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Western Digital - Which external storage solution is right for you?
There's a rule that you'll always fill the amount of available space, whether you're moving out of home for the first time into your own flat or jumping up the property ladder. Pretty soon, you're filling out a space that once seemed immense, and wondering how soon you can get something bigger and better. The same is true in the computer world, where the amount of storage on your PC quickly fills with today's high quality multimedia content.
It's a fair bit easier to create more room on your PC, though, and you don't even need planning permission. You don't need to open up your PC or laptop to get extra storage space, thanks to external drives. USB Flash Drives have been a popular choice, but there are still some good reasons to consider a traditional external hard drive instead, no matter what scenario you need that extra storage space for.
Storage to go
Flash drives might seem like the obvious choice here, but you're limited by the storage sizes on offer. The most affordable flash drives top out around 16GB, and for the same amount of money that you could spend on a 32GB drive, you could easily afford a 250GB or 500GB portable USB hard drive, such as Western Digital's Passport drive series.
External desktop
The same capacity for price argument applies here, but you can also benefit from the extra speed that's available with a choice of drive interfaces. Standard USB is still quick, but if you're working with video files or other complex multimedia, a Firewire or eSATA capable drive (like Western Digital's MyBook Studio Edition II) can boost your data transfer rates - and thereby your productivity - through the roof.
Home entertainment
With high megapixel DSLRs, HD camcorders and HD video, you need as much space as you can get for your home entertainment purposes. Whether it's expanding the potential of your PVR with drives such as the MyDVR Expander, or serving media out to any DLNA-capable device with a networked storage solution such as the MyBook World Edition.
Network attached storage (NAS)
Network Attached Storage sounds techy and scary, but it's a simple enough concept if you've already got a home wireless router. Plug a big hard drive (such as the Western Digital MyBook World Edition) into your router, and switch it on. Your PCs - and devices such as game consoles and some PVRs - can then see the stored contents, share its contents among themselves and back up your precious files to it with consummate ease.