The LaCie cables are more than just looks however. The flat design makes them easier to coil and less likely to get tangled (although it seems like it would be more difficult to twist them on a meandering path from one gadget to another). The only thing missing is a clasp that would allow it to double as a bracelet for tweens. Available in several USB configurations, Firewire and eSATA. [LaCie via Unplggd]

As a fan of the bus-powered FW800 drives that have the option of USB 2.0, I was pretty happy to learn about this one. We haven't checked it out yet, though it's probably worth a Lightning Review.

The only fishy part is that it comes with "required cables and dock," which makes me wonder if it can't pull all the necessary current from the FireWire (or USB 2.0) bus to spin that baby at 7200rpm. Does it need an extra power cord? I can't imagine it would, but I'll get a firm answer. Update/Firm Answer: It's fully bus-powered, and the dock is just for convenience. In the meantime, anyone who's regularly running around with external disks full of ProTools or Final Cut projects should be on this: $190 for 500GB of smooth spinning, portable goodness.

And no, there's no such thing as a true portable 10,000rpm 2.5" drive. Not yet at least. Check back in a few months.

(I should point out that, in the course of writing this up, I found that OWC also just introduced a 7200rpm 500GB drive with FW800, the Mercury On-The-Go Pro, though they cost about $50 more.)

From Seagate's press materials:

FreeAgent Go Pro for Mac Drive

Higher performance means faster workflow, and that equals greater productivity for creative professionals who work with digital video, music, photography and graphic arts. The FreeAgent Go Pro for Mac clocks in at 7200RPMs to deliver lightening fast performance and throughput with FireWire 800/400 interface for those that need higher-data transfer, making production and editing of large multi-media files a breeze.

The Seagate FreeAgent Go Pro for Mac storage solution is slim, compact and offers fast throughput with FireWire 800 or FireWire 400 connections and includes the required cables and dock. The Seagate FreeAgent Go Pro for Mac is available this month for a manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of $129.99 USD for 250GB, $149.99 USD for 320GB and $189.99 for 500GB.

The only downside I can see some of you noting is that the bus-powered 2.5" drive is 5400rpm, so not as ideal as a 7200rpm drive for serious amounts of randomly accessed video content, but it's amazing when you're moving files around.

I tested it against other drives using a 1.04GB file (an MPEG-4 rip of my Burn After Reading DVD). When I copied that file to a nice SanDisk Extreme III SDHC card, via an ExpressCard SanDisk SDHC reader, it took 1 minute 48 seconds. When I moved it to an old USB 2.0 IDE drive, the same file took 38 seconds. On a PC, I moved that file to a newer USB 2.0 drive, and it took longer, 52 seconds. When I moved that file from the Mac to the eGo via FireWire 800, it took just 15 seconds.

As you might have guessed, it took about twice as long via USB 2.0, and since Apple has pretty much given up on the FireWire 400 format, I didn't test that, but it would have probably been even slower still. I have to say, there was one drive that was even faster: A 7200rpm 3.5" 2TB Seagate Free Agent XTreme that you have to plug into the wall, connected to an HP notebook via eSATA. At first, it took 23 seconds to move that file from PC to drive. But I reformatted the drive so that it didn't have its own software in the way, and boom, the thing scooted from PC to drive in 11 seconds.

But I digress. The point is, for people who have a FireWire 800 jack, but might need to connect elsewhere using USB 2.0, grabbing this totally bus-powered drive is smart. I plan to offload all of my movies to it, and just plug them in when I am on the road, or at home and in possession of Apple Remote and Mini-DisplayPort-to-HDMI adapter.

It's super light (7 oz) and has "Drop Guard" protection for falls of up to 51 inches. My only gripe is the ridiculously shiny blue LED that indicates when the drive is being read or written to. It's so bright, I decided to tape over it, so that the neighbors wouldn't think I was busy laser-welding my homemade Iron Man suit (again).

The 500GB version is $150, and comes in the red you see. There's a 320GB that comes in blue for $110, and a white one that holds 250GB for just under $100. (It doesn't take a lot of math skills to see why the red is the best bet.) [Iomega]

The unibody construction, along with the decision to make the hard drive and battery easily accessible essentially determined the rest of the internal layout, and you wind up with motherboard that doesn't span the length of the notebook. So, all of the ports have to go on one side, and the limited space means you get three.

Apple chose Ethernet and two USB over, say, a combo with FireWire but no Ethernet. These design principles apply to every notebook, so it's worth reading if you've never thought about how the bucket of parts in your lap comes together. [Rainer Brockerhoof via Daring Fireball]

Says one of their readers:

Apparently, Apple doesn't want anybody talking about the lack of FireWire ports on the new MacBooks, because they keep deleting every thread that people are posting about the lack of FireWire ports on the New MacBooks! I was participating in 3 different threads on the Apple Discussion Boards regarding the lack of FireWire from the new MacBooks, and Apple has removed every single thread regarding this topic. There are no threads left on the Apple Discussion Boards regarding this issue!"

Yes, it's possible that these threads were totally unproductive circle jerks, but there are legitimate technical issues to discuss here—workarounds for Target Disk Mode, what to do with FireWire cameras, etc., so if they're deleting every thread, it's definitely overboard. The official Apple word from an employee in at least one thread though, regarding how no FireWire gimps out some camcorders with iMovie '08, is that "USB is the preferred interface for iMovie '08." You know, even though a ton of cameras use FireWire.

Apple might not let users talk about the loss of FireWire, but their message seems to be loud and clear: Deal with it. [MacFixIt]

USB Type A Universal Serial Bus, the gold standard. The whole idea behind it is that this one interface will connect everything (except the stuff it doesn't), killing off the old guard, like parallel and serial ports. It moves data, and in the case of USB 2.0—which is pretty much the standard now—it does it faster, and with some extra specs for power. Clarification: USB 2.0 adds in the Battery Charging specification 1.0, which allows for dedicated charging and other power goodness. This particular connector is the type A variety. It plugs everything from your iPod to your digital camera into a computer, or whatever else. If you haven't seen this before, what are you reading this on?

USB Type B The USB Type B plug is basically a USB connector for peripherals—you've probably seen it jacked into a printer or scanner.

Mini USB It's a type of USB connector for smaller devices like cameras and phones—it takes up less real estate than a port for a Type A connection, obviously.

Micro USB Even smaller than the above Mini USB. Since it's, like, even smaller, we're starting to see it adopted by LG, Motorola and others—hopefully this is the last time they all switch power adapters on us, till wireless power makes adapters unnecessary. Update: Better pic via Mobile Burn.

IEEE 1394 (aka FireWire) An alternative to USB, Apple popularized the IEEE 1394 interface as FireWire (Sony called it i.LINK). You're probably most familiar with it on a digital camcorder (or an old school iPod), since it's really speedy for data transfers. You're looking at the four- and six-pin versions of FireWire 400. The six-pin version delivers power, the four-pin version (originally favored by Sony) doesn't.

FireWire 800 A revised, faster version of FireWire introduced in 2003, it doesn't use the same connectors as the original, making it rare for non pros—and an unnecessary pain the ass.

RJ45 The kind of plug you're used to seeing on the end of a Category 5, Cat5 enhanced or Cat6 (commonly known as Ethernet) cable, which is plugged into your router or computer's networking port. Cat5e is an update to Cat5 that supports faster Gigabit Ethernet. Cat6 is the next-gen standard that will handle speeds twice as fast as Cat5e, and has stricter rules about noise and crosstalk. Interestingly, the most recently approved IEEE 1394 spec (aka FireWire S800T) uses RJ45 connectors as well.

eSATA External Serial ATA is a branch off of the Serial ATA interface that connects your hard drive to your computer if it was put together in the last couple of years. As you can guess from the name, the difference is it's an external port, but it delivers the same insane data transfer speeds as the hookup to your hard drive. Faster than USB or FireWire, it's basically for external hard drives for quicker data transfers. You'll be seeing it more as more laptops include a port for it, usually one that can also be used with USB. There's even talk of bus-powered eSATA coming in the next year or two.

HDMI High-Definition Multimedia Interface is another one of those "it'll connect everything except all the stuff it doesn't" deals, but for high-definition audio and video. It basically replaces DVI (see below) plus S-Video and all that other analog crap. Laptops, desktops and even high-end cameras and other gadgets are getting HDMI. Besides fat bandwidth, another benefit is control: The Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) profile already lets machines send commands to other products over HDMI—that or something like it could be very useful in the PC space, too.

DVI The digital successor to VGA, Digital Visual Interface is a video connection you'll most likely see dealing with computers or computer monitors, at least until they're all replaced by HDMI. Older HDTVs have DVI ports too. It can have a few different pin arrangements, depending on whether it carries a digital (DVI-D) or analog (DVI-A) signal or both (DVI-I, for integrated). The analog deal on some types is to make them easy to adapt for use with a VGA monitor, but it's less and less noteworthy. There's also a dual-link version that carries more data for high-res displays. These are helpfully depicted at Wikipedia.

Mini and Micro DVI are dumb, shrunken, Apple-only versions of DVI. Why dumb? Because they're essentially proprietary formats. HDMI will make them obsolete before long.

DisplayPort is the newest video interface on the block, and its plane of existence is basically in the computer-to-monitor realm only. It's not even close to mainstream yet, but Dell is backing it, among others, so you might wanna know it. It can carry a whole lot of data, but it's got DRM built into the spec, so it's a double-edged sword. Update: Swapped pic out with a better one.

That's enough cable to strangle most of California, but by all means feel free to add in your own cable trivia down in the comments.

Something you still wanna know? Send any questions about cables, plugs, holes, bird or bees to tips@gizmodo.com, with "Giz Explains" in the subject line.

I don't think that there is quite enough cool looking circuitry in a portable HDD to warrant a clear case, but the design works. At 3.5" (W) x 5.5" (D) x 1" (H) and at 2.5 lbs it is as light as can be expected. The kicker for the Mercury is the price; it is $359.99, which means that you are going to want to go on the road with your equipment a lot in order to justify the expense. If you work from home a 3.5" will give you a lot more bang for your buck. [OWC via Slippery Brick]

Think about it: you need an HDMI cable for your home theater equipment that carries audio as well as video, but now there's a new cable on the way called DisplayPort specifically made for computer displays. Or maybe you'd like to hook up your TV to your computer via VGA. Then there's the old-timey composite, component, and S-video connections.

Not digital enough for you? Let's use DVI, or if you want higher resolution, you'll need dual-link DVI. Then there's digital audio, connecting via fiber optic that can't even decide whether it's called Toslink or the eloquent S/PDIF. Or maybe choose a coaxial connector for your digital audio, the same as an RCA plug used to connect analog audio, not that cable TV variety of coaxial.

Want to connect hard drives? You could use USB 2.0, or FireWire 400 is just about as fast. Want FireWire 800? Oops, you'll need a different cable for that. What about the new FireWire 3200? Yep, it'll need new cable, too. Connecting faster SATA hard drives isn't simple, either, because if you want to hook them up internally, you'll need an "L" connector, but if you want to use the external SATA drives (eSATA), well, those use in an "I" connector, to keep you from using unshielded wires inside a PC. The confusion goes on and on.

Oh, and by the way, while you're dealing with this Tower of Babel, you'll have to sidestep all the ripoff artists trying to charge you ten times as much for a cable that does exactly the same thing as its cheapest counterpart.

It's a mess. Please, someone round up all the consumer electronics manufacturers, and somehow make them all use the same connectors. But that's like herding cats. We told you we were going into the world of fantasy, but anyway, that's All Giz Wants.

After I upgraded my MacBook Pro to OS X Leopard, the first thing I did was grab a brand-new Maxtor USB drive and format it to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) using Disk Utility, just like I had countless times before. As soon as I erased the disk, Time Machine popped up as promised, and asked if it could use the disk for backup. I said yes, and was on my merry way. Only I wasn't.

Time Machine ran for a bit, and then crapped out after about 10GB. I went into Disk Utility and saw that although the partition was formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled), the volume itself still said FAT32. I clicked Erase to reformat the drive, and got the format failure error you see above.

I tried this with FAT-formatted drives from Seagate, Iomega and HP as well. Each time I saw the same thing. I could reformat the partition to Mac OS Extended (Journaled), and Time Machine would recognize it. Get Info would say that it was formatted correctly. But Disk Utility showed that the volume was formatted for PC. Inevitably, if the Time Machine backup was greater than 10GB, there were problems. Worst of all, if I dared try to format the volume for Mac, I would get the dreaded error, and the disk would be temporarily unmountable.

Not only did I vary drives, but I tested the problem on various systems too. I tried it booting from the Leopard DVD, with the same results. Ditto when I tried it using my wife's Leopard-upgraded MacBook Pro. (Yes, his n' hers MBPs. You can insert your "awwww" here.) The end result was that I couldn't break the FAT grip on these damn drives.

I made some calls, I talked to some people, and eventually here was the solution: you wipe the hell out of the drive by creating new and different partitions. So, do not head to the Erase tab in Disk Utility to prep a PC-formatted drive for Time Machine. Instead:

• Go to the Partition tab. Create two partitions. Under Options, select GUID Partition Table (what you would use to make a Mac OS boot disk) and click OK then Apply.

• Once your partitions are in place, do it again, reverting back to just one partition, but still keeping the GUID Partition Table option. Click OK and Apply again, and at this point you should be cool.

• To be safe, you can then go to Erase and set formatting for Mac OS Extended (Journaled), then format it once and for all. But when you get there, you will probably see that your volume is already formatted in the right way.

UPDATE: Some people have gotten this to work without creating two partitions. If you like, try creating just a single partition, but using the GUID Partition Table option. This may be all it takes to break the chokehold.

Using this method, I have gotten all of the disks to work just fine with Time Machine, and I don't anticipate any problems in the future.

OK, I know, quite a bit of nerdiness, but I wanted to get out there and tell you about the problem I encountered, in case you are having the same troubles, or plan on getting there sooner or later. Also, this solution is actually a workaround of sorts. My hope is that Apple can update Disk Utility with a stronger form of disk erasing that doesn't require so many manual steps, but if I am missing something obvious, I'd love to hear it. Please share any troubles you've had, or any better solutions you've cooked up.

Special thanks to Dorian and Ken!

Iomega is also updating its mini-inspired MiniMax, with a 750GB version with a 3-port USB 2.0 hub and three FireWire ports to boot.

The sexy stackable UltraMax dual-drive RAID products are already up at Iomega.com, but are probably worth a look if you're in need of hardcore hot-swappable drive action.

There's more information in the press release below, which (confusingly) also discusses previously announced products:

Iomega Unveils New Lineup of Mac-Focused Products at Apple Expo 2007 in Paris
***
New HFS+ Storage Products for Mac Users Highlight Iomega's Strongest Lineup Ever

SAN DIEGO, September 25, 2007 - Iomega Corporation (NYSE: IOM), a global leader in data protection and security, today unveiled a dramatically expanded line of external storage products for the Mac® community at the annual Apple Expo tradeshow in Paris.

Visitors to the Iomega booth at Apple Expo 2007 in Paris, which runs September 25 to 29, will see demonstrations of Iomega's new and existing single- and dual-drive products for Mac users in capacities of up to 1.5TB*. With Mac-friendly features like the HFS+ file system, elegant designs, and an array of leading-edge interfaces to choose from, the new Iomega® UltraMax™ and UltraMax Pro Desktop Hard Drive models represent Iomega's biggest advance to date in external storage for the Mac OS X computer user.

"Iomega storage products for Mac users are both functional and versatile with a focus on seamless implementation into a Mac product environment, as well as perfectly complementing the Apple design esthetic," said Romain Cholat, vice president of international sales, Iomega Corporation. "These innovative storage devices are real solutions to the ever-growing demand on storage capacity that Apple users and others are experiencing today in home and office settings. Our new lineup of external storage products on display at Apple Expo strike just the right balance between ease-of-use and functionality and attractive Mac-friendly designs that look great on the desktop."

Dual-Drive RAID Products
Iomega's new 1.5TB UltraMax™ Pro Desktop Hard Drive, with FireWire® 800, FireWire 400, and USB 2.0 interfaces, provides incredible performance and flexibility in a two-drive configuration.

In addition to the default mode of RAID 0, which stripes data across the UltraMax Pro's two SATA-II hard drives for high performance, other drive settings include RAID 1 (where all data is copied to both drives, or mirrored, for data redundancy), 'spanned' (where both hard drives are treated as a single volume), and 'simple' (where each hard drive is treated as its own drive letter). For ease of use, a manual RAID switch allows the user to turn off the RAID configuration and use the drive configured as JBOD.

The UltraMax Pro Desktop Hard Drive contains two FireWire 800 ports, one FireWire 400 port, and one USB 2.0 port; cables for all three interfaces are included in the box. The stackable drive enclosure complements the Mac Pro series of Apple computers as well as the older Power Mac series. The enclosure is metallic grey with a mesh grill, echoing the Mac Pro computer's industrial design. Hot-swappable SATA II hard drives minimize downtime when configured as a RAID 1 array.

Iomega is also shipping a companion product, the Iomega® 1.5 TB UltraMax™ Pro Desktop Hard Drive, featuring eSATA 3GBits and USB 2.0 interfaces and formatted with the FAT32 file system for use in Mac or PC environments.

Single Drive, Four Interfaces
For the broadest possible range of interface options in a single-drive product, Iomega's new UltraMax™ Desktop Hard Drive is hard to beat with eSATA, FireWire 800, FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 ports on board.

Available in both 750GB and 500GB capacities, the new UltraMax Desktop Hard Drive comes with one eSATA port, two FireWire 800 ports, one FireWire 400 port and one USB 2.0 port; cables for all four interfaces are included in the box.

The new UltraMax Desktop Hard Drive is slim and elegant and designed like the UltraMax Pro to complement the Mac Pro series of Apple computers.

Single Drive, Dual Interface
The most economical drive in the UltraMax™ lineup is the dual interface 500GB Iomega® UltraMax™ Desktop Hard Drive. For simpler connectivity needs, or for situations that do not require the faster transfer rates of the eSATA and FireWire 800 interfaces, this FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 drive provides users with the same great design and quality at a lower price.

Iomega MiniMax Desktop Hard Drive
Also new is a 750GB model of the Iomega® MiniMax™ Desktop Hard Drive, which includes a hub with three USB 2.0 ports and three FireWire ports. The 750GB version joins an existing 500GB MiniMax Desktop Hard Drive dual interface with the same hub. The Iomega® MiniMax™ Desktop Hard Drive features a form factor and industrial design that beautifully complements and stacks easily with the Apple Mac Mini computer. In addition, Iomega is offering the 500GB Iomega® MiniMax™ USB 2.0 + Hub, which has three USB 2.0 ports in its hub. The 500GB MiniMax USB 2.0 + Hub is a great companion to the popular Mac AirPort Extreme, providing networked storage when the two devices are plugged together.

Iomega eGo Portable Hard Drive
Iomega is also introducing a new dual-interface version of its immensely popular 160GB eGo™ Portable Hard Drive, adding FireWire 400 connectivity to the existing USB 2.0 interface option. Cables for both FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 operation are included in the box. Iomega is also announcing a higher capacity 250GB version of the eGo drive. With its curvaceous cherry-red chassis and chrome endcaps, the eGo has an eye-catching style that sets it apart from other portable drives in its class. In European markets, Iomega will also offer the dual interface eGo Portable Hard Drive in various capacity and color combinations, including a 160GB white version and 250GB black and red versions. The new dual interface eGo models will be available later this year.

Backup Software: EMC Retrospect Express
For secure storage and worry-free backup and disaster recovery, Iomega includes EMC® Retrospect® Express software with all of the drives announced today. Retrospect Express delivers automated, reliable, cost-effective protection for Windows® and Mac® users. Its award-winning design makes it easy to set up and manage highly efficient backups on any PC, greatly simplifying disaster recovery. Users can back up open files, verify backup integrity during the backup, have scheduled backups proceed even without logging in, and recover individual files or a complete system to any point in time.

Compatibility
The Iomega® UltraMax™ and eGo™ models are compatible with Mac® OS X 10.1 and above; the UltraMax™ Pro models are compatible with Mac® OS X 10.3 and above; and the MiniMax™ drive is compatible with Mac® OS X 10.1.5 and above.

UltraMax and UltraMax Pro drives come pre-formatted with HFS+, the native file system for the Mac OS X operating system. The HFS+ file system makes more efficient use of large hard drives and supports journaling under Mac OS X, which makes it easier to recover data in case of a problem. UltraMax Drives can be reformatted to NTFS or FAT32 for use with a PC (instructions included), making the drives compatible with Microsoft® Windows® 2000, Windows XP Home and XP Professional editions. FAT32 format allows cross-platform use.

Availability [note: substitute Euro pricing for EMEA]
The Iomega UltraMax™ Pro Desktop Hard Drive FireWire® 800/FireWire 400/USB 2.0 1.5TB is available now for $599.95; the UltraMax Pro Desktop Hard Drive eSATA 3GBits/USB 2.0 1.5TB, is available for $599.95.

The Iomega UltraMax™ Desktop Hard Drive eSATA/FireWire® 800/FireWire 400/USB 2.0 is expected to be available in October for $319.95. (750GB) and $219.95 (500GB) respectively. The dual-interface model, the UltraMax™ Desktop Hard Drive FireWire® 400/USB 2.0 500GB is expected in October for $189.95.

The Iomega MiniMax™ Desktop Hard Drive USB 2.0 500GB is available now for $179.95. The Iomega® eGo™ Portable Hard Drive 160GB Hi-Speed USB 2.0/FireWire®, Cherry Red, is expected in October for $159.95. The 250GB USB 2.0 eGo Portable Hard Drive is expected to be available in late October for $259.95. The 250GB Hi-Speed USB 2.0/FireWire® dual interface version of the Iomega eGo Portable Hard Drive is expected to be available in the fourth quarter of this year. (All prices are suggested U.S. retail.)

The one pictured on top lets you plug into either four-pin FireWire 400 (regular FireWire) on one side or six-pin on the other, and the one pictured on the bottom plugs into those extra-speedy FireWire 800 ports. Both might be nice in a pinch of all your USB ports are loaded up and you don't feel like adding yet another hub. Pricing on these drives wasn't announced, but OCZ's 2GB USB models cost about $21.– Charlie White

CeBIT : OCZ Rally 2 Firewire Flash Drives [VR-Zone]

Having taken the Lego philosophy of design to heart, Ultra Products is releasing a series of peripherals that stack on top of each other to form a tower of technology. Arrangeable in vertical (if you only have one) or horizontal positions, the bricks stack one on top of the other, leaving enough space so that each doesn't overheat and melt your data like day-old ice cream.

There are a few varieties available: USB 2.0 hard drive enclosure, USB 2.0/Firewire hard drive enclosure, eSATA/USB2.0 hard drive enclosure, USB 2.0 Hub, USB 2.0 hub/card reader, and a power supply to power all of them. They actually look nice when stacked, if you're into the Metal Gear Solid military black motif.

We hope these towers are secure, or else you may become trapped under a pile of USB card readers and Firewire enclosures for hours, having to drink your own urine and sweat to stay alive before someone finds you. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Ultra Products]

When we reported on the similar My Book Pro 500GB model with FireWire 400, 800 and USB just three months ago, it was $350, now here's the twice-as-big 1TB version retailing for $549. Plus, the RAID-striped drives inside make for fast response and transfers.

We're warming up to these Western Digital bookish-looking drives, as we're really needing space to store all those huge video files. A tera for $549? Such a deal.

Product Page [Western Digital]

MOTU
Roundup: 8PRE 16x12 Audio Interface with 8 mics, Universal Binaries [Create Digital Music]

Product Page [Griffin]

The drives come in 60, 80 and 120GB sizes, can be connected via USB 2.0 and Firewire, and is bus powered, so you can power it off whatever connector you use. Prices range between 70 ($130) for the low end and 160 ($298) for the high end. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Formac via Tech Digest]

Product Page [Via Akihabara]