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At long-postponed spring cleaning sessions around the desk, a floppy disk or two falls out from a forgotten corner and a smile slowly spreads as thoughts turn to how time and technology have whizzed by.
More than half a decade ago, a reporter returned from an assignment and excitedly showed me a device called a "thumb drive". With eyes round with amazement, he excitedly detailed how the little device could store information saved on several floppy disks.
Today, my first and long-lost 64MB flash drive hardly holds a candle against the 2GB drive stowed in my bag, along with 80GB HDD (just in case) and the other 1GB flash drive,as you never know when the unexpected will happen, not to add its titanium casing made it too attractive not to buy.
There is no denying, technology has made storage so very portable, but the real challenge for companies is to make the packaging as exciting as what's inside.
That brings us to Seagate. It's a name we all are familiar with since the company makes products that allows our computers to become the treasure-trove of memories that we get lost in but give little or no thought to till what we all dread happens, and everything that's stored is lost.
While what the company makes IS important, hard disks can hardly be called eye candy in any way. Sure, it has given us a storage device that's been described as a donut but even the circular portable storage was well, boring, like the other HDD boxes.
Now, Seagate is anything but boring.
Out has gone the drab grey that dressed its external hard drives and it has trimmed them down in a sleek and sexy makeover that will have you taking more than just a second look at the new line-up.
The device that few would notice before, is now hard to miss, and it's a missed chance if you don't give it a once-over or even go further and take one home.
Don't lump it with the rest of the portable hard disks because this prefers to be known as the FreeAgent and a data mover, thank you very much.
There is the FreeAgent Go, Pro and Desktop, all of which have been billed as beautiful and functional, a claim that is no PR hand-out.
When the FreeAgent Pro popped out of the box, like my colleague of half a decade ago, my eyes were round with amazement too. It was beautiful.
This is a storage device which really scores well in the design department with a coating of deep brown-black that gives off a subtle shine, along with grooves of fine lines that add visual texture but not a rough touch.
Its shape is a break-away from the usual square or rectangle that you'd see with most other HDDs, with one corner swooping gently but not making it hard to grasp.
Although it's designed to sit on a desk-top, it's a waste to have it hiding in your study or office. With Microsoft Vista able to manage your media for viewing on your TV, you'd want to have the Seagate FreeAgent Pro joining your entertainment hub with only an orange glow to remind you of its presence as you dim the lights.
Being whisper quiet, you'll forget that it's there. You'll know the device is on only from its amber-light accents. Yes, I can look at it for hours.
Being good-looking alone will defeat the whole purpose of its existence and your purchase, but there's no need to worry on that count.
It works as good as it looks.
The FreeAgent Pro comes either with a standard USB 2-eSATA port or with swappable interfaces for FireWire 400 transfers.
Connecting to the PC was a no-brainer with the FreeAgent Pro identified and ready to go in about 15 seconds, with no additional programs to install or run. The only installation pop-up was for data managing software that comes with access to 500 megabytes of password protected online space so you can store and back-up what you've already backed up on your FreeAgent Pro.
Transfers using the USB 2 port were fast and problem-free, and the device was happy to remain connected to the PC powering up and off accordingly without any hassles.
The only grouse is that the FreeAgent Pro wasn't configured to be a plug and play device on both Windows and Mac. While the Mac had no problems 'recognising' the device and even reading what was on it, it was not possible to drag and drop anything onto the drive without first formatting it.
Although it is designated as a desk-top device, compared to a 300GB Maxtor (part of the Seagate family) that sits on my desk because it is too heavy and boxy to go anywhere else, the FreeAgent Pro which is made of aluminium, is light-weight enough to carry about.
Those who want to seriously get up and go with their storage device, should consider the FreeAgent Go.
It didn't appeal much to me as it is as large as any other pocket-sized HDD on the market. The FreeAgent Go measures 1.85 cm long, 12.2 cm wide and 9.9 cm thick, which means it really can't compete with slimmer portable HDDs since size does matter in this category.
Those who will go beyond the looks of it all, will find the FreeAgent Go a handy device to tote along since it allows users to save their favourite Websites to quickly launch wherever and whenever, along with passwords and settings, email and contacts.
What's even better is that when the device is unplugged, it will leave no trace that you'd been on the host computer, so there is peace of mind.
The FreeAgent Go is priced between S$169 (80GB) and S$259 (160GB) which makes the desktop models in price comparison, a better buy.
If you are willing to carry along a larger but not necessarily bulkier or heavier external hard disk, the FreeAgent Pro and FreeAgent (only with USB 2 connection) are worth considering.
They can keep you out of trouble with capacities ranging from 250-500GB for the FreeAgent and 320-750GB for the FreeAgent Pro, along with affordable price-tags, from S$299 for 500GB and S$569 for 750GB (with USB2-eSATA and FireWire ports).
And don't forget, the desktop models are also just too good-looking.
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