No, it’s not a super-secret way to copy or store copyrighted games, nor is it some crazy way of controlling your games using the hard drive, despite what the image to the right would suggest.

Instead, ace support tech and avid gamer OWC Duane has put together a fabulous walkthrough for setting up your OWC or Newertech USB 2.0 External or Portable Storage Solution as a media drive for your XBox or Playstation 3, allowing you to play back movies and music without having to network it to your home computer.

Accessing your media this way not only offers convenience, portability and speed, but it also offers significant energy settings; a single hard drive uses considerably less energy than a whole computer.

If this sort of thing sounds like it’s right up your alley, check out the full article on our main site.

Lest Earth Day be celebrated and forgotten, I want to remind you that the NewerTech Guardian MAXimus is a leader in green technology. Techno Dad Mike Ferrara highlighted the NewerTech Guardian MAXimus Hardware RAID-1 storage solution in a segment on ABC in Chicago: Earth Friendly Electronic Devices. The GMAX, as we affectionately call it, incorporates energy efficient technologies for up to a 40% power savings, using four platters instead of five. This means it generates less heat, which extends drive life. Plus, its thermo-regulated “Smart Fan” increases in speed during heavy drive usage, so it is not running at full power all the time.

The Guardian MAXimus “live activity” backup/data redundant external solution saves data while you work on two SATA hard drives, so you have a “mirror” of your files. It’s not only energy efficient, but protects you against a system crash. Choose from 250GB to 2.0TB drives (in pairs) for peace of mind storage in one convenient package. The new 2TB solution with eSATA was introduced on April 21st.

All models include four interfaces (FireWire 400 and 800, USB 2.0, and eSATA), a complete set of interface connecting cables, and over 1GB of software. No need to search for backup software, because the software bundle includes Prosoft Engineering’s Backup and Bombich Software’s always-popular Carbon Copy Cloner. Plus, the drive supports Time Machine. PC users get NovaStor NovaBACKUP for Windows.

We know you don’t want to just take our word for how well this drive works in the real world, so check the links below for independent reviews.

A Year With NewerTech Guardian Maximus and RAID, an OWC blog post with links to Eric Brodeur’s blog.

Guardian Maximus for up to the minute protection, by Terry White on his blog, 6/11/08.

The Newer Tech Guardian MAXimus RAID Mirrored Data Redundant Solution Review, by Judie Lipsett at Gear Diary, 6/5/08.

Review – Guardian Maximus RAID Drive Enclosure, by George Starcher, at Typical MacUser, 5/12/08.

Now that we’ve covered the basic upgrades for the new 2009 Macs, its time to get back to showing you how to upgrade an older machine so you can still enjoy using an older Mac while it while you save up your pennies (or, as Microsoft would have you believe, sell a kidney or your first-born) for a new one.

This time around, we’re swapping out the optical drive in a pre-Unibody 17″ MacBook Pro. Over time, with a number of different machines, I’ve had quite a few stock optical drives fail on me, so knowing how to replace one is always a good skill to have.

As always, you can check out the new videos either in our Tech Center, or on our YouTube Channel.

Our versatile and fearless leader Larry O’Connor has posted an informative article in our Quick Tips area, titled “Make your Current Mac feel like it’s a New Mac again!” This concise article links to helpful tidbits on how you can possibly get better performance out of your old Mac by upgrading some of its parts, than if you plop down that fortune on a brand new machine.

The article also links to an archived newsletter (linked below) that details how you can add RAM, a hard drive, faster DVD, or even replace your video card and/or processor to create your dream machine. All at a fraction of the cost of a new machine.

I know the “Speedbump that current Mac for that ‘New’ Mac feeling” article was useful to me, because I upgraded an old 500 MHz G4 AGP Graphics tower with one of OWC’s PowerMac processor upgrades and now use that machine solely for scanning photos, something it couldn’t do before. It’s convenient to have a workstation devoted to a life’s work that involves multiple pieces of hardware, which I don’t have to move out of the way when I need to work; I have an Intel Mac for that! Plus, scanning my thousands of photos gives that doorstop a purpose in life!

You may have heard of Woodstock, thanks to a huge concert held in Woodstock, NY, way back in 1969; but that’s not the only Woodstock on the map. Northwest of Chicago lies Woodstock, Illinois, the location where the movie Groundhog Day was shot, and the home of Other World Computing. The county in which OWC resides was once populated with oak and hickory woodlands, which are central to the area’s ecosystem. Unfortunately, land use, development, aging trees, and other factors, have dramatically changed the landscape.

OWC Gives Back

In celebration of Earth Day OWC donated 20 young oak saplings, to be planted Saturday, May 16, at the Westwood Nature Area, in Woodstock, near Route 14 and South Street. This event supports McHenry County’s Project Quercus, designed to protect and regenerate the oak woods in the area. OWC isn’t just dropping off those babies either, many of the staff will be on hand to put them gently into Mother Earth. The sponsorship of Westwood Nature Area Volunteer Work Day, along with their oak tree donation represent two of the five initiatives OWC plans to support in 2009 as part of our long-term commitment to the environment. A press release launched today contains more details, plus we will post more blogs as we implement the services.

History of Oak Loss

While you may not appreciate the magnitude of the gesture, the Land Conservancy of McHenry County notes that “Oaks are one of the things that make McHenry County beautiful, but we are losing them at an alarming rate due to a combination of environmental stresses. Some of those stresses happen inadvertently when homeowners mow, fertilize, and grade their property in ways that harm the oaks’ delicate root systems.” (Source: Environmental Defenders of McHenry County.)

The problem in this area is rather critical, as a 2007 study of the past and present status of oak trees by the McHenry County Conservation District showed: “… that while about one-third of the county had oak-hickory woodlands in the 1830’s, today less than 5% of the landscape contains oak woods–an 87% loss.” There are over 400 varieties of oak in North America, but the Midwest oak savannas tend to include bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa), white oak (Q. alba), black oak (Q. velutina), and northern pin oak (Q. ellipsoidalis). The Savanna Oak Foundation, Inc. contains more information on the importance of the oak savannas in the midwestern ecosystem.

OWC doesn’t just reside in a town, it actively supports environmental efforts to make sure the community withstands the passing of time. It also fosters community within the company by promoting activities  of interest to staff and their families.

4/24/09: Rearranged a couple of links.

When I tell people I really like OWC’s external drive solutions, most people  assume I’m just saying that because I happen to work here. I suppose that’s a valid argument; the more drives we sell, the more money the company makes, and by extension the more likely I will be able to keep a roof over my head.

That’s not the only reason I say that, though. Its not even the main reason. Taking off my “OWC Hat,” I still legitimately like the products. When compared to most external hard drives of comparable price & capacity, the OWC and Newer Technology offerings seem to come out ahead each time, and it always comes down to what’s inside the box.

The first thing I notice is the fact that OWC drive solutions are just that – solutions. I know that if I purchase one of those, I’m not going to have to purchase some other part or accessory to use it. All the cables that can be used with a particular enclosure are included – USB, FireWire 800/400 or even eSATA. Backup software is included, in case I want to do that.

Even neater, on the drives themselves is over 2GB of shareware, freeware, and other goodies. Since I don’t have a broadband internet connection at home (or, indeed, one at all) its useful for finding utilities I never knew about or getting a hold of a copy of my favorite Apple commercial. A file that large also helps me rest easy about the drive; I figure that if a drive can take over 2GB of data in one go without choking, that drive is going to be able to take the considerably smaller files I’ll be throwing at it at any given time.

The biggest thing for me, though, is even further “inside.” Because they list it right there on the site, I know that if I were to open up my OWC drive solution, I would find a name-brand hard drive in there. That makes a big difference to me. I once purchased an external device with a no-name, generic drive inside, and the thing was inoperative in just a few months. With my OWC drives, I know that the drive mechanism inside was constructed by a reputable company that’s been around for a while, meaning that my data is in some more experienced hands.

Speaking of warranties, all OWC and Newer Technology drive solutions have a 3-year Limited Warranty. Its nice to know that they stand behind their products; I wasn’t so fortunate with that no-name drive. And if the drive solutions runs 3 years and 1 day past the warranty, before an unpleasant head crash? Those same name-brand drives often have warranties that extend past the OWC one; all I need to do is take it out of the case and work with the drive manufacturer.

Putting that “OWC hat” back on, I do have to say that we all take a lot of pride in our products. You don’t have to buy your external storage solutions from us, but we’re glad you do and we’re working every day to make your computing experience that much better.

A couple of weeks ago, we showed you how to add a PCIe card to the Early ‘09 Mac Pro. that’s cool and all, but what if all you need is a simple eSATA port? Sure, there’s some darn good PCIe cards out there that will provide eSATA connectivity, but what if you’re on a budget?

For half the cost of the least expensive eSATA PCIe card, you can use Newer Technology’s eSATA Extender Cable Adapter to re-route the spare optical drive’s SATA connection to the outside.

It’s a straightforward installation, and when you’re done, you can enjoy a high-speed connection to your favorite eSATA device. If you don’t have one, I’d suggest the new Mercury Elite-AL Pro Qx2. They’re pretty slick and will take advantage of that new eSATA port’s speed.

You can find the videos both on our Early ‘09 Mac Pro Installation Video page, as well as on our YouTube Channel. While you’re there, feel free to drop a line or leave a comment to let us know how we’re doing.

You can buy products from a variety of sites across the Net; but often you have to blindly trust that the company will honor the warranty, provide timely customer service, or replace problem products. Often, friends are your trusted vendor source. While it may seem an impossible task to identify the best place to buy, BizRate, a shopping and product comparison site, provides store ratings and has awarded OWC the BizRate Gold Circle of Excellence for five consecutive years.

We tell you what other customers are saying about us with monthly Customer Comments, right on the site. If that doesn’t warm your heart, than look to unsolicited blogs, written by a couple of Mac devotees.

For example, in his post, Doing It Right, Jordan Satok notes how seamlessly things progressed when he ordered a 1.0TB drive from us, even though it was a holiday weekend.

Larry Yaeger, Professor of Informatics at Indiana University, purchased multiple NewerTech Voyager Q hard drive docking stations that had the same FireWire ID numbers. He resolved his problem with a call to NewerTech technical support. OWC resolved the whole problem by initiating an ID fix within hours of hearing about the problem. Incidentally, Larry’s calls to another vendor’s support department went unanswered.

Whether you email, call, or request assistance on our web site, OWC’s tech support team handles every request with Miss Manner’s decorum. How many companies offer free lifetime U.S. based technical support — even on weekends? We do and we’re proud to offer you great products, at reasonable prices, with a full complement of support services. I know that I like their products and service so much, I now work for OWC!

Who has the iPod shuffle 1st Generation anymore? I don’t anymore. Sure there are a few around, but really…

You want the latest, greatest, longest lasting iPod.

You may have the latest, greatest, almost longest lasting iPod…

Almost?!?

Any iPod can certainly benefit from longer runtimes. How else are we to be entertained on long flights? Or, fed musically on our road trips without having to cycle through constantly changing radio stations all while conserving power on our laptops?  The easiest way to do so is to buy an external battery pack to keep the good times rolling when away from a power source.  Most external rechargeable batteries for iPods and iPhones are designed to compliment the iPod for which it’s intended.  Our own NewerTech NuPower Video+ Rechargeable Battery Pack for the iPod Video is a handsome (and reviewer favorite!) device designed to cradle your iPod Video and provide additional runtime or even recharge the iPod Video itself.  It’s a fantastic product – if you have that model iPod.

We recently acquired a fair amount of stock on the iRecharge for iPod Shuffle.  It’s a rechargeable battery pack designed to dock the iPod shuffle and provide up to 40 hours of additional runtime.  And what a deal we can pass on to you… these babies are selling for $4.99 to $5.99 depending on whether it comes with one or three neoprene iPod shuffle protective sleeves.

Oh, you don’t have the iPod Shuffle either?

Not a problem at all!  The iPod shuffle was unique in that the USB plug was built in, designed to charge and transfer data much the same as a thumb drive.  But it is not unique in so far as all iPods since the 4th Generation iPod charge via a USB charging cable.  This means you can plug that cable into the USB port on the iRecharge and, while it won’t clip on to your iPod or iPhone, you can increase the runtime or charge your model in just the same way for a fraction of the cost!  Many of today’s iPod/iPhone external rechargeable power sources can cost upwards of $50.00, so for about 10% of that cost you get the rechargeable battery that works with your current iPod, and a protective sleeve that doesn’t.  But for that price…throw the sleeve away!

Ok, I’m not one for buying something only to throw it away, but the case can come in handy for other purposes too.  You can use it as finger puppet clothing, a chewing gum carrying case, a miniature doll sleeping bag, attach a hook to it and go fishing, the possibilities of re-purposing could be endless! Hmm, do you have a special favorite use you wish to tell the world? If we get a reply comment on the blog that is really creative and much more useful than my own suggestions, we’ll send you an OWC “Holy Smokes!” Limited Edition MacWorld 2009 T-Shirt .

Maps – Geeks, nerds, travelers, and millions of trivia buffs, all love maps. Almost everyone, except my mother, loves maps. Internet maps are particularly interesting, because they often highlight the most read sites in a creative way. One trend is to show off site popularity by mapping sites on a subway map. Subway maps have lots of logical pathways that make showing Internet topic areas easy, plus they allow color-coding and good layout. I can’t imagine how anyone could read such a huge amount of information if you tried another format, such as a circuit board, or the national electric grid!

Web Trend Map 4 Final Beta overlays the most popular web sites over the Toykyo transit system map. This gargantuan effort, fashioned by Information Architects (iA) in Japan, shows off  the 333 most popular Web sites. A timeline-type graphic along the bottom highlights the 50 most influential domains and their associated movers in the industry.  According to the site, the map should be finalized today, and only 1,000 copies will be printed. The 2008 version sold out completely, but you can still download the PDF file of the Web Trend Map 2008. We recommend you open the file on a large monitor,  if you want to view and actually read the map.

The new map includes topic lines for Community, Creative, Consumption, Broadcasting, Knowledge, Advertisements, Sharing, Entertainment, and Filters. Little square stations populate the map to highlight domains, which show off site success by height, stability by width.

The lost and missing on this map are hardware companies and equipment vendors. They can’t be dismissed as unimportant across the Web, especially considering how much valuable information these sites contain. Maybe next year a similar map with the likes of HP, Hitachi, Seagate, and of course, OWC will appear.

This week’s instructional video shows you how to add a second optical drive to the 2009 Mac Pro. It’s a real simple process, requiring only a small screwdriver and a paper clip.

This is a useful upgrade, especially if you do a lot of disc burning and/or duplication, or simply want to add Blu-Ray data storage and movie creation (sorry, still no playback support) to your Mac.

Check out how to perform this upgrade either at our YouTube channel or at the 2009 Mac Pro page in our newly-redesigned Video section!

Apple’s latest edition to their lineup, the  MacBook Pro 15″ (Early 2009) ’Unibody’ machines are a welcome addition indeed.  Boasting a definite speed bump to 2.66GHz and 2.93GHz of processor speed and now the ability to use up to 8GB of memory! More information can be found at yesterday’s hungry, hungry MacBook Pro blog post.

As promised in that post, the benchmark results are in!

The testing of additional memory in these systems does show a solid performance boost with the addition of our 4GB memory modules.  To view the tests for yourself see our Upgrading Memory in your MacBook / MacBook Pro 15″ page.

To compare the raw processor speed of the new model versus the previous versions you’ll want to check out the Upgrading Memory and a Hard Drive in your MacBook Pro 15″ page.

I’ve got some bad news for you; your hard drive is going to fail.

It’s not likely to be any time soon; under average conditions, most modern hard drives have a fairly long life span. I’ve got a 10-year old ATA drive at home that still spins up and works like a charm – albeit a little slowly.

The fact remains, though, that your hard drive is an electro-mechanical device and, as such, will eventually fail. This is one of the main reasons I am such a preacher of frequent data backup. If you haven’t been careful with your backups and you need to get data off of the drive, you can look forward to working with a Data Recovery Service and the associated fees.

However, if you’ve been diligent with your backups, when your drive finally goes to The Big RAID Array in the Sky, you should be able to install a new drive, restore your data, and plow on ahead. If the drive is under warranty (most drives have 3-year warranties, and the drives in OWC Enterprise-class Solutions are covered up to 5 years). If you’re past the warranty period, the replacement would, obviously, be done with a new drive.

Either way, the only thing you will have left is that old, dead hard drive.

However, even though it is unable to perform its intended function, that dead hard drive still has plenty of useful parts inside.  You just need to open it up.

WARNING! Opening the hard drive will not only void your drive’s warranty, it will DESTROY the drive, preventing you from EVER being able to recover the data without extreme expense. Even then, the chances for recovery are VERY slim. ONLY do this if you NEVER want to see the data on this drive again!!

All you need is a couple of Torx screwdrivers (I’ve found T-6 and T-8 to be the most common) and a larger flat-bladed one. Remove all the screws you can find on the outside (sometimes they’re hidden under labels), and you should be able to remove the top cover.

Keep the screws around; they’re decent quality, and you never know when one of them may fit a use you’d never have thought of. I’ve got a number of hard drive screws that replaced old, stripped screws in my old Wallstreet PowerBook.

Once you’re inside, you can get to the really fun parts. I’m not going to detail how to remove them, as it varies a bit between manufacturers and models, but here’s a list of some of the neat things inside.

• Platters – Those metal disks are where all the data is stored. They’ve also got very shiny surfaces. If you can get them out without smudging them with fingerprints, you can have yourself all sorts of fun for anything requiring a mirror. For a while, I had one taped to my monitor, so co-workers couldn’t sneak up on me.
• Drive Motor – These are tricky to remove, but I have a couple of these in a drawer at home. I have yet to really look into what the exact power requirements they have, but I figure  a 4200-10,000 rpm motor has got to prove useful eventually!
• Magnet(s) – This is probably the most popular – and the most useful – component inside the hard drive. The rare-earth magnets used in moving the read-write arm is quite strong and, as such, can be rather useful.Here’s just a small list of uses I’ve put to these little gems.
  • Holding things up in my cubicle – I have one I use for my keys, one holding up a small painting, and a couple I have “just in case”
  • Holding things down at home – there’s a leak in the sunroof on my car, so I use four drive magnets to hold a tarp over the sun roof when it rains. No more leaks! I also use a pair of 2.5” drive magnets to hold the curtains closed in my TV room, to prevent glare from the neighbor’s porch light while watching movies.
  • Screw Retrieval – There have been a number of times, while taking a computer apart, that I’ve dropped a screw on the patterned carpet here. All I needed to do was wave one of these drive magnets over the area it seemed to have dropped on, and I had the screw back within a matter of moments.
  • Tool Kit Enhancements – With the original NewerTech Screwdriver Kit, I taped one of these to the inside of the plastic case. I used it to magnetize/demagnetize the screwdriver heads, hold screws I removed, and when I was done, used it to stick the whole thing to the side of my file cabinet. With the new, 11-piece kit I retained much of the same functionality with a magnet from a 2.5” drive. As soon as I get around to stitching it to the outer case, I’ll be back to where I was before.

As for any of the other gaskets, connections, and other pieces, I will leave it up to your imagination (and possibly a trip to Make and/or Instructables) to come up with uses for those.

Of course, once you’re all done stripping your drive for parts, you should responsibly recycle the remaining pieces.

While complete hard drive failure is never a pleasant experience, at least you can offset the tragedy with the acquisistion of some entertaining and/or useful accessories.

OWC just received the new, speed-bumped 15″ MacBook Pros that Apple released last month. While the boost in processor speed is nice, there’s another performance booster that Apple has remained relatively quiet about: these newer models can handle up to 8GB of memory!

That’s right! You can replace one factory 2GB module with an OWC 4GB module to go to 6GB, or replace both to take it all the way to 8GB, just like their 17″ brethren. We know. We confirmed it ourselves, in actual MacBook Pros, right here in our own testing facility.

We’ll be posting the benchmark results of how much this memory increases performance in these models shortly, but as we have all seen time and time again, adding more memory results in better overall performance. With more memory, you can “feed” all those memory-hungry apps like Photoshop, ProTools and Adobe AfterEffects and enjoy the performance increase of many common tasks.

You may be wondering if Apple supports this configuration, since they’ve said very little about it. Apparently, they are supporting this configuration since they are selling an 8GB upgrade kit on their site. Perhaps there has been little fanfare on their behalf because that particular upgrade is going for $1200!

Fortunately, you don’t have to shell out that much. OWC has you covered with a much more wallet-friendly solution.

However, this 8GB maximum only applies to the new 2.66GHz and 2.93GHz MacBook Pro 15.4″ models that were released in March 2009. The October ‘08 “Unibody” MacBook Pros remain limited to a maximum of 6GB, as do the prior 15.4” models equipped with 2.53GHz or 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo processors.

OWC offers a full line of memory for upgrading nearly every Apple model made in the last twenty years. Whatever model MacBook Pro (or MacBook… or Mac Pro… or Mac mini… or iMac… etc.) you have, you can count on OWC to have the correct memory to maximize your Mac.

OWC Mercury On-The-Go Pro FireWire+USB2 Combo Portable solutions provide convenient, interface flexible storage at a competitive price. Built for performance, reliability, and durability; all models are bootable via FireWire and/or USB2. And now this lightweight powerhouse can be had at a lower price!

Each drive is bus-powered (no external power required), feature Oxford performance FireWire chipsets, and the best qualified HD mechanisms for optimum performance and reliability. The shock absorbing design further protects the drive and valuable data from external forces. All connecting cables, carrying case, and an industry leading 3 Year OWC Warranty are included. We also include a $200 retail value disk utility bundle of award-winning Prosoft DataBackup 3 for OS X, Intech HD Speedtools, and NovaStor NovaBACKUP® for Windows.

Don’t take our word for it!

These drives and their sister, OWC On-the-Go 2.5″ Kits, now priced from $27.95, solve all your travel needs, but you don’t have to take our word for it. Here are links to recent reviews of our On-The-Go solutions:

12/11/08 – OWC Mercury On-The-Go (320GB) – PCMag.com, by Joel Santo Domingo.

12/09/08 – OWC Mercury On-The-Go FireWire 800/400 + USB 2.0 320GB – Macworld.com, by Chris Holt. (By the way, don’t miss the comments section for even more user testimonials.)

11/25/08 – Photographer Scott Kelby’s travel photography workflow, which depends on OWC On-The-Go drives.

4//19/08 – OWC’s Triple-Interface Mercury-on-the-Go 500GB HDD, Gizmodo, Australia.

If these recommendations don’t convince you, take a look at who 9to5mac shows using two OWC Mercury On-The-Go drives with a MacBook…President Obama!

While searching the net for great equipment deals may sound like good entertainment, doesn’t it makes more sense to sign up for email alerts that tell you about those great deals before they hit the proverbial web newsstand? OWC has just such a newsletter and we know you don’t want us to run out of these great deals before you find your wallet!

Sign up for our free OWC Hot Deals Blast Newsletter, which contains a variety of products on sale that range from end of life, discontinued, cosmetically damaged box, open box, one-of-a-kind, or refurbished products, plus Apple trade-ins. You can find RAM, hard drives, enclosures, printers, and even iPod accessories and speakers. While we send the Hot Deals Blast as products become available, you can also sign up for our monthly OWC Tips & Deals Newsletter. This gem is another great source for exclusive specials, tips and reviews.

It Doesn’t Pay to Wait

Today we offer over 150 great deals. Just speed on over to our Garage Sale page and click the filters on the left to see if there’s a deal on goodies you know you want, at a price you can afford.

If you hesitate, you may lose out, but we’ve made the process easier by letting you know the supplies on hand for each limited quantity item. Just to whet your appetite, take a look at a small sampling of what’s available now:

• ATI Radeon 3870 512MB PCIe Performance Video Cards for Mac Pro – $199.

• 40 different model 2.5″ & 3.5″ Hard Drive Enclosures from $25.00.

USB2, FireWire 400, FireWire 800, and/or eSATA interface options!

• 3.5″ IDE/ATA & SATA Hard Drives 250GB and up to 1.0TB from $45.00.

• 3.5” Special – WD 160GB 3.5” IDE/ATA Hard Drive, Preformatted for Mac – Brand New with 3yr for $39.99.

• 2.5″ Hard Drives 80GB and up to 250GB from $29.25.

• G4 Processor upgrades up to 1.4GHz starting from $8.99 and up to G4/1.7GHz.

• SATA, IDE/ATA, and SAS RAID Controller and RAID Controller Cards for Mac from $16.75.

• 802.11n Wireless Network Adapters & Routers from $39.75.

• 1GB memory modules DDR2/DDR3 for MacBook/MacBook Pros, iMacs, Mac Minis as low as $9.50.

• Memory modules for Mac Pro & Xserve – 1GB Kits from $20.00, 2GB kits from $48.25.

OWC provides hardware striped performance RAID-0 arrays, up to a capacity of 3.0TB, in their Mercury Elite-AL Pro Dual RAID Solutions. We’ve lowered the prices to help you meet the performance demands of video and audio production more cost-effectively.

The Elite-AL Pro RAID is a sleek and compact Aluminum design (9.3″ Long x 2.8″ Wide x 5.6″ High). These Elites are fully A/V Certified as well as EMC Retrospect Backup Certified for all your Audio/Video, Backup (Time Machine Ready), Graphics, Music, and General Data needs. With 2-FW800 ports, 1-FW400 port, and 1-USB 2.0/1.1 port, these bootable solutions provide excellent data accessibility via any of the available interface ports, with complete interoperability with read/write functionality and accessibility.

All the solutions include TWO 7200RPM drives and a retail version of Prosoft Data Backup 3 ($59 retail value) for OS X and NovaStor NovaBACKUP ($49 retail value) for Windows. Also included is the complete Intech HD SpeedTools performance suite. These applications are not required to use the Elite, but are great to have in your Utilities folder. Unlike other hard drive solutions, we also supply the FireWire 800 connecting cable, FireWire 400 connecting cable, USB connecting cable, plus a 2 Year+ Warranty.

You can see the full line up of our Elite-AL Pro Striped RAID-0 SATA drive arrays on the site. Rebates are available for some of the 2TB solutions.

If you’d prefer to build add your own hard drives, we also offer the OWC Elite-AL Pro RAID Enclosure Kits from $109.99. You can configure these drives for different RAID and non-RAID modes.

The Mac Pro has the one thing that’s not available on any other Mac: the ability to drop in an expansion card that allows your Mac to utilize other hardware.

Jonesing for some good, old-fashioned FireWire 400 connectivity, so you can hook up your older peripherals without converter cables? There’s a card for that. Need more USB ports? You can do that, too. Want to add a RAID 5 array in an external enclosure? Covered. Real-time HD video capture? Why the heck not?

Installing a PCIe expansion card is simple enough to do, but to make it even easier, this week’s instructional video takes you through it step-by-step. See how easy it is to perform this upgrade by stopping by our video page or our YouTube channel.