Since the advent of portable hard drives, we have dreamed of holding over 100 full-length movies or 128,000 MP3s in the palm of one hand. With the 500-gigabyte MiniStation TurboUSB from Buffalo Technology, that dream has come to pass.
The MiniStation’s 5,400-R.P.M. disk is wedged between layers of plastic and a set of shock absorbers, and it is powered through the U.S.B. cable. It works with U.S.B. 2.0 for faster transfer speeds.
The drive, which will be available this month for $329, includes a security program called SecureLockWare and features Memeo’s AutoBackup for protecting data on Windows machines. It weighs about 6 ounces, is 5 inches long and includes a wraparound cable for easy portability.
While many will scoff at the idea of needing 500 gigabytes of portable storage, remember: they laughed at the electric light bulb, the airplane and the panini press. Who knows what fascinating bit of media the next Michelangelo will stuff onto a MiniStation? After all, it can hold about 512,000 images. JOHN BIGGS