IT self care

Western Digital introduced its new My Passport(TM) Studio(TM) portable drives featuring the super-fast FireWire(R) 800 interface and a customizable e-label that’s always visible, even when the drive is unplugged. Sporting a sleek and stylish design, the new high-performance My Passport Studio drives are formatted for Mac(R) computers, compatible with Apple(R) TimeMachine(R) software, and feature automatic and continuous backup with WD SmartWare(TM) software, and 256-bit hardware-based encryption. Available now at select retailers and shopwd.com, the new My Passport Studio drives are offered in capacities of 320 GB, 500 GB and 640 GB.

WD’s My Passport Studio drives are designed for creative professionals and Mac enthusiasts. Their production and use of many large files require the fast transfers from computer to My Passport Studio drives that FireWire 800 provides. Professionals such as photographers also benefit from the e-labeling system to effectively organize their work.

The e-label smart display on the front of the My Passport drives can be changed as often as desired using the included WD SmartWare software. Users can easily create a label to personalize their drive or remind themselves of its contents. The e-label also shows available capacity and whether the drive is locked. Utilizing e-paper technology, the information on the display remains clearly visible, even when the drive is unplugged.

According to research firm Parks Associates, the average U.S. broadband household currently has over 120 GB of digital media and files which is projected to grow to over 1 TB of data by 2013.

“Many of our customers store their content on multiple external drives, making it difficult to know what content is on each drive,” said Dale Pistilli, vice president of marketing of WD’s Branded Products group. “The e-label smart display is an elegant and practical solution for organizing and keeping track of one’s digital life and work. WD SmartWare software makes it easy for users to protect their valuable content with automatic and continuous backup and encryption.”

The new My Passport Studio is fully compatible with Apple TimeMachine software for easy backup of your most important files. It also offers the option of the simple and intuitive WD SmartWare software, with automatic continuous backup and real-time visual interface, giving users a reassuring view of their backup as it happens. After the first backup, users’ files are backed up automatically every time they change or add a file.

My Passport Studio drives also feature user-selected password protection combined with 256-bit hardware-based encryption, which scrambles files before they are stored. Typically found only on much more expensive drive systems, the encryption acts as a virtual padlock to keep users’ data safe.

Price and Availability

The new My Passport Studio drives are offered in capacities of 320 GB, 500 GB and 640 GB and have a 3-year limited warranty. My Passport Studio ultra-portable drives are available now at select retailers and online at shopwd.com. MSRP for the My Passport Studio drives ranges from $149.99 USD to $199.99 USD depending on capacity.

My Passport Studio

The new WD My Passport Studio ultra-portable drives feature:

Smart display – a customizable e-label that reminds users of what is stored on the drive and provides available capacity and security status at a glance even when the drive is unplugged;
FireWire 800 – users can save and access data at top speeds with the high-performance FireWire 800 interface;
Plug-and-play, designed for use with Mac computers and compatibility with Apple TimeMachine software;
WD SmartWare software that visually presents consumers’ data in a software control center;
256-bit hardware-based encryption and password protection for peace of mind knowing that data is protected from unauthorized access;
USB 2.0 interface – for convenience and compatibility among multiple computers;
Planet-friendly packaging derived from recycled materials to minimize waste;
HFS+ Journaled formatting and are compatible with Mac OS X Tiger(R), Leopard(R) and Snow Leopard(R); and,
3-year limited warranty.

WD SmartWare Software

WD SmartWare software features:

Visual backup displays that show content in categories and shows the progress of backup;
Automatic, continuous data backup will instantly make a second copy whenever you add or change a file;
Retrieve valuable data to its original location whether it’s lost data or the file has been overwritten; and,
Customizable data backup that allows users to set drive security, run diagnostics, manage the power settings, and more from the WD SmartWare control center.

Western Digital is a data storage pioneer and a leader in the hard drive industry. The company provides cost-effective storage solutions for people and organizations that collect, manage and use digital information. Customers rely on WD hard drives in desktop and notebook computers, mobile and handheld devices, corporate networks and home entertainment applications. WD applies its storage expertise to consumer products for external, portable and shared storage applications.

WD has proven its ability to respond to changing market needs by delivering to new markets the same quality, reliability and on-time delivery that has made it successful in the computing markets. WD is meeting new needs as the markets seek smaller, high-performance hard drives for a variety of computing and consumer electronics products.

Desktop computer users are served by a wide range of 3.5-inch WD hard drives. The popular WD Caviar family of drives, available in both EIDE and Serial ATA (SATA) interfaces, offers top performance, capacity, and cool and quiet operation for PC and Macintosh® computers. WD Caviar Black offers maximum performance for power computing; WD Caviar Green consumes as much as 40 percent less power than standard drives, providing cool, quiet and eco-friendly storage; and WD Caviar Blue is the series for those who want performance and reliability for everyday computing.

For notebook computing, the WD Scorpio family of 2.5-inch hard drives features high performance and low power consumption. The 7,200 RPM WD Scorpio Black drive delivers lightning-fast desktop-class performance, while the WD Scorpio Blue, offering the highest capacities, operates with low power consumption for longer system battery life and increased long-term reliability.

Both home and business users find applications for WD external hard drives and storage systems, which employ USB 2.0, FireWire® 400, FireWire 800, eSATA interfaces, or a combination, as well as Ethernet for network storage. With these drives, massive secured data storage is added quickly and easily. The My Book family delivers high-performance storage to PC and Macintosh computers, making them ideal for video, music and photo capture and editing, as well as for data backup. The pocket-sized My Passport Portable Drive offers the ultimate in storage convenience and portability.

Media enthusiasts can use WD TV to turn their My Passport Portable Drives into an HD media player, providing the most convenient way to play HD movies or user-generated videos, listen to high-quality digital music and show high-resolution slideshows of their family photos on their TV.

WD was founded in 1970 and began designing and manufacturing hard drives in 1988. Headquartered in Lake Forest, California, the company employs approximately 50,000 people worldwide. Manufacturing facilities are in California, Malaysia and Thailand; design facilities are in Southern and Northern California, Colorado and Thailand; and sales offices are maintained around the world. The company’s storage products are marketed to leading systems manufacturers, select resellers and retailers under the Western Digital and WD brand names. WD’s common shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol WDC. WD’s Web site may be found at www.westerndigital.com.