Good external HD?

[screwballl]

eSATA has only recently started so it is bound to get much more popular in the next decade before it dies off. PATA/IDE enjoyed as few decades and now SATA has only just begun.

[PrOLifIC_onE]

Originally Posted by alyssastep

When, if I ever, get a new laptop, it will be at least three more years down the road. Don't want to buy something that far into the future! haha. I'm assuming technology will advance in that time, and who knows, maybe eSATA will be obsolete at that point. No need to spend the extra 10 bucks where it isn't really necessary.



So, I've decided what to do. I'm making a portable HD with this and an enclosure to be determined at a later date. And...if I screw it up...I expect Drew to fix it. Then you guys can explain to me how to work bittorrent when I have memory to store media!

Thanks for all the super awesome help, and I'll keep you posted on things =)

Actually, the USB2.0 is likely to be the first to become obsolete. Its just that USB is currently the popular port (and has been for years). Who knows, maybe in a few years they will have a USB3.0 that is just as fast as eSATA but, my guess is, it is more likely to be like Screwballl says. Spending just a little extra money for both is just a wiser thing to do, because we don't know what will be obsolete in a few years.

[alyssastep]

Right, so I think I might have just discovered 80 extra GB of memory that I didn't realize I had. My Computer lists the C Drive as having 60 GB, over half of which I've used. Then there's the D Drive, which I've never really looked at, and under properties it lists having 82 GB, and it only holds My Documents, so it's basically free. I'm I reading this correctly? Do I really have 140 GB of memory?

[drew and not u]

You probably have a 160 which the school partitioned.

[screwballl]

nope, you probably have 512MB to 2GB of memory, but likely a 150-160GB hard drive (not memory, I think you are getting the two confused)

[garetjax]

Originally Posted by screwballl

eSATA has only recently started...

Has it? eSATA was standardized in 2004, and while implementation of this technology has been slow to be adopted, companies have been incorporating eSATA into their products for at least a year, if not more.

As a side note, Alyssa, you might be interested in knowing that the "Power over eSATA Initiative" brought together by the SATA-IO, is a means to provide both a power and data connection through a single cable, much like USB uses now. This initiative is projected to begin during the second half of 2008.

[screwballl]

Originally Posted by garetjax

Has it? eSATA was standardized in 2004, and while implementation of this technology has been slow to be adopted, companies have been incorporating eSATA into their products for at least a year, if not more.

correct... but considering PATA/IDE has been around for a few decades, SATA is only getting started. It is not likely to disappear or lose ground in the next 5-10 years unless FATA/fiber channel (Fiber Optic based ATA connection) takes hold very quickly and cheaply.

[alyssastep]

Originally Posted by screwballl

nope, you probably have 512MB to 2GB of memory, but likely a 150-160GB hard drive (not memory, I think you are getting the two confused)

Not confused, just misusing terminology. I mean, I'm kind of new at this stuff. But thanks. And it's 2 GB of RAM, just for future reference.

[PrOLifIC_onE]

yeah and we all understood what you meant. But screwball just flexed his brain muscle to show that he caught the misuse of terms.

[alyssastep]

Originally Posted by PrOLifIC_onE

yeah and we all understood what you meant. But screwball just flexed his brain muscle to show that he caught the misuse of terms.

=D

haha, thanks