Guest Author - Michelle Anne Cope

This year, I’m asking Santa Claus for an external hard drive so I can transfer my entire music collection off my laptop. Santa wrote back and asked me for more information.

A few months ago, I transferred all of my CDs onto my laptop. I have been adding to it on a weekly basis with purchases from iTunes. Problem: I’m losing some space on my hard drive, nothing too serious, but enough that I’ve decided to ask Santa for an external hard drive.

What is an external hard drive? Well, we all know that a hard drive is a component of any computer that stores data. This data can be programs files, text files, music, video and/or pictures. An external hard drive serves the same exact purpose. The difference is that an external hard drive can sit outside of the computer and is connected by a cable – these days usually an USB cable.

The benefit of having an external hard drive is that it allows you to store things, like music collections, away from your computer’s main hard drive. This gives you more room for additional programs as well as room to breathe for other data.

My goal is to find an external hard drive that is easy to use. I want to plug it in and drag and drop my files. I also want to be able to easily take it with me when I travel.

I started out by looking at huge external hard drives – 500 GB to be exact. I doubt that I really need this much room, however, one can never over plan when it comes to music. And, although right now my media collection is mostly music, I might also look at adding some music videos in the future. But, I have to keep in mind what I have now, so I decided to look at something a little smaller.

I turned to the internet for research. The best possible tool you can use whether you are looking for external hard drives or electric mixers is the reviews that are written by customers who have already purchased the product. I’ve found that a lot of retail websites use the same system as Amazon.com when it comes to listing customer product reviews – positive and negative.

Don’t let the negative reviews scare you. I’ve found in the past that sometimes the complaints in negative reviews are about things that I didn’t really expect from the product in the beginning. Yet, at other times, I’ve found doubtful reviews that are very fair and diplomatic about any negative traits of the product and the things that I really did expect it to do.

Right now, I’m looking at the Iomega 160 GB eGo USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive. It’s red and very sharp looking. It’s wasn’t just the color or the design that caught my eye, it’s also the reviews, both positive and negative, that caught my attention. The price is good and since this is my first venture into the world of external hard drives, I decided that 160 GB would be just fine.

I will let you know what Santa thinks and if it does make its way under the tree, I will let you know how it works, or better yet, how I work it!

Let me know if you have experience with this model or have your own favorite.

Have a great week!
Chel