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Western Digital announces My Passport Wireless Pro

21 Jun

Western Digital has announced its new My Passport Wireless Pro hard drive, a Wi-Fi enabled portable storage device designed for photographers and videographers who want to backup, access, and edit photos or video in the field without using a computer. In addition to Wi-Fi, the drive includes an integrated SD card slot and a USB port that can be used to connect external devices, such as a CFast or XQD card reader. It can also be plugged directly into a computer for standard operation.

This is the second generation of Western Digital’s My Passport Wireless series. The company told us that they received a lot of feedback from photographers following the product’s initial release in 2014, and that much of that feedback has been incorporated into the new Pro edition. The Pro version includes a faster SD card slot with transfer rates up to 75MB/s, up from 10MB/s, as well as upgraded 802.11ac Wi-Fi with speeds up to 20MB/s, improved from 9MB/s. It also features a larger 6400mAh battery, compared to 3400mAh on the original model, which WD says can last up to 11.5 hours in the field, including 6 to 8 hours of operation under ‘hard use.’ Unfortunately, the USB port for connecting external devices appears to be of the USB 2.0 variety.

WD has also made improvements to the product’s companion My Cloud app for iPad. The company told us that while photographers loved the ability to view images stored on the drive from an iPad, they didn’t want to be restricted to using a proprietary app. The updated app makes it possible to export photos to the camera roll for easy sharing or editing with other iOS apps. It also integrates with Adobe’s Creative Cloud, facilitating transfer of photos directly to a user’s Creative Cloud account.

Finally, WD told us that about 50% of customers using the original product used it primarily as a device to stream content. To better support these users the company has added a PLEX media server to the device.

We recently received a demo unit from Western Digital and look forward to taking it for a spin (pun intended). We look forward to letting you know how it works.

The My Passport Wireless Pro comes in two capacities: a 2TB model which lists for $ 229.99, and a 3TB model which lists for $ 249.99. The company also announced a new My Cloud Pro Series NAS device, which you can read about in the press release below.

Press Release:

My Passport Wireless Pro and My Cloud Pro Together

Provide Fast, Reliable Back-up and Transfer While on a Remote Shoot or in the Studio

IRVINE, Calif. – June 21, 2016 – Western Digital Corporation (“Western Digital”) (NASDAQ: WDC), a global storage technology and solutions leader, today introduced the WD Pro Series: My Passport® Wireless Pro Wi-Fi® mobile storage and My Cloud® Pro Series network attached storage (NAS). Designed specifically for the creative community, the WD Pro Series enables seamless transfer of content between devices, with classic WD reliability and speed, regardless of whether users are on a remote shoot, in the studio or editing at home. The products use the My Cloud mobile app – the new version of the app will be launched with the My Passport Wireless Pro and My Cloud Pro Series and be compatible with the Adobe® Creative Cloud®. In addition, both the My Passport Wireless Pro and My Cloud Pro Series devices are also compatible with the Plex™ Media Server and My Cloud OS 3 software for easy editing, streaming and sharing of content.

“Portability, reliability, capacity, speed and interoperability are crucial for creative professionals, whose very livelihoods rely on the strength of the technology they use to store their life’s work,” said Sven Rathjen, vice president of marketing for content solutions at WD. “We created the WD Pro Series as a comprehensive, feature-rich storage solution designed to fit seamlessly into their workflow, regardless of where the work actually happens, so storage, transfer, back-up, editing and even streaming options are readily available.”

My Passport Wireless Pro

My Passport Wireless Pro Wi-Fi mobile storage lets creative professionals and enthusiasts leave the laptop behind when on a shoot. Using the direct Wi-Fi connection, creators can automatically backup files from compatible cameras, as well as save, edit and transfer work seamlessly from up to eight other devices connected to the drive. Tethered connections are also available for faster transfers and include a built-in SD card reader as well as a USB 3.0 port.

Available in capacities up to 3TB, the My Passport Wireless Pro device also features up to 10 hours of battery life* and a built-in battery pack that can even be used to charge phones and other devices like digital or video cameras.

To ensure creative professionals can continue to work while in the field, My Passport Wireless Pro devices include compatibility with Adobe’s Creative Cloud for mobile photo and video editing, as well as compatibility with Plex Media Server, which is capable of playing up to four streams of content while on-the-go.

My Cloud Pro Series network attached storage

When the shoot is over and it’s time for editing or studio work, the My Cloud Pro Series NAS device takes the reins seamlessly. Offering up to 32TB of storage, the My Cloud Pro Series NAS are optimized to import from cameras/memory card readers and other USB storage with a simple one touch backup button. Simply connect your cameras and compatible USB storage devices, press a button, and your new files are easily backed up/imported.

In addition to giving creative professionals and enthusiasts a reliable place to store their files, this fast, high capacity drive features a hardware accelerated video processor. Its powerful transcoding capabilities mean the My Cloud Pro Series NAS can ingest, edit, store and stream content to and from popular formats, including 4K video. These capabilities compliment a robust, integrated application suite, which includes compatibility with Plex Media Server for storing and optimizing media libraries and compatibility with Adobe’s Creative Cloud for editing and finalizing them.
The My Cloud Pro Series NAS gives the creative community significantly more control while they are away from their workstation, using WD’s My Cloud app and MyCloud.com remote access, and despite its professional caliber, is still easy to set up and use.

Pricing and Availability

My Passport Wireless Pro Wi-Fi mobile storage is available today in the WD store at wdstore.com and at select retailers, including Amazon.com and distributors. My Passport Wireless Pro storage has a Manufacturer’s Suggest Retail Price (MSRP) ranging from $ 229.99 up to $ 249.99 depending on capacity. The My Passport Wireless Pro storage will offer a 2-year limited warranty. Terms and conditions of WD’s limited warranty may be found on the WD website.

My Cloud Pro Series NAS devices are also available at Amazon.com, B&H and the WD Store. Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) begins at $ 399.99 up to $ 1,649.99 depending on configuration and capacity. The My Cloud Pro Series will also offer a 2-year limited warranty for diskless models and 3-year limited warranty for populated models. Terms and conditions of WD’s limited warranty may be found on the WD website.

About Western Digital

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) is an industry-leading provider of storage technologies and solutions that enable people to create, leverage, experience and preserve data. The company addresses ever-changing market needs by providing a full portfolio of compelling, high-quality storage solutions with customer-focused innovation, high efficiency, flexibility and speed. Our products are marketed under the HGST, SanDisk and WD brands to OEMs, distributors, resellers, cloud infrastructure providers and consumers.

*Based on streaming HD 720p, 3 Mbps video to one device over Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz single band only. Actual battery life depends on file size, type, format, bitrate, devices connected, Wi-Fi connectivity, settings and other factors.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Western Digital acquires SanDisk as more data moves to solid state memory

27 May

Hard disk drive giant Western Digital has completed its acquisition of flash manufacturer SanDisk in a deal that will create a partnership that WD hopes will help it leap into the future of computer memory. The company announced plans to buy SanDisk last fall.

Western Digital’s reliance on spinning disk technology in a world that is swiftly moving towards solid state drives has been a cause for concern for the company that currently claims 44% market share for HDDs. Acquiring the world’s largest producer of NAND flash memory should settle some nerves.

Western Digital is said to be interested in cloud storage and computing solutions as PC sales continue to decline, so SanDisk’s know-how in flash data center technologies that provide more capacity in a smaller space, with less heat and faster communication have proven attractive.

All told, the deal cost Western Digital $ 17 billion in cash and shares, $ 2 billion short of initial estimates. The company expects to be able to make significant savings through economies of scale, expecting combined revenue of almost $ 20 billion with a better position to compete against Samsung and Micron.

For more information visit the SanDisk and Western Digital websites.

Press release:

WESTERN DIGITAL COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF SANDISK, CREATING A GLOBAL LEADER IN STORAGE TECHNOLOGY

Western Digital® Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Western Digital Technologies, Inc. has completed the acquisition of SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK). The addition of SanDisk makes Western Digital Corporation a comprehensive storage solutions provider with global reach, and an extensive product and technology platform that includes deep expertise in both rotating magnetic storage and non-volatile memory (NVM).
The Company also indicated that the debt financing associated with this transaction has been consummated and that the previously obtained funds from this financing have been released from escrow to Western Digital Technologies, Inc.

“Today is a significant day in the history of Western Digital,” said Steve Milligan, chief executive officer of Western Digital. “We are delighted to welcome SanDisk into the Western Digital family. This transformational combination creates a media-agnostic leader in storage technology with a robust portfolio of products and solutions that will address a wide range of applications in almost all of the world’s computing and mobile devices. We are excited to now begin focusing on the many opportunities before us, from leading innovation to bringing the best of what we can offer as a combined company to our customers. In addition, we will begin the work to fully realize the value of this combination through executing on our synergies, generating significant cash flow, as well as rapidly deleveraging our balance sheet, and creating significant long-term value for our shareholders.”

The integration process will begin immediately through the joint efforts of teams from both companies. As previously announced, Steve Milligan will continue to serve as chief executive officer of Western Digital, which will remain headquartered in Irvine, California. Sanjay Mehrotra, co-founder, president and chief executive officer of SanDisk, will serve as a member of the Western Digital Board of Directors, effective immediately.

“As a combined company, we will be best positioned to address the demands for data storage, which is growing exponentially every year,” said Sanjay Mehrotra. “Growth and change go hand in hand, and we couldn’t be happier to grow and change together with Western Digital. I look forward to contributing to realizing the potential of this combination as a member of the board.”
Under the terms of the transaction, each outstanding share of SanDisk common stock was converted into the right to receive $ 67.50 per share in cash and 0.2387 shares of Western Digital common stock.

SanDisk shareholders looking for information with regard to the payment of the merger consideration should review the Public FAQ available in the Investor Relations section of our website at investor.wdc.com or click here.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Western Digital upgrades its My Cloud NAS system with multi-tasking processor

20 Feb

Storage manufacturer Western Digital Corporation has added a new 1.3 GHz dual core processor and 1GB of DDR3 memory to its latest network attached storage system and increased its maximum capacity to 12TB. The My Cloud EX2 Ultra is a twin-bay data storage device that the company aims at creative users, and which it is says is especially suited to those working with still and moving images. The new faster processor and built-in memory will allow users to multi-task ‘with ease’ and to stream high resolution content from the device to other connected PCs, smartphones and TVs.

The EX2 Ultra comes empty or fitted with Western Digital’s Red hard drives in total capacities of 4TB, 8TB or 12TB. The drives can be managed in RAID 0, RAID 1; JBOD and spanning modes, and they can be hot swapped while the unit is still running. Temporary expansion can also be achieved by connecting additional USB 3.0 external hard drives via the EX2’s USB ports.

The Western Digital My Cloud EX2 Ultra is compatible with Windows and Mac operating systems, and is priced from £135 with no disks, to £245 for 4TB, £390 for 8TB and £519.99 for 12TB.

For more information visit the Western Digital website.

Press release:

New Western Digital Prosumer NAS Storage Gives Creative Pros The Power To Multi-task And Easily Share Files

New My Cloud® EX2 Ultra Delivers High Performance with Up to 12 TB Capacity

IRVINE, Calif. – Feb. 17, 2016 –Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC), a world leader in connected storage solutions, today updated its prosumer solutions with My Cloud EX2 Ultra, a high-performance, two-bay network attached storage (NAS) system. The My Cloud EX2 Ultra NAS is designed from the ground up for creative professionals and prosumers that need to automatically sync content across computers, easily share files and folders and enjoy multiple backup options so they can create their own personalized digital library with ease.

“We know our My Cloud users, especially creative professionals, need comprehensive solutions as digital storage needs continue to soar as well as the need for ongoing streaming capability,” said Jim Welsh, executive vice president, WD Branded Products. “With the My Cloud EX2 Ultra, creative professionals are able to combine high performance with multi-tasking optimization and data protection to create a NAS system that simplifies their workflow and provides peace-of-mind.”

My Cloud EX2 Ultra has been upgraded with a powerful 1.3 GHz dual-core processor enabling users to get ultra-fast transfer rates for high performance and smooth video streaming. Users also have access to 1 GB of DDR3 memory, allowing them to multitask with ease and leverage applications for HD media streaming, surveillance and much more. Several data management and security features allow users to select a preferred method for managing and protecting their movies, photos, music and digital files. Drive management options include RAID 0, RAID 1; JBOD and spanning modes, while data protection options include NAS to NAS, USB, cloud or LAN/WAN backup. The My Cloud EX2 Ultra NAS comes preconfigured in RAID 1 mode to help protect data right from the start and is easily configurable into other data protection modes.

High Capacity and Ultimate Reliability
From unpopulated to 12 TB capacities1, the My Cloud EX2 Ultra provides several capacity options for customers to choose from. Additionally, customers can attach compatible USB 3.0 hard drives to the USB expansion ports on the My Cloud EX2 Ultra to instantly expand their storage capacity. The populated My Cloud EX2 Ultra features the award-winning WD Red® hard drives, specifically built for NAS systems to provide non-stop performance within 24×7 environments. WD Red drives are powered by NASware™ 3.0 technology, improving drive reliability and minimizing data corruption in the event of a power loss or disruption.

Easy Sharing with Anywhere Access
With simplified file and folder sharing, users can send customized, private links that allow recipients read/write access to particular files on the user’s My Cloud EX2 Ultra. Whether on a photo shoot, or editing at home, saving creations at full fidelity and sharing with your entire network is a breeze. The My Cloud EX2 Ultra features an intuitive dashboard, so user accounts can be created, features customized and storage can be monitored with ease. With MyCloud.com web access, or the My Cloud mobile app, users can access their media and manage users from any internet connected device. With WD Sync™, users can automatically synchronize their media and files across their computers and their My Cloud device with the confidence that their computer content is up to date and accessible from all devices.

Advanced Features
My Cloud EX2 Ultra includes advanced data serving options including an integrated FTP and WebDAV server, backup server, P2P download server and Microsoft Active Directory support. Additionally, users can download and run a host of third party apps, including, Plex®, Milestone Arcus™ surveillance, aMule, Icecast, Joomla!®, Anti-Virus Essentials, WordPress®, SqueezeCenter, and more. Users can also stream videos and photos to connected TVs, media players, gaming consoles and other DLNA®/UPnP® devices with the included Twonky 7.2 DLNA-certified 1.5 media server, and built-in iTunes® support.

Price and Availability
My Cloud EX2 Ultra is currently available at select U.S. retailers and online at the wdstore.com. MSRP is $ 159.99 USD for the diskless My Cloud EX2 Ultra, $ 349.99 USD for 4 TB, $ 449.99 USD for 8 TB and $ 599.99 USD for 12 TB. The WD My Cloud mobile app currently is available for download for free from the Apple App StoreSM and Google PlayTM. My Cloud EX2 Ultra comes with a two-year limited warranty on the diskless device and a three-year limited warranty on the pre-configured devices.

Compatibility
My Cloud EX2 Ultra is compatible with Windows® 10, Windows 8, Windows Vista®, OS X® El Capitan™, Yosemite™, Mavericks™, Mountain Lion™ as well as DLNA®/UPnP® enabled devices.

Forward Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements, including statements relating to the approximate price and estimated availability of the My Cloud EX2 Ultra, the growth of digital storage needs, as well as the demand for ongoing streaming capability. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements, including but not limited to, the risks detailed from time-to-time in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, our most recent annual report on Form 10-K to which your attention is directed. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak as of the date hereof, and WD undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

About Western Digital
Founded in 1970, Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC), Irvine, Calif., is an industry-leading developer and manufacturer of storage solutions that enable people to create, manage, experience and preserve digital content. It is a long-time innovator in the storage industry. Western Digital Corporation is responding to changing market needs by providing a full portfolio of compelling, high-quality storage products with effective technology deployment, high efficiency, flexibility and speed. Its products are marketed under the HGST and WD brands to OEMs, distributors, resellers, cloud infrastructure providers and consumers. Financial and investor information is available on the company’s Investor Relations website at investor.wdc.com.
1System is shipped in RAID 1 configuration, which leaves half of the system capacity available for data storage. System is configurable to RAID 0; JBOD or spanned, which leaves all system capacity available for data storage. Up to 0.1TB may be reserved for non-user accessible storage.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Western Digital announces plan to acquire SanDisk

24 Oct

Yesterday, Western Digital announced plans to acquire SanDisk Corporation, a company that specializes in memory chips and SD cards. According to a statement released on Wednesday, WD will purchase all of SanDisk’s shares in a deal totaling about $ 19 billion; a combination of cash and stock will be paid. Read more

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Accessory Review: Western Digital My Passport Wireless

21 Apr

Western Digital’s Wi-Fi enabled My Passport Wireless is a hard drive that features a built-in SD card reader. Alongside the drive, it offers a My Cloud app, allowing photo, video and audio files on the drive to be viewed wirelessly from a phone or tablet. With Wi-Fi hotspot capabilities it could be a very tempting device for roaming photographers who want photo backup without the burden of a laptop. Is it a travel photographer’s new best friend? Read review

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Western Digital’s My Book Thunderbolt Duo, An Awesome Way to More Securely Store Your Photos

06 Oct

Western Digital's My Book Thunderbolt Duo, An Awesome Way to More Securely Store Your Photos

For the past month or so I’ve been testing out one of the 8TB Western Digital My Book Thunderbolt Duos and I have to say I dig it. Before trying this out, my entire storage setup was built around Drobos. I’ve got 2 Drobo 5Ds with 15TB each in them and a Drobo Mini.

I was interested to see what the performance would be like with Western Digital’s large storage solution and I have to say I’m a fan.

What I like about it:

1. It’s quiet. So quiet. My Drobos are not bad, but the Western Digital My Book Thunderbolt Duo is even quieter. You don’t even know it’s on or there, except for the tiny little pinhole light that is on in the front, and of course you see it on your Mac. For some reason one of my Drobo 5Ds feels like it almost goes to sleep sometimes. When I try to access it in the finder I have to wait a few seconds and I hear it powering up a bit. This doesn’t happen with the My Book Thunderbolt Duo.

2. Thunderbolt is sooooo fast. Whoever invented Thunderbolt should get a Nobel prize for speed. I can’t believe how quickly I can copy hundreds of gigabytes of photos around.

3. The Duo is a bit cheaper than the Drobo for those who may be on more of a budget and need less storage. To get 4TB of replicated storage on a Drobo 5D I’d have to buy about 6TB worth of drives. This would cost me about $ 800. You can buy an 8TB My Book Thunderbolt Duo for about $ 650 or so. You can mirror the drives so that you get two copies of everything or about 4TB of replicated storage. Because the Western Digital My Book Thunderbolt Duo doesn’t rely on a proprietary format for replication, if one drive fails, you would always have a perfect backup copy on the other. I haven’t had a problem with Drobo’s proprietary format before, but it’s something that some folks have criticized in the past.

4. Primary data is automatically backed up. I can’t use a backup strategy that requires my manual contribution. With both the Drobos and the My Book Thunderbolt Duo your primary versions of photos are more secure.

5. The Western Digital My Book Thunderbolt Duo is smaller than the Drobo 5D and much lighter.

Setting up the My Book Thunderbolt Duo was easy. It’s just plug and play. Similar to my Drobos.

I know a lot of people will probably comment on this post about how they are doing things even cheaper by building their own solution with their own replicated in home RAID servers, etc. That’s just great, but I’m not a very technical guy when it comes to computer hardware and I’d wayyyyy rather pay a little bit more and have a Thunderbolt solution that is just plug and play, without me having to do any work, or do any coding, or manually buying and installing drives into a server body and all that. Different strokes for different folks though and each person should do whatever works best for them.

There is also a 4TB and 6TB version of the My Book Thunderbolt Duo. You can learn more about them including all of the technical specs on Western Digital’s site here.

Mmmmm... 8TB of @westerndigital storage. Looking forward to trying this puppy out!

A HUGE disclaimer on any device like the Drobo or My Book Thunderbolt Duo. These solutions may protect you against hard drive failure, but they will not protect you against fire, theft, etc. For that reason you may also want to incorporate both offsite and/or cloud storage to whatever your backup strategy may be. I see replicated hard drives really only as a first line of defense. In my own case I also purchased a large fireproof gun safe and when I’m out of the house or on a trip or something I usually lock my drives up in there. I also have off site backup storage for my images and I’m actually working on a plan this year to begin moving my offsite storage into a bank security deposit vault.

The book next to the My Book Thunderbolt Duo by the way to compare size is the excellent expanded edition version of Robert Frank’s The Americans which was reissued a few years back and is *highly* recommended. One of the best photography books ever published. It’s one I go back to and revisit over and over again.

Thomas Hawk Digital Connection

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Western Digital launches My Passport Wireless hard drive with built-in SD card reader

06 Sep

Western Digital has launched a new wireless-enabled hard drive that uniquely features a built-in SD card reader. The My Passport Wireless might be coming to the market after other wireless options like the LaCie Fuel drive, but it’s the inclusion of the SD card reader that makes this product of particular interest to photographers. Read more

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Western Digital announce My Passport Pro Thunderbolt Raid storage

10 Apr

Western Digital have just announced a new portable storage solution for photographers and digital content creators! The My Passport® Pro Thunderbolt Raid, the first portable, Thunderbolt™-powered dual-drive solution, comes in a 2 or 4TB flavour and has the cable built into the drive as you can see in the photographs below.

My Passport Pro_thunder2_HigRes

Here’s the official press release;

SYDNEY, Australia, – Mar. 28, 2014 – WD®, a Western Digital (NASDAQ: WDC) company, and world leader in storage solutions for the connected life, today introduced My Passport® Pro, the first portable, Thunderbolt™-powered dual-drive solution, providing creative professionals and enthusiasts high performance and capacity in a truly mobile solution. For Mac systems, My Passport Pro has user-selectable RAID functionality to deliver needed performance for the most demanding applications in the field, without the need for power adapters or extra cables. My Passport Pro is available in 2 TB and 4 TB capacities.

“The only Thunderbolt dual-drive solution that’s bus-powered, WD’s My Passport Pro enhances the workflow of mobile creative professionals by providing fast transfers and data protection for the large amounts of digital content they generate outside the studio,” said Jim Welsh, executive vice president of branded products and worldwide sales, WD. “From photographers, videographers and musicians to graphic designers and architects, people who depend on portable storage for their livelihood will find My Passport Pro defines a new level of performance, reliability and especially portability.”

“Thunderbolt™ technology makes new approaches possible for high-performance workflows,” said Jason Ziller, Intel’s Director of Thunderbolt Marketing. “By combining dual storage drives on a portable, bus-powered device, the My Passport Pro from WD is a uniquely powerful storage solution with high capacity for today’s demanding users.”
Directly powered via the integrated Thunderbolt cable — a design unique to WD — performance of My Passport Pro clocks in at speeds up to 233 MB/s, providing super-fast transfer, edit and backup capabilities. Another key feature of the dual-drive My Passport Pro is its user-selectable RAID function, which lets users choose data striping (RAID 0) for high performance or mirroring (RAID 1) for data redundancy, depending on the user’s needs. Superior to both FireWire 800 and USB 3.0, the integrated Thunderbolt technology of My Passport Pro makes video manipulation quick and easy—with the ability to copy a 22 GB high-definition video file in half the time typically required by a USB 3.0 drive working in RAID 0 format.

Consisting of two 2.5-inch hard drives housed in a sleek aluminium enclosure, My Passport Pro is thoroughly shock-tested for extra durability to perform reliably when working on the go.

simon_pollock_wd_my_passport_pro_intro

Here’s what I think;

I’ve had the “My Passport Pro” for a few days now and this is by no means enough time to fully get used to working with a new device, but having worked with storage of all different kinds for so long, it’s enough to get a good feeling about something. Now I just want something to fulfill a certain storage need that I have, so I was very impressed when the WD team pulled out this little beast and handed it to me over a nice chicken schnitzel sandwich (yes, really). The build is solid with little rubber feet to keep it steady, and a fan that’s built in to keep the temperature within its working range. The fan doesn’t come on much – I’ve had the drive sitting running for a couple of days, and even under a lot of load it hasn’t activated – nice and quiet.

I have it configured to speedy Raid 0 for now, checking out the performance of the drive. The 2TB version is going to be more than enough for almost any shoot, even when setup in Raid 1 (mirrored) giving you just under 1TB of useable space. The real test of this device will be in a couple of months when I take it to Israel for a week long photo tour with Kinetis (and our very own dPS writer Oded Wagenstein) and will be writing about the drive and how it performs along the way!

gtvone_wd_my_passport_pro

The My Passport® Pro has filled a gap in my workflow and has filled it nicely – time will tell in terms of drive stability and build quality, nothing beats three copies of important content, but a mirrored raid disk in the field is a great start.

You can buy one of these little beauties on Amazon:

The post Western Digital announce My Passport Pro Thunderbolt Raid storage by Sime appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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Animated History of Western Architecture in Just 15 Minutes

25 Jul

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Photography & Video. ]

design in a nutshell

These six super-short videos are an architectural tour de force for visual learners bent on absorbing as much as possible in as little time as needed. Narrated by actor Ewan McGregor, the Design in a Nutshell series (all playable below) presents whole history of Western architecture (and related design fields). This historical tour is highly engaging, thanks to lovely animations and engaged narration complete with famous examples and dynamic illustrations.

design architectural history series

Diagrams and dramatic descriptions will carry you through from Gothic Revival to Arts & Crafts and Bauhaus, then onto Modernism and Postmodernism. For the design-inclined, these educational mini-films should be enough to whet your appetite, leaving you to want more on each of these movements. But meanwhile, since you may be in a hurry, let us forgo further description and get started below:

Created by The Open University, a distance-learning institution based in the United Kingdom, these are by no means exhaustive, but they are a great introduction to thinking about architecture. Visually, they can begin to help you when it recognizing and understanding time-specific and universal themes, and start to connect what you see in cities around you to design theories and historical contexst. Or, if you already know the basics, simple share these with friends you want to get excited about built environments instead!