurable amount of power. UpShot 1 use the 30GB Pockey drive constantly, for two main purposes. I've put aside 15GB for MP3 format copies of my large CD collection, so I can listen to music on the road. The other 15GB contain copies of the installation CDs for all the software I use, in case I have to rebuild my laptop while traveling. I'm also extremely paranoid about losing work, so I regularly copy projects I'm working on to the Pockey drive while I'm on the road. That way, should my laptop ever "walk," or its hard drive fail, I have a backup with me. The drive easily fits into a shirt pocket or small bag, so I'm protected. I don't travel without my Pockey--it's saved me too many times. ADVISOR EVAL BUSINESS BENEFITS Who couldn't make use of 20-60GB of extra storage space? This external hard drive is ultra-portable and a good value. (+) A ton of storage in a small package (+) No need for a separate power supply (+) Extremely zippy when plugged into a USB 2.0 port (+) Requires no software drivers on Windows XP/2000/ME (-) Using a PC Card-based USB 2.0 port makes it tricky to get enough power to the drive (-) Data transfer is quite slow using the USB 1.1 port you'll find on most current laptops (-) Requires provided software drivers for Windows 98/95 Pocketec http://www.pocketec.net Pocketec Pockey DataStor USB 2.0 30GB SIZE: 0.5" height; 5" length; 3" width; 5.5 ounces STORAGE: 30GB BATTERY LIFE: N/A BATTERIES: N/A PORTS: USB 2.0 or USB 1.1 INCLUDES: Soft case & USB 2.0 cable VERSIONS Pocketec Pockey DataStor USB 2.0 20GB US$199.95 Pocketec Pockey DataStor USB 2.0 30GB US$249.95 Pocketec Pockey DataStor USB 2.0 40GB US$299.95 Pocketec Pockey DataStor USB 2.0 60GB U55399.95 Technical Editor Ken Getz is a programmer, technical writer, educator, and senior consultant with MCW MCW Medical College of Wisconsin MCW Modulated Continuous Wave MCW Meal, Cold Weather (food ration) MCW Mason City, IA, USA - Mason City Municipal Airport (Airport Code) Technologies. He develops custom applications and tools using ASP.NET, Visual Studio .NET A suite of programming languages and development tools from Microsoft that supports the .NET environment. Upon its introduction in 2001, it included Visual C# and .NET versions of Visual Basic and Visual C++. See .NET. , and Microsoft Office Microsoft's primary desktop applications for Windows and Mac. Depending on the package, it includes some combination of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and Outlook along with various Internet and other utilities. , and spends much of his free time researching and testing mobile hardware. He's been a Microsoft MVP (Multimedia Video Processor) A high-speed DSP chip from Texas Instruments, introduced in 1994. Officially introduced as the TMS320C80, it combines RISC technology with the functionality of four DSPs on one chip. award winner since the program began. Ken teaches ASP.NET, C#, and VB.NET (Visual Basic .NET) An object-oriented programming language from Microsoft. It is the .NET version of the Visual Basic (VB) programming language. Like all .NET languages, VB.NET uses the Common Language Runtime (CLR) for program execution. VB. for Application Developers Training Company, and is a frequent speaker at Microsoft events, Advisor DevCon, and other technical conferences. He's co-author of ASP.NET Jumpstart with contributing editor Paul D. Sheriff (SAMS SAMS Scottish Association for Marine Science SAMS Space Acceleration Measurement System SAMS South American Missionary Society (of the Episcopal Church, Inc) SAMS School of Advanced Military Studies (US Army) ), Access 2002 Developer's Handbook series, and VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) A subset of Visual Basic that provides a common language for customizing Microsoft applications. VBA supports COM, which allows a VBA script to invoke internal functions within Excel, Word and other COM-based programs or to make use of Developer's Handbook (Sybex). http://www.developershand book.com, keng@mcwtech.com. |
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