In case you didn’t see it mentioned on other news sites, forums, etc, we announced free shipping on all orders over $150 today thru December 31st from our on-line catalog of over 2,500 products and a Top 10 Gift Giving Ideas list with “stocking stuffer” suggestions starting at $3.99 to help you make tech/gadget gift giving easier and more economical heading into the upcoming “Black Friday/Cyber Monday” holiday shopping kickoff dates.

We’ve been reading that value and frugality are the key objectives of shoppers this year and wanted to make sure we offered the right products and services to make us the easiest, one-stop choice for all your Mac, PC, iPod, and iPhone product purchases. And even bigger news perhaps is that we’ve extended our operation hours so qualifying orders can ship same day when placed as late as 10:30pm as well as permanently extending our Live Chat support to a full 24/7 service level.

OWC Top Gift & Stocking Stuffer ideas include:

• Kensington Pocket-Link 3-in-1 Cable $3.99

Provides retractable Ethernet/telephone and USB cords in a single, self-contained housing.

• Cellboost iRecharge $4.99

External battery pack for iPods/iPhones and other USB chargeable devices.

• OWC Memory Upgrade Kits from $15.99

More memory = faster Mac with easy to install OWC Memory upgrades.

• OWC Express USB 2.0 Enclosure $19.99

Pocket-sized, bus-powered 2.5″ SATA hard drive enclosure for the digital mobile lifestyle.

• NewerTech® NuPower® Charge & Sync+ $39.99

Portable charger, battery pack, and sync solution for iPods, iPhones, and other USB compatible devices.

• NewerTech Voyager Quad Interface Hard Drive Docking Solution $89.99

“Quad Interface” hard drive dock for 2.5″ and 3.5″ SATA hard drives up to 2.0TB.

• NewerTech Guardian MAXimus $319.99

Plug and Play RAID 1 with two 1.0TB hard drives for protecting precious holiday memories.

If you upgrade a Mac to an SSD drive – having good management of your files is important where you use an additional drive or drives to have capacity for your photo, music, video libraries, etc.  With the relatively small sizes of SSD drives, they can fill up with data fast; but the performance benefits of SSD are undeniable.

If you’ve been following our blog since the beginning, we’ve given several tips on relocating these types of files off your internal storage on onto external storage solutions. Today’s modern operating systems make this pretty easy.

For those audiophiles out there, an iTunes library can quickly become an overwhelming size.  Back in March, we showed you how to move your iTunes library to an external hard drive such as the Mercury On-the-Go Pro.

Photography enthusiasts will also find their pictures taking up more and more hard drive space.  You can also move your iPhoto library to an external drive to keep your primary drive lean and operating at top speeds.

My basic rule of thumb to follow is to keep the Operating System and your applications themselves on the main, internal hard drive while storing the files, documents, pictures, movies, music, etc. on the separate drive.  By doing so, you can even use a 64GB SSD for boot and application performance benefits WHILE maintaining access to extensive file libraries that can’t all fit onto an SSD.

Check out OWC’s full selection of SSD Drives and External Hard Drive Solutions to find the fit that’s right for you.

NewerTech’s Guardian MAXimus® is the Plug & Play solution that keeps your data safe with real-time data redundancy via hardware RAID-1 Mirroring. Connect to any Mac or (or PC) with FireWire 800, FireWire 400, eSATA, or USB 2.0 and it does the rest. Perfect for the ultimate Time Machine backup too!

Fast, Easy to Use, Priced Right too!

The NewerTech Guardian MAXimus RAID-1 FW800/400+eSATA+USB2 ‘Quad Interface’ solution provides high performance, exceptional data protection/reliability, and plug and play simplicity with its Oxford936 based bridge interface. This solution is a hardware RAID 1 ‘Redundant Mirror’ which automatically and real-time keeps your data backed up to protect against a hard disk failure. LED indicators on the front of the solution indicate the status of the two drives. Should a drive ever experience a malfunction, normal data operation continues seamlessly. If the malfunction if a recoverable ‘soft’ type, the Guardian MAXimus will rebuild the mirror (also without data interruption) automatically. If the disk failure requires a drive to be replaced, once the new drive is installed – again, the Guardian MAXimus will automatically rebuild the Mirror without loss of data to time.

Available in capacities of up to 2.0TB + 2.0TB Mirrored, the Guardian MAXimus is a sleek, compact Aluminum design of only 9.0″ Long x 2.8″ Wide x 5.8″ High. In addition to the benefits of Hardware RAID 1 Mirroring, these solutions are full certified for Audio/Video, Backup, Graphics, Music, General Data needs and more! With 2 x FW800, 1 x FW400, 1 x USB 2.0/1.1, & 1 x eSATA Ports – units are fully Bootable and provide excellent access flexibility to stored data based via whatever interface choice(s) are available on systems solution may be connected to.

NewerTech Guardian MAXimus FW800/400+USB2+eSATA RAID 1 prices:

• 320GB + 320GB Mirror 7200RPM w/32MB total Data Buffer –  now $219.99 (a $10 Price Drop)
• 500GB + 500GB Mirror 7200RPM w/32MB total Data Buffer –  now $229.99 (a $10 Price Drop)
• 750GB + 750GB Mirror 7200RPM w/64MB total Data Buffer – remains at $299.99
• 1.0TB + 1.0TB Mirror 7200RPM w/64MB total Data Buffer – remains at $319.99
• 1.5TB + 1.5TB Mirror 7200RPM w/64MB total Data Buffer – remains at $399.99
• 2.0TB + 2.0TB Mirror 7200RPM w/64MB total Data Buffer – now $519.99 (a $30 Price Drop)

Solutions all include connecting cables for FireWire 800, FireWire 400, USB, and eSATA + Intech HD Speedtools Utility Suite for Apple OS X, Prosoft DataBackup III – Full retail application for Apple OS X ($59 retail value), NovaStor NovaBackup – Full Retail Application for Windows ($49 retail value), everything you need to plug and play and go. Solutions are further backed by a full THREE YEAR NewerTech Solution Warranty.

Also Available – do it yourself GMAX RAID-1:
0GB Kit – build your own Guardian Mirror available now $139.99 (an $8 price drop) – software bundle & cables included.

Special Offer: NewerTech Guardian solutions qualify for Prosoft Drive Genius OWC Exclusive Special Offer!

Buy Drive Genius now for as low as $25 with purchase of a qualifying storage product – That’s up to 74% off retail price, up to 37% off OWC’s lowest normal selling price! Details online here: http://eshop.macsales.com/special_offer/prosoft_Drive_Genius

During the course of a normal day here, I see/hear/read a lot of customer correspondence. The majority of it is very complimentary which is very gratifying and really pumps up the team morale here. Sometimes one comes by though that is a bit unique in nature/subject and I dive into those with much curiosity. Such was the case yesterday when I saw an exchange between a customer and none other than OWC Larry…the CEO here for you newbies. Now before you say, “well sure, probably a long time customer who has spent gazillions with OWC!”, what sealed the deal for me was that this customer was two years new to us.

It turns out Scott A. from Saint Paul, MN, was looking for a bigger Cinema Display for a legacy MacBook Pro. He had stopped by an Apple store and was told to contact us. While we didn’t have anything that Scott could purchase, OWC Larry researched it enough to refer Scott directly to another source as his best option and provided a link to the exact listings.

And while Scott summed up his appreciation for this action as:

“You guys are a great source of expert, practical,  helpful information about Mac products…you must be if the Genius Bar at the Apple Store recommends you.”

the entire interaction got me thinking that truly is one of the OWC Differences…we aren’t about selling products as really anyone can create a storefront and do that. We do, from every corner in our LEED Platinum designed building, truly exist to serve you. Is that a “Genius” approach to running a successful business? I dare say it’s surely better, and more soul fulfilling, than putting the bottom line on a pedestal. And I think the man in the poster looking over my shoulder in my office would agree.

As mentioned in one of my blog posts last Friday, we’ve been busy testing the limits of the 2009 Mac mini models.  In late August, Apple released Mac mini EFI Firmware Update 1.2 which improves compatibility with the latest Apple memory kits on Mac mini computers.

It did a little more than that though.  It improved compatibility of OWC brand memory as well.  As all of our memory meets or exceeds Apple’s requirements for RAM, it’s no surprise that, yet again, OWC can support memory expansion beyond the maximum installed amount suggested by Apple.

We have fully tested all 2009 release date Mac mini computers with both Leopard and Snow Leopard and found no issues regarding which OS was used for testing a full 8.0GB of RAM installed.  Under both operating systems, the memory was fully utilized and no system detriment in speed was observed.

Keep in mind, this information is for Mac mini model identifier macmini3,1.  Intel Mac mini machines released prior to 2009 (macmini1,1 or macmini2,1) have hardware limitations that only allow those machines to max out RAM at 2.0GB and 3.0GB respectively.

Want to take your mini to the maximum? OWC has the Mac mini upgrades you need to make your machine screaming fast.

I really couldn’t wait on this… this news is just too juicy to bottle up for the whole weekend.

While we’re not completely finished with our compatibility testing, early signs are pointing to 8GB of memory supported in not only the new October 2009 Mac mini models, but prior generation mini models as well.  We believe we found the “secret ingredient” that makes exceeding Apple’s recommended 4GB maximum in these machines possible.

Previous testing revealed prior generations of the Mac mini were able to boot with 8GB of memory, but sadly either did not utilize the extra memory installed or – even worse – made the entire machine slower when accessing more than 4GB of memory at a time.  In Late August, Apple released Mac mini EFI Firmware Update 1.2 and this allowed these generations to boot without kernel panic. However, we still found that most systems slowed to a crawl when exceeding 4GB of memory in the system.

So far, here’s what we recently found though: our OWC 8GB Upgrade Kit works in the latest Mac mini 2.26 and 2.53 machines and are consistently and completely utilized by the machines.  We then tested these same modules on the prior generation Mac mini (early 2009)… and found them to work consistently as well! All units tested were running Snow Leopard.

We do have more testing to do using the same memory modules with prior Mac mini generation models running OS X 10.5. We also need to do performance tests to make sure that the additional memory actually gives a solid performance boost when more than 4GB is installed. But at this point, we’re feeling pretty confident that our “secret ingredient”…namely the quality of OWC brand memory… delivers the reliability you desire.

Be sure to check back Monday as we’re hoping to complete our testing at that time and be able to confirm that we will support over 4GB of memory in the Mac mini, or if my excitement got the better of me.

With Apple’s new machine releases, we’re hard at work in the OWC Test Labs seeing just how fast we can make the machines go.

Our first machine that we’re looking at is the October 2009 2.26GHz MacBook.  This machine is pretty tight on the inside – meaning there isn’t much extra unnecessary space inside.  Like the iPod and iPhone, conservation of space seems to be a high-priority of Apple’s design teams.  So even though the machine is lighter and sleeker, it does pose some drawbacks in upgrading.  This Macbook has no problem running either a 5400rpm, 7200rpm or SSD drive for the fastest speeds, however; the physical height of the drive is limited to the 9.5mm form factor.  The 12.5mm drives are too tall to fit in the space provided.

I should reiterate that point.  The drive doesn’t officially fit.  Sure, we were able to cram it in, and screw the cover closed (with a little bowing of the bottom) but we don’t suggest or will support actually running the drive this way.  Too much physical pressure on a drive can certainly contribute to early drive failure – it’s just not worth risking your data or the expense of a warranty compromised drive.

We’re pleased to announce our findings that our OWC brand memory certainly takes the cake in these machines!  While Apple lists 4GB as the maximum amount of installable memory, our 8GB memory kit OWC8566DDR3S8GP is now tested and fully certified for the full 8GB utilization – a real performance benefit for memory intensive application loads. While we were at it, we also tested another brand 8GB memory kit and found it consistently caused kernel panics and non-boot issues. Even though both are the same spec of DDR3 1066MHZ SO-DIMM, sometimes quality does have its result.

Thus, when we talk about how OWC brand memory meets or exceeds all Apple requirements for memory, it’s not just idle chatter or marketing-speak. Our on-premise testing lab enables us to physically confirm this fact for every machine listed in our compatibility charts.  Then, we back our quality assurance with a lifetime warranty.  How can you go wrong?

When it comes to redesigns, the new MacBooks have the most external changes. The case is now a Unibody design, only made of a polycarbonate material, rather than the aluminum of the MacBook Pros. As part of that change, the battery is now non-removable, keeping it in line with the rest of Apple’s portable line, and, as an added touch, the bottom is now rubberized, to prevent it from sliding around while in use.

Of course, as with many Apple updates, we wind up losing something, too. This time around, was the final death knell for FireWire on the MacBook. This isn’t much of a surprise, however. About this time last year, when Apple announced the original aluminum Unibody portables, the MacBook model had no FireWire, either. That was an interface found only on the MacBook Pro models, and the older-design MacBooks. When they finally did add FireWire to the 13″ aluminum MacBook, Apple also tacked on “Pro” to the end of the name. In light of all this, losing FireWire on the new MacBooks really isn’t all that surprising. Disappointing? Yes, but not surprising.

Despite the outward appearances, though, when it comes to upgrading, there’s not a whole lot of difference in options between the older MacBooks and this new one. Your main upgrades will be the memory and the hard drive.

more…

If you remember the old Kojack TV show…the phrase “who loves ya” baby came to mind thinking about some features on and upgrades for the new iMacs released today.

A feature long requested for iMacs – the ability to use your desktop computer as a secondary display for your laptop – is finally a reality!

From the iMac Features section on the Apple website:

Mini DisplayPort.
The Mini DisplayPort lets you connect an external display, including the Apple LED Cinema Display, to your iMac. On the 27-inch iMac, the same port offers input, too. So you can connect any external source that has DisplayPort output — including a MacBook or MacBook Pro — and use your iMac as a display.

This means if you have a MacBook or MacBook Pro for mobile computing, you don’t need to invest in/provide the room for a secondary display…just connect to your iMac when you get back to the desktop.

Now that you know what really got our motors revving here on these new “smoking machines” as OWC Jamie called them, I can tell you how to really make them scream with these OWC upgrades.

MEMORY

According to Apple’s Tech Specs page, all the new iMac models come with 4GB (2 x 2GB) of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM and can support up to 16GB via four memory slots.

If you want to bump that to 8GB (4 x 2GB) via Apple, that will set you back $200.00. The OWC 4GB Upgrade Kit (2 x 2GB) can be added to the factory stock 4GB for a total of 8GB…but at a substantial lower cost of $87.99.

We’ve got more options too…the OWC 8GB Upgrade Kit (2 x 4GB) adds 8GB to the factory stock 4GB for 12GB total memory for $475.99.

That same 8GB (2 x 4GB) upgrade for the 27 inch models from the factory is $600…

While the factory doesn’t offer the ultimate memory configuration of 16GB for the 21 inch iMac models, we do (who loves ‘ya baby?) and at savings over what’s offered for the 27 inch models. You can put two of the OWC 8GB Upgrade Kits into any of the iMacs for 16GB total at a cost of $952 versus $1,400 for the same 16GB offered by the factory for the 27 inch models only.

And like all our memory upgrades, we give you up to $45 cash back for your iMac’s factory memory modules!

STORAGE

The base 21.5 inch model comes with a 500GB hard drive while the other 21.5 and both 27 inch models come with a 1TB hard drive. The only option offered by the factory is a 2TB for $250.00. Taking a quick look at our current iMac upgrade page, one can find a 1.5TB drive for $129.99 and a 2TB for $239.99.

With all the options and savings we offer for the new iMacs, I’m thinking we should do a commercial with as equally a memorable ending as these Chicago area favorites.

While I share OWC Larry’s disappointment in the mini not getting a built in memory expansion boost, there still is a silver lining here. I’ll be taking a closer look at the new Mac models and showing you where you can upgrade and/or get more for your technology budget with comparable high performance upgrades/accessories from OWC.

I’ll start off with the $599.00 2.26GHz mini because I’m a value hound. It comes stock with 2GB of RAM and a 160GB 5400 RPM hard drive. OWC offers the following money saving upgrades to get the max from your mini:

4GB OWC Memory Upgrade Kit (2 x 2GB) is $87.99 versus Apple at $100.00.

You can store more for less too! A 320GB 5400 RPM hard drive starts at $65.99 versus Apple at $100 while a 500GB 5400RPM hard drive starts at $92.99 versus Apple at $200. Man, other than the faster processor, you could match the memory and HD specs of the $799.00 2.53GHz model and save $46.02.

One more thing caught my eye on the Configure your Mac mini page…the Mini DisplayPort Adapters. And once again, OWC has the options you need.

Our Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter is priced at $19.99 versus Apple’s at $29.99 while our MiniDisplay Port to VGA Adapter is $24.99 versus Apple at $29.00.

And if you’re digging the new dual 500GB hard drive Mac mini Server model, but are looking for more options to the factory external storage and SuperDrive offerings, we got ‘em!

While the External MacBook Air SuperDrive is USB bus powered, it is $99 and burns rather slowly: up to 8X DVD, 4X DVD Dual Layer, and 24X CD-R.

It’s almost not fair to compare that to the  OWC “Value Line” USB2.0/1.1 SuperDrive with up to 22X DVD, 12X DVD Dual Layer, and 40X CD-R burn speeds at just $64.99

And last but not least…that SmartStor 4 x 1TB FW800/FW400/USB external storage solution for $799 doesn’t seem like quite the smart buy when you could have the 4TB OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro Qx2 for $699 and get a “Quad Interface” of FW800/FW400/USB and eSATA!

So there you have it…a pretty thorough examination of how you can max your mini with OWC. Revisit the blog to see my takes on the iMac and white MacBook models and how you can get the most from them too.

We often think of OWC as a giant resource…a collective of individual skills, knowledge, talents, and passion…that all come together to offer assistance to Mac users around the world. Whether it be our free lifetime US-based technical support, Live Chat even on the weekends, our free Installation Videos, and more, we’re pleased to help you get the most from your Mac and your technology budget.

We’re pleased to lend a helping hand because we’ve been there as customers too…looking for help and not getting it in a timely or courteous manner. And like all good deeds – or even Karma – what goes around comes around.

Case in point…check out how creating a world of help gets started:

I had problems with my Lexmark X4850 All in One printer/scanner after installing 10.6 and had to wait for Lexmark to issue a new driver. After that, with some fiddling around, I got to print wireless, least before that, only on the wire.

That was not it however!

The first time I tried to scan (and never could do this wireless for some reason, even though Lexmark said I should be able to) I was unable to and the program crashed. I tried and tried, and finally found out I had to use a “workaround” using the TWAIN method.   This is how:

Lexmark drivers bundled with Mac OS X 10.6 do not come with the usual All-in-One Center application that allows the user to scan using TWAIN backend. To scan using the bundled drivers, users can utilize the Image Capture application bundled with Mac OS X 10.6. Users may access this application by going to the Application folder and launching Image Capture or by going to System Preferences the Print & Fax, selecting the Print Queue and opening it and clicking on the Scanner button on the upper right corner. TWAIN scanning support will be provided in future releases of 10.6.

It works, but you have to remember it after using the usual method for a long time. I tell you this in case others have the same problem and ask you.  You helped me often, now it is my turn.

Regards,

Rick S., Winter Park, Florida
OWC customer for about 5-8 years, Mac user for about 18 years

Equally cool to his tip was some additional insight from Rick on how deep the OWC commitment to serving goes. It seems OWC Larry was personally helping Rick upgrade a MiniTower G3 years ago and must have given Rick his home phone number. Larry’s wife answered the phone, informed Rick that Larry wasn’t home, and then proceed to help Rick to the point of being complimented as being “quite knowledgeable too”.

We encourage you to turn things around too and send us your helpful tips so that we can share them!

Other World Computing received official word that it landed on the 2009 Inc. 5000 list of Americas fastest growing private companies for the third year in a row! Ranking 3,118, OWC continues to climb in the ranks at a proud and steady pace.

First making the list in 2007, OWC ranked 3,378 and scored #78 on the Top 100 Computer & Electronics list. In 2008, OWC moved to 3,290 and dropped one place to #79 on Top 100 Computer & Electronics.

Now in 2009, OWC obtained the #41 spot on the Top 100 Computer Hardware list!

One of the “unsung heroes” of the OWC product line is the Mercury Elite-AL Pro Horizontal Enclosure Stand. Designed to provide a secure, stable way to securely stack OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro Storage Solutions on top of each other, this simple stand has a lot more to it than one might think.

First of all, it isn’t just some cheap piece of plastic that you slap on the bottom of the drive enclosure. It’s constructed of the same high-quality aircraft-grade aluminum as the Mercury Elite-AL Pro it was designed to compliment. That means it can stand up to the physical stresses that some people (like myself) subject their drives to. Aesthetically, this is also a good choice, as making it from the same material as the enclosure allows them to match and appear as one cohesive unit. You can’t get that kind of a match with a plastic base.

Of course, there’s also the matter of keeping the drive securely positioned. Metal-on-metal setups usually wind up with scratches and/or slipping. We got around that, however, by using a high-grade, non-marking rubber to protect the drive enclosure and keep it from sliding out of the stand.

The rubber serves another purpose as well. A hard drive has several metal disks inside, spinning at 5400 to 10,000 RPM. By its very nature, it’s going to vibrate, and a vibrating metal case on a solid surface tends to get a little… noisy. Fortunately, the same rubber holding the drive in this stand also absorbs the vast majority of the vibration generated by the spinning hard drive.

Any remaining vibration is further reduced by the non-marking rubber feet on the bottom of the stand, which also help prevent the aluminum base from scratching the surface you’ve got it on.

There’s something else special about those rubber feet on the Mercury Elite-AL Pro Horizontal Enclosure Stand. The rubber feet on most other bases are merely stuck on with adhesive which can weaken and peel over time. Our solution to this was to design the feet so they actually go through the base and are held on by a flared top.

As you can see, we put a lot of thought into something seemingly as simple as a hard drive stand. If we put that much attention to detail into a product accessory, can you imagine the amount of thought and consideration that goes into the products themselves?

In other words, we worry about it now, so you don’t have to worry about it later.

As just one of our many ways to connect and communicate with customers at OWC, we dove into the deep end of the “social marketing” Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube pools earlier this year as well with the unveiling of and commitment to this blog.

As I am the “man behind the curtain” persona of @macsales on Twitter, I’ve become somewhat of a Twitterholic. That being said, I have no plans of posting random thoughts such as my affinity for Take and Bake meals from Two Tails Market & Eatery.

Rather, what I’ve found other Tweeps to be thankful for are Tweets from us on new product announcements, insights to overlooked features on existing products or even new uses for those products, special price deals, independent product reviews, and facilitating customer service related needs.

The Tweets we are thankful for are the daily recommendations and praise OWC/macsales gets. I’ve visited other users Twitter profiles so I could personally thank them at their website. One person actually then Tweeted that thanking him was a classy act. Ever since that comment, I’ve been trying to come up with a consistent and significant way we could recognize these Tweets and perhaps introduce these folks to other Tweeps.

Additionally, I wanted to come up with a phrase or hashtag that could become as widely used as #FollowFriday or #FF for short. While it would be cool for OWC to be credited as the founder of a Twitter Trend, what would be most gratifying is to see this become THE hashtag used anytime someone wants to Tweet their appreciation for an act of kindness from any source.

So with great hope and positive intentions surrounding this sentiment, I give you Thanks For The Love or #TFTL. While OWC/macsales is well known for high performance, high quality products and a dedication to serving the customer that is second to none, I wanted to make sure we’re also known for truly appreciating our customers loyalty and trust in the form of a Tweet and that #TFTL is just one small way we can “pay it forward” in the world.

So go ahead…make someone’s day…tell them #TFTL.

We here at OWC strive to make your experience with us the best it can be.

You’ve probably heard us say that – in one way or another – thousands of times. That doesn’t make it any less true. Sometimes, though, it’s better to hear it from the other end of the chain – to hear comments from the people who buy and use our products.

We’ve collected a number of great comments from our customers over the years, from magazines, to blog or web forum comments, to feedback left on our site. Today, we’d like to share some of our favorites with you, not to “toot our own horn,” but to validate our commitment to making the “OWC Experience” as good as it can be.

• “I just know I trusted every order, made the upgrades and every one of them worked the first time, every time. Never cussed you once. “- Tom Keith, Ponca City, OK .
• “Thanks for the thorough video from start to finish this is the best out there. I followed the directions to a t and was disassembled, installed and running in 5 minutes.” – “wahoodanb” via our YouTube channel
• “In the six years I’ve dealt with OWC, I’ve never had an issue with them … … you can be very sure everything you’d ever get from them will be fine.” – Dave Perez, MacDave Macintosh Services & Consulting, Berkely, CA
• “You guys operate just like a Mac, always reliable and friendly.” – Mike Ring, Allentown, PA
• “Your prices, shipping are excellent, but your instructional video is OUT f*ing STANDING!! As an illustrator and former Creative Director , I know the value of clear, concise instructions. Well done!” – Clarke Barr,  Danbury, CT
• “I’m a pastor, not a tech guy. You guys make it easy to upgrade with your great support!” – Pastor Ron Heffield,  Orlando, FL
  
• “I’ve purchased two hard drive enclosures (one new and one used), three hard drives, and memory for both my MacBook and my aluminum iMac.  The products have always arrived quickly with no other problems. The installation videos that OWC provides are a godsend when confronting upgrading for the first time. For my mac computer needs… OWC is who I turn to first!!” – Sam Powell, via our Facebook page.
• “Absolutely excellent ease of use on the site and speed of service and delivery.  Between the incredibly fast delivery of my order and the great guide videos on the site I was able to upgrade my Mac mini within 2 business days of my original order.  Unheard of and unparalleled. You guys rock!” – Alain O’Dea, St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada
• “I’ve dealt with OWC for years and never had a problem. Great company!” – Terry White, via his Tech Blog
• “After a $400 quote from a walk-in store to change out a superdrive, I did it myself, thanks to your great ‘How To’ videos! It  only took me 12 minutes — you saved my Mac!”  – Joy Anderson ,  Wisconsin Rapids, WI
• “with your video, the only way to fail is by not watching it…” – “docmurdock” via Twitter
• “Just outstanding, folks. I buy all my Mac upgrades from you and have referred others. I just received and installed 8 GB of RAM and a Raptor drive for my new (used) Mac Pro and couldn’t be more pleased with your speed, the quality of your product and the great tech videos you provide. You’re the best in the business. Thanks! “ – Mark Cleveland, Albuquerque, NM
• “You want the best computer, you buy a Mac. You want the best stuff to go into that Mac – you go to OWC. Thanks for the great service…your guys did everything except bring me a cold beer!”  – Jeff Hargiss, Waterloo, IL
• “your external hard drives are the [expletive deleted]! toshiba, western digital and all them are @$$fingers next to you! high5! thanks for maakign[sic] great products!” – name withheld by request
• “OWC rocks! It’s Mac users paradise, in products and prices.  – Javier Pinzon,  Bethany, CT
• “I’m almost speechless at my memory upgrade performance. The online video made the install a breeze, this is coming from a plumber who has never tried anything like this before. Keep up the great work. “ – Peter Murphy,  Belmont, MA
• “OWC put the ‘Y’ in ‘DIY’ for me!” – Michael Dubrule, Michael Dubrule Photography , Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• “Just received my Newer Tech Universal Drive Adapter , and was able to retrieve the data off an old hard drive, pulled from a notebook computer we ran over with a truck back in 2005. Thanks for such a killer product.” –   Michael Dunlop, Pine Grove, CA
• “In these difficult economic times, quality and value are more important than ever . Superior performance, great price, and excellent support, all at affordable price points — good job OWC!!!”  -  Louis Vozza, Staten Island, NY
• “Thanks to this great video, I managed to replace my drive without any hassle” – ‘shenanigang’ via our YouTube channel
• “Hey.. i’ve never -not- loved you guys.. :)” - “LayersTV_RC” via Twitter
• “That OWC Chris S. is such an amazingly cool guy – someone should buy him a MacBook Pro.” – anonymous.

Okay… I made that last one up just to see if you were paying attention.

The rest, though, are all true customer testimonials. In fact, those are just the tip of the iceberg.

We value all feedback on your OWC Experience, whether its here on the Blog, on our YouTube and Facebook pages, via Twitter, or through our Web site, It lets us know how we’re doing in our mission to make upgrading your computer the best experience it can be.

There are many different bus-powered portable hard drives on the market, but most fall short in delivering everything you need. Bus-powered means that you do not need an AC-adapter to run the drive and that your FireWire or USB port powers it. Iomega, LaCie, Apricorn, and others sell 500GB portables that fit in your pocket, include some kind of shock resistance, and as I can personally attest, work flawlessly. What these companies do not offer is a portable drive that offers multiple types of connections, a speedy hard drive mechanism accompanied by a reasonably sized data transfer cache, and a suite of useful hard drive utilities.

Enter the Mercury On-The-Go Pro. What sets OWC’s new portable solution apart from other brands are these features: Drive speed, data cache, software, and warranty. The newest option finds a massive 500GB 7200RPM drive with 16MB data cache – suitable for video and sound editing on the go – securely housed in our proven shock resistant polycarbonate acrylic transparent case. While big on performance, this little powerhouse will fit discreetly into your pocket and weighs only 2.5 lbs.

This 500GB baby fills your travel bag or pocket with a complete solution, perfect for photographers who depend on RAW file capture or the video or audio editors that need portable speed and space. When you need to preserve your MacBook’s or laptop’s battery life, you can use the OWC Mercury On-The-Go AC Power Adapter. The adapter sells for only $4.99 and uses a standard US AC plug.

If your technology budget hangs over your head like the Sword of Damocles, OWC offers other Mercury On-The-Go Pro solution in a variety of affordable FireWire/USB 2.0 interface and RPM speed models.

Included with all these perfectly portable storage solutions are a carrying case, all the cables you need, a 3-year warranty, and a CD with OWC’s signature disk utility software bundle. The $200 retail value bundle includes a retail version of Prosoft Data Backup 3 for OS X, NovaStor NovaBACKUP for Windows, Intech HD SpeedTools, and Carbon Copy Cloner. These applications are not required to use the On-The-Go, but are useful utilities for backing up data and managing your hard drive.

Don’t Take Our Word For It

While our newest, speediest solution hasn’t been on the market long enough to generate any reviews, we can link you to reviews of our other Mercury On-The-Go products. Read for yourself how the experts liked the ultimate portable Mercury On-The-Go solution. Please note that the prices listed in the reviews may not reflect current pricing.

BlogCritics Technology Review, by Mark Buckingham, 3/13/09: OWC Mercury On-The-Go 320GB 7200RPM External Hard Drive.

ZDNet, The Apple Core, by Jason O’Grady, 5/6/08: Review: OWC Mercury On-The-Go 500GB portable HDD.

Macworld.com, by Chris Holt, 12/09/08: OWC Mercury On-The-Go FireWire 800/400 + USB 2.0 320GB.

CNET Editor’s Review by Dong Ngo, 5/13/08: OWC Mercury On-The-Go (500GB).

OWC's American Flag at half-mast

On Monday, May 25th, OWC was closed in honor of Memorial Day. This solemn day, originally designated in 1868, is now observed as a federal holiday on the last Monday of May. Designed to commemorate the lives given in service to our fair nation; parades, speeches, and family observances occur nationwide to honor those thousands of fallen men and women. To learn more about the history and meaning of Memorial Day, www.USMemorialDay.org is an excellent resource.

OWC proudly flies an American Flag at our headquarters and in compliance with Memorial Day decorum, it was my personal honor to set our flag at half-mast at sunrise and then restore it to full mast at noon on Monday. The entire OWC team takes its responsibility to our members of the Armed Forces very seriously and we support their efforts far beyond honoring those who have lost their lives.

OWC's American Flag raised to full mast at 12:00PM

In 2008, as part of our support project for the soldiers of the McHenry County National Guard Unit (Delta Company 1st Battalion, 178 Infantry Regiment who had been recently deployed to Afghanistan, we shipped individual care packages, one for each of the 55 soldiers, plus letters from the local elementary school children. We truly find it an honor to know and support our local National Guard Unit.

Earlier this year, we learned those troops, currently deployed in Afghanistan, were trying to start up regular softball games but did not have any equipment.

So, we felt it was our duty to send them a shipment of softball equipment. We received this grateful acknowledgement:

“I just wanted to write and let you know we have received the equipment you sent, and thank you again for your support. The guys are excited to get a few games going. We are waiting for a down day when we can get a couple of games in. We will try to get some pictures and send them to you. I hope everything is going well back home. I’ll be in touch. Thanks again for your friendship and your support.” SFC Bill Hornbeck

Two months ago, we learned with great sadness that three of our local heroes lost their lives in Afghanistan. Our American Flag was lowered and each employee engaged in a moment of silence to honor these young men. In a small town, the loss of one life reverberates across the community, and three fallen heroes is more than one town should have to bear.

Our sincere thanks and gratitude goes out to all those serving today, as well as those who have served in our Armed Forces across time. We remember and honor those that have fallen in the line of duty. Our hearts go with all of you who have lost loved ones in time of war and strife.

One of the little things often overlooked by many external drive manufacturers is the drive’s Desktop icon. In many cases, all you get is OS X’s “generic” orange external drive icon. That’s fine, I suppose, if you’re only using one drive, but what if you have a bunch of external drives, like I do? That’s a lot of orange!

All OWC and NewerTech External Storage Solutions, however, not only come pre-formatted for OS X, but every drive has a custom icon that was specially designed to blend right in with Apple’s default icons, as if they were always part of the system. If you have a Mercury Elite-AL, that’s what you see on your Desktop. Same with the On-The-Go, the miniStack, or any OWC or NewerTech Storage Solution. Our products are designed with Macs in mind, and it’s that attention to detail that helps make OWC a standout in the Mac community.

What happens, though, if you reformat your drive, erasing the icon with it, or if you put your own drive in an OWC or NewerTech enclosure? Are you doomed to a life of generic orange icons? Is the joy of having your OWC or NewerTech drive gloriously represented on your desktop merely a dream, never to be realized?

Of course not!

Right on the OWC Web site is a repository of all our Storage Solution icons, as well as some original Time Machine icons, too. Simply download the appropriate icon set, pick the icon you want, and follow the simple replacement instructions on the page. It couldn’t be easier!