What do you do if you need to back up your data, transport it, synchronize it between several locations, and access it online? Hitachi’s Life Studio Mobile Plus is a brave attempt at solving that dilemma, but it only really appeals to mainstream users.
A lot has been said and written about data protection, so we're happy every time a company tries to breathe new life into the market with some amount of real innovation. Obviously, backing up data to an external hard drive or network storage solution is nothing new. Virtually everyone has a USB thumb drive today, and even saving data onto your personal Web space is old hat. However, when someone promises all of this in a single, user-friendly, convenient, and affordable package, we gladly take a closer look.
Hitachi promises that its new LifeStudio product makes organizing and finding files, music, and photos even easier. The software uses the same Cooliris 3D wall paradigm found in Android smartphones' Gallery app. All content is conveniently accessed, edited, and managed through a centralized piece of software with support for uploading photos to Facebook, Flickr, and Picasa. The integrated USB thumb drive provides an easy and flexible way to transport important data. Finally, apps for the iPhone let you can access the data online later. Unfortunately, these are not free of charge.
On the following pages, we'll take a closer look at the Hitachi LifeStudio Mobile Plus. We didn’t doubt that the concept would work, but the promised user friendliness and simplicity is something we had to see to believe. This includes benchmarking the individual components, as well as assessing everyday use. We also chose two unbiased test subjects who had never used a product like this before.

We already owned external hard drives, a collection of USB thumb drives in various capacities, and various Internet storage spaces. Could the Hitachi LifeStudio Mobile Plus render all of these disparate pieces obsolete? We had to know.

Not surprised.
Mainstream users being the majority of the market, this has the potential to be quite successful. "Only appealing to mainstream users" is not much of a handicap.
Does anybody here back-up large quantities of data to the cloud? I've been thinking of encrypting a handful of folders and opening an account with Mozy or BackBlaze as a supplemental off-site backup. I need to backup about 3TB of total storage.
My concerns are mostly with the geophysical security of these companies. Do they have multiple locations? How secure are these places physically from robbery, fire, etc. What about the financial stability of these companies? Their employee access to the data, etc?
Any thoughts?
No. Thar is the issue with the cloud. No one knows the security of the serves. If a malware attack is comensed on the server with your info, they can't disconnect form the internet like you can. If an attack occures, you may lose your data...which beats the purpose. I would get several external HDD. It would be ALOT cheaper than losing your data to a company who doesn't relly care about service exept cash.
That's why you encrypt the things properly first. Good luck decrypting AES-256 without the key.
I use cloud storage to back up the 250gigabytes of my macbook pro for like $5 a month at MyPC Backup. Don't waste your money and time trying to figure out external hard drives. Check them out Here