Oh great and wise internet

[stellar_muddle]

The time has come to get a new portable hard drive.
I'd provide the links to Dick Smith (it is within easy walking/bus distance) but the direct links to products seem to be failing/ getting redirected.

So:
SEAGATE FreeAgent 500GB External Hard Drive (if that link works)
$189
Sod all technical details bar the size.
Seagate FreeAgent PRO 500GB External Hard Drive
$209
"USB and eSATA" - so what does the later mean and is it worth paying the extra for?

Other suggestions I have had are:

(case)
and

(500Gb Hard drive) for total of $185.14 plus a bit more of a hassle ordering and assembling...

Suggestions?

Comments

[slothphil.livejournal.com]

eSATA = external SATA. SATA is the current norm for connecting internal hard drives to the motherboard and eSATA is essentially the same thing slightly tweaked for use in external removable drives. Judging by Wikipedia, it may be faster, and have have other advantages for a few users, but isn't a big deal for most people.

[realityadmin.livejournal.com]

eSATA also requires you to have an eSATA connector to make use of - some motherboards have these, some don't.

I'd generally be looking for a USB2 or Firewire800 connected drive these days.

Another useful thing to look for - what's the external drive powered by? I have one which can run from the USB connector itself (doesn't require other external power) but only some USB ports have enough grunt to run it, which is irritating.

[stellar-muddle.livejournal.com]

Sounds as thought the aSATA is somewhat redundant then since we only have laptops...

Making sure it has an external power supply rather than hogging an extra USB port is one of the things I am looking for.

And the ability for if to talk ok to Z's little eePC and whatever flavour of Linux it is running - since Z has just had issues with the portable hard drive he bought (Maxtor? - but he was going to take it back to the shop and talk to them...)