There are many external hard drives available, which use USB 2.0 and sometimes Firewire connectors to attach to any type of computer. More and more solutions feature a networking port, which allows setting up a simple NAS server in your home or small office. So where should the hard drive makers go now?
Western Digital has had the right touch when it comes to creating products that address demands that are outside the focus of, let's say, traditional storage companies. One example is the Raptor hard drive family, which was the first to run 10,000 RPM on a SATA interface. With no enterprise business (SCSI drives) to defend, the firm could easily afford to release the 36 GB version in 2003, and simply watch how the market would react. Feedback obviously was good enough to release a 74 GB model (which was somewhat faster) at the end of the same year.
Another example would be its external hard drive products, which also came to market early .
What we received for review cannot be called an advanced product using technical terms. The Lighted Combo Hard Drive basically is more or less what we already took a look at some time ago. However, it comes with a neat transparent enclosure and some small fluorescent tubes that will quicken the pulse of anybody who likes modding.
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Patrick Schmid was the editor-in-chief for Tom's Hardware from 2005 to 2006. He wrote numerous articles on a wide range of hardware topics, including storage, CPUs, and system builds.
