Penny Wise 2013 Office Necessities: Verbatim 500GB Titan XS Drive Giveaway~ 2/5

Momma Told Me: Make sure you back it up!

I was raised with modern technology, computers and computer processing to be specific. Many of my first reports were hand typed, as far back as third grade, back when we had to carry around a case of floppy disks. I remember one would often have to create a backup of their backup because these plastic data shells were almost as unreliable as the tape based cassettes and VCR cartridges. Half of the drives at my school were non-functional, and another handful would randomly 'eat' a floppy, or worse, reformat the date entirely. Even reflecting back now, I feel stressed out at the thought of losing all of my data. So much of our lives, professional and personal, rely on intangible, digital, storage. 100% of the photographs taken by me in the past 10 years have been digital. That's a decade of my life, and memories with people and places now gone, that could disappear into thin air without a moment's notice. My entire blog exists, theoretically, in a Cloud server. Without a backup of these valuable files I would be quite empty; at the very least at a loss to rebuild and replace.

While the modern delinquent's excuse might resemble, "My hard drive ate my homework," I was allowed no such reprieve. My parents knew I understood the vulnerability of digital data all too well, and any such instance of information lost or projects re-done were my responsibility. But even being humans, well informed of technical hangups and malfunctions, we still tend to suffer an unnecessary amount. A prime example would be in my second trimester of the Art Institute, while completing my final project of Intermediate Illustration. I'd spent over 18 hours, combined, working on my key Adobe Illustrator document, 7 of which that fateful day in the College Illustrator Lab. Every hair on my subject's face had been hand rendered in meticulously placed pixels, but I had only grabbed one CD to save my work, and it wasn't a rewritable. I'm sure we have all felt that gut wrenching, "You've got to be kidding me" moment when we watch our hard work, our data, flash past our eyes. I am here to remind us all; we need never experience that shock, that defeat, that sting, ever again. That is why I've placed the Verbatim 500GB Titan XS towards the top of my technology must haves this year.

Ladies and Gentleman, we are leaps and bounds ahead of floppy drives and RWCDs; we live in an age with a constant Cloud of data, and seemingly limitless storage capabilities. But, as amazing as the ability to store and share data conceptually, in this 'Cloud' is, I still understand the importance of being able to access my files through a hard copy. Where as a portable drive would have easily broken the bank as one of the higher end tech gadgets, some 5-7 years back; owning a 500GB, high speed, and compact drive is within the reach of any modern technology consumer. For less than $100 USD you can invest in peace of mind that is arguably priceless in comparison. My last back up drive purchase was about $50 more and came in the form of a 'portable' footprint 5x the size and 3x the weight. The Titan XS not only features a Shock Resistant Rubber Coating for constant transport and security, but a USB 3.0 transfer that is up to 10x faster than USB 2.0 alternatives on the market. And 500GB will certainly get you some bite for your buck, holding over 150k digital photos (10MP base), or up to an average of 125 hours of digital video. Of course the Titan XS is also suitable for standard data storage and system backups, as well.

What I love most about the Titan XS is the sleek footprint that takes away from the tangle of accessories and bulk I have to transport for business and personal use. The black, rubber cased, drive is very sleek in design and non-offensive or flashy. I like that it does not call attention to what it is, making it safer for security risks, and operates with a simple plug and play USB cable, included. I merely had to connect it to my laptop, out of the box, and approve the hardware installation. Next I simply needed to locate the drive on my computer and drag/drop desired files into the drive folder. Organization is as easy as creating sub-folders, directly on screen. Overall speed was noticeable faster than my previous, USB 2.0, portable hard drive; transferring 12GB of data in just under 4 minutes, with the option for multi-task writing. The Titan XS is manufactured with unique Energy Saving (Green Button) Software that suspends the drive from spinning when not in use. The drive does create quite a whir when writing, or transferring, though silent, the power inside can certainly be felt.

Above you'll see just how simple the Titan XS' operation is; with no advanced software menus, simply basic folder navigation. The Titan XS does include optional software, especially handy for those who wish to use the drive to backup data on schedule; Nero Backup and Burn Software, compatible with most operating systems, Windows 7, Vista, and XP. Much like a high capacity flash drive, the Titan is great for traveling and can easily display, duplicate, or dump data on systems outside of your home PC. This drive would be the perfect gift for any new college student, small business owner, or homemaker looking to preserve digital memories. The Verbatim Titan XS includes a limited 7 year warranty and can be purchased currently at Penny Wise Office Products.

What Daughter Says: No matter your technical prowess, the Titan XS will help preserve your data with USB 3.0 speed.

One Momma Told Me follower will win a Verbatim Titan XS Drive, thanks to Penny Wise Office Products and Verbatim!


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