7/25/2011

External Hard Drives: Obsolete?

7/25/2011 06:02:00 AM David Weldy 2 comments

About four months ago, I bought a Seagate 1 terabyte external hard drive from Amazon for what I thought was the ridiculous price of just $49.99. I remember just a couple of years ago you could not get one of these for less than $200. So, I jumped at the chance to buy one those external hard drives to solve all my backup woes. It even came with a software program that automatically backed up all your data for you. Unfortunately, that program was only for thirty days before you had to pay $29.99. I felt that price was about $10 too high. I have refused to pay it. So, I have to manually back up my data from my computer to my Seagate Hard Drive. It's no big deal. But, that was before I got an email from Comcast. They have a program where they give you three gigabytes for free with their backup program (which I believe is Mozy). So, I decided you can never have too many backup programs. Three gigabytes was more than enough to backup all my data from my computer.

In fact, this Comcast program works so well, that I really see no need for my external hard drive any longer. Carbonite, Mozy and iDrive are just three online backup sites to utilize now. This external hard drive is just taking up desk space. So, the thought occurred to me, now I understand why Amazon sold this Seagate Hard Drive so cheaply. They are going the way of the Zip Drive, that long ago backup system. I think if you read this article (link), you can get a better grasp of how technology is rapidly evolving. I still remember fondly the old VCR. I'll never get over the excitement of being able to rent a movie anytime I wanted one. But, like the external hard drive, the VCR has seen its better days.

I'll still use my Seagate external hard drive to store music files and pics. Like all hard drives, they are susceptible to crashes. I'd rather take my chances with something free like the Comcast online backup program. If you blink your eyes in today's ever changing world, you are apt to miss something. It still amazes me how technology changes so quickly.

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Posted in: 1 terabyte external hard drive,1tb external hard drive,computer external hard drives,external hard drive deals,external hard drives,external hard drives 1tb,seagate external hard drive

2 comments:

Jessa Dobbs says:

7/28/11, 11:03 AM

I'm computer capable, but certainly no expert. I've been looking at external hard drives for a while in an effort to clean up my lap; too many files are things that I want to save, but take up valuable space (approx a bajillion baby pictures, more and more being taken daily)

Honestly though, I'm wary of using some sort of remote server or whatnot, because what happens if it fails? I'd lose everything would I not?

Maybe I'm just like those crazy people who don't use banks because "What if they go under and you lose everything?" or those older people who just can't keep up with the new technologies. I still like my jump drive... and an external hard drive appeals to me as well.

*shrugs* I can't wait until my children get old enough to make fun of me for not being on their level technology-wise.

Jessica Dobbs
http://onceamomdobbs.blogspot.com/

David Weldy says:

7/29/11, 9:03 AM

Jessa, I do a little computer maintence on the side now that I am retired. I have to say that a lot of people are just using flash usb drives to save their pics and documents these days. But, you can't back up an entire hard drive on these smart drives. The thing about Mozy and Carbonite is they have backups to their backups. Meaning, they take no chances losing a customer's data. If they do that, they will suffer the consequences. I just see online backup as the wave of the future. I appreciate your comment.