aNewDomain — If you’re using a cloud storage system like Dropbox or an online backup system like Carbonite, you may think you no longer need to back up your data, but history has proven that redundant backup systems provide an added insurance policy that everyone should have.
Hardware
The Seagate Backup Plus Slim Portable Drive, just one external drive in a robust field, provides an easy-to-access local backup that can cover your entire digital life, including data from your computer, the cloud, mobile devices and social networks.
The sleek metal case comes in black, red, silver and blue. This time, that usually arbitrary color scheme is actually advantageous — if you want to own more than one drive, you can purchase different colors and identify which is which just by glancing at them. The Backup Plus provides a SATA drive with up to 2 TB of capacity. At 4.49 inches (113.5 mm) by 2.99 Inches (76 mm), the device is both compact and good looking.
The Backup Plus comes with an 18-inch USB 3.0 cable, which is, of course, backward compatible with USB 2.0. There’s no bulky power supply needed, either. Just plug it in and install the software that is pre-loaded on the drive. There’s a NTFS driver for Mac and standard Windows formatting, so it should have no issue with your OS.
One additional perk is that you can use the drive interchangeably between Windows and Mac computers without reformatting the drive. This is a real boon to switch-hitters like me who use both operating systems constantly.
Dashboard Software
The drive’s included backup software works well and is easy to use. Called Seagate Dashboard, the software has a simple interface. It allows you to back up continuously or on a pre-determined schedule. While this drive works very quickly when using USB 3.0, it makes the USB 2.0 pace suddenly feel sluggish.
My testing showed that the continuous backup works great on newer machines with the USB 3.0 interface, but really slowed down my older USB 2.0 computers. So, if you’re using an older computer, you may want to opt for the scheduled backups.
You can also install the Seagate mobile app to your device for free – it works for Android on Google Play and Apple iOS. This allows you to back up from social media sources like Facebook and Flickr, and lets you share content to YouTube seamlessly.
As I write this, the Seagate Backup Plus Slim Portable Drive comes in three sizes: 500 GB, 1 TB and 2TB. Prices at the manufacturer’s website are: $64.99, $69.99 and $99.99 respectively. Over the years, portable hard drives have really improved – storage continues to rise as prices drop.
Seagate has kept improving the quality and ease-of-use of its drives, while lowering the prices, too. It also offers a two-year limited warranty, which is nice in case you get a faulty piece of hardware. Whether you use this device to extend the storage space of your computer, or as a way keep multiple copies of your files in case disaster strikes, you’ll find it quite useful.
For aNewDomain, I’m Sandy Berger.
Seagate Images and Screenshots: Sandy Berger
Featured Image: Dollar Photo Club
