Gadget Guru: Added peace of mind for digital files

You might not think of an external hard drive as a cool gadget, but the OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dual mini breaks that stereotype. I’ve found it useful at home, at work and while at play.

The topic I get asked about most? Backing up digital files. If you don’t, it’s a matter of when – not if – you will lose digital files.

Working as a photographer – my primary profession – brought one of the most-grueling schedules I’ve had during the past two months. This included travel to all ends of the country covering a wide variety of subjects and topics resulting in more than 160GB of digital image files.

Anyone who deals with digital files knows this is a large amount. It wasn’t a question of storage space on my laptop, which can handle it fine. But when the Mercury Elite Pro Dual mini was added to the equation, I had the peace of mind with 4TB of backup RAID (redundant array of independent disks) storage in a compact device that easily fits into my backpack.

The included RAID technology provides an additional backup. Inside are multiple drives, allowing files to back up in separate locations within the same enclosure for additional backup.

Setup is simple, making it ideal for professional photographers or families with priceless vacation photos, videos and digital music.

Swappable hard drive configurations range from 1TB ($219.99) to 4TB ($329.99). Solid state drive models range from 240GB ($268.99) to 2TB ($879.99).

More information: eshop.macsales.com

Thunderbolt Dock

The OWC Thunderbolt 3 Dock ($299) brings your computers, accessories and cables together in any office.

It’s built with 13 ports for connecting hard drives, monitors, card readers and laptops, or for charging or syncing smartphones and tablets to a desktop or laptop.

Large amounts of data can transfer at incredible speeds, especially with the Thunderbolt 3, which can go up to 40 Gb/s.

Uses for the dock are endless, especially since it takes one cable to connect to your computer, instantly connecting all the other ports.

I use a MacBook Air, which does’t have many ports. Now, with the Thunderbolt 3 dock, everything I need connected is done without swapping cables, even on the road.

More: eshop.macsales.com

This story was originally published November 8, 2017 at 12:46 PM with the headline "Gadget Guru: Added peace of mind for digital files."