[connollyck]

i just got a 12" ibook with a 60gig hd. i want to get an external to back up my data and also use to store mp3s or something. which is the best?

[scottnichol]

the external drives from Other World Computing have been very reliable for me. their 2.5" firewire enclosures are great. they don't need a power adapter (gets its power from firewire bus) and come in capacities upto 100GB, i believe.

the 3.5" enclosures are also great (have one of them as well) and although they require AC power, i only use this with my G5 tower (not a laptop). they're easy to disassemble and swap drives when you decide to upgrade to a larger drive.

most of their drives come with a nice version of Retrospect which can schedule and automate your backups while you're sleeping!

[sworthy]

I've always liked my Lacie HD (link)

Haven't had any problems, and it is pretty quiet.

[SSharon]

I always suggest a trip to newegg.com for an enclosure and a nice seagate HD with a 5 year warranty.

[bbales]

I ditto the Seagate rec -- Just got two, as a matter of fact. I put one IN my computer (went from 20 GB to 120 -- it's been great!) and the other I put in an enclosure I purchased from Other World Computing. I'm sure I could have gotten a cheaper enclosure, but I liked the specs of the OWC one. (Plus, while I did do some price checking, I didn't use that particular web site -- but I will next time for tech stuff.)

Seagate's warranties are excellent. You can't beat a 5-year warranty. Plus, a lot of the Seagates come with back-up software. So you can even get a backup strategy going.