Pros
- Fast FireWire 800
- Cables included
- Timemachine ready
- Packed with tons of software
- Quality build
Cons
- eSATA requires an external power source
- eSATA performance disappointing
The Bottom Line
OWC’s Mercury Elite line is a fantastic place to find quality and speedy accessories for your Mac or Windows box and this portable hard drive is not exception. Even though the eSATA figures didn’t impress as they should have, truth is, this a portable device that will encounter more FireWire and USB than eSATA which nearly negates the offense. You will not be disappointed slipping this hard drive into your pocket.
Ratings
Recommended
Yes
Full Review
The OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro mini is fitted with a “Quad Interface” on the back that runs off the bus power of your FireWire or USB ports. OWC packed everything you’ll need in the box including high quality double shielded USB, FireWire 800, and eSATA cables. You will also find a DVD-ROM packed with Intech’s SpeedTools, Prosoft Engineering’s Data Backup for OS X, NovaStorBACKUP for Windows, Carbon Copy Cloner – a favorite of mine – and over 2 GB of other goodies. Inside the slick “aircraft grade machined aluminum enclosure” of the Mercury one would find a 2.5″ SATA hard drive (OWC also offers solid state drives), a translucent blue activity LED, an ultra-protective shock system, and ports for connecting the mini to your computer. You will not find a fan in the super quiet unit since OWC uses the enclosure to rid the unit of heat build up from either the 5400 or 7200 RPM drives. When attached to your computer, instead of the standard OS icon, you’ll see a picture replica of the OWC Mercury Elite AL Pro mini – that’s a mouthful – on your desktop. Ya, between the blue LED and that, it makes the Mercury just that much cooler. 
Ratings
Pros
- Plethora of supported interfaces
- Supports any modern hard drive
- Sleek looking
- Drop-in hard drive mount
Cons
- No tactical indicator of successful drive mount
- Price is a bit high
The Bottom Line
If you’re like many in todays modern techno-family, then you have extra hard drives lying around your home. Additionally, with the low cost of hard drives today, there really is no reason not to have extras for archive purposes. Either way, NewerTech’s Voyager Q allows you immediate access to your data without any work other than dropping the drive into the Qs bay and double clicking an icon on your Desktop. Instant access with more ways to connect to your hard drive than James Bond ever associated with his Q.
Recommended
Yes
Full Review
Hard drives liter my draws, cabinets, and desk. They’re every where. Some are archived drives and others retired ones. Needless to say, accessing anything on them has required some work in the past with either mounting them internally in a PC or in an enclosure. Yes, there’s also many variants of the SATA/IDE to USB set-ups that can be used, too, but man, what a mess of cables that is. Thankfully, the folks at NewerTech live like me and desire a nice easy, clean, way of data retrieval. The Voyager Q has landed on my desk and what a relief it has provided. Can it offer your scrap pile of metal, platters, and silicon reprieve as well?
Pros
- Fast
- Great looking unit
- Small footprint
Cons
- Quality issues
- RAID1 failure in tests
The Bottom Line
LaCie has made one sleek looking external hard drive that begs for a spot on your desk to show off its good looks. However, if our data failure is any indication of troubles in mass, this is nothing more than a cheerleader on the football team that just looks hot but has no brains.
Ratings
Recommended
Maybe
Full Review
LaCie has been a well known accessory company for Apple for many years long before other companies pushing PC ware started dabbling into the Mac world. That experience has given a lead over those late comers that LaCie has enjoyed and used to push its products into a new realm of sleek looks. The HD Max is definitely one nice looking unit without a doubt with its shinny black case that reminded me of Darth Vader’s helmet when I first took it out of the box. The Dark Side had nothing to do with this cool looking external hard drive as LaCie tapped award-winning industrial designer Neil Poulton to come up with all this black goodness. When you hook up the power and cable the USB into your computer, Mac or PC, a blue light flickers from the bottom on the front of the unit bouncing memorizing light from the surface of your mount location. The light flashes as data is accessed adding to the pretty show on your desk. When you turn the unit around, you’ll find a switch that enables RAID0 or RAID1, two USB ports, a spot for your power, and switch for that power. You’ll also note two other LEDs one for each drive that show blue or the dreaded red for, oops, something’s very wrong, red. Except for the air vents in the back of the unit, the LaCie HD Max is just one nice piece of plastic covering the rectangle RAID hard drive that is small enough to easily hold in your hand.
Pros
- Amazing sound for the price
- Easy hook-up
- Comes with everything you need
- Nice looks
Cons
- A bit large
- No mute/off switch
The Bottom Line
No matter your microphone needs on your PC or Mac, the Snowball will make your voice sound as if you had recorded it in a professional studio with sound engineers at the board.
Ratings
Recommended
Yes (Strong)
Full Review
Have you heard the Snowball? Really, it’s the best way to find out just how good it is, right? Well, after you’re done reading the review, we’ll furnish the link to our first podcast in which we used the Snowball and THEN you’ll really get the full review. Until then, let me tell you a bit out about this white grilled-faced mic from a company called Blue Microphone.
I first came across Blue Microphone at Macworld Expo 2009 and sat down on a tall bar stool and spoke to Tyler Barth, Director of Marketing, at Blue Mic. The animated and excited Barth went on to lay out Blue Mics history and importance in the recording industry. He told me of the Eagle’s love for the mics so much to the point that one of the members bought a mic for every one of his grandchildren last Christmas. I chuckled at the thought of my childhood rock heros having grandchildren but the point was well made.
Pros
- Cheap alternative to expensive Apple cradle
- Comes with AC plug for direct charging
- LED indicator
Cons
- A bit large
The Bottom Line
Apple won’t even included a dock with it’s new super phone and at $80 for purchase price, this cradle is a no-brainer to purchase!
Ratings
Recommended
Yes
Full Review
Apple has created a pattern. Release a great product, get the public buying it, then release an update and yank the accessories. Oh ya, then charge an arm and leg for it on the shelf. Why oh why does Apple think anyone want to pay $80 for a stinking piece of plastic to hold your iPhone is beyond me. Really, $80? For plastic? Come on, Apple!
Thankfully, there is third-party offerings and SvenOnTech was asked to review a cradle for the 3G iPhone. Since there’s not much to a cradle, the review was pretty simple. Unpack, plug USB cable into Mac, plug other side into cradle, place clear plastic backing into place, and slide iPhone into the slot. It’s that easy. (We even tested a 2G iPod touch…though the cradle is not recommended for that use.)