Payton H. Wilmott, Gleaner Writer

Most computers nowadays are built without a diskette drive, and you don't have any choice but to use an external storage device to move around your important files and documents.

They are three categories for persons needing external storage, and depending on your needs you'll fall in one of these categories.

Basic Users

This category is for persons who just need a storage device to save word documents and picture files for school assignments or for work-related purposes.

What to choose: This group should choose a storage device that is small and durable enough to be carried around each day. The suggested size for a portable device that would be used for the above purposes would be between 512MB to 1GB. We would also advise persons to choose a portable device to which you can attach a cord or a string for it to be worn around your neck.

Recommended device: The LG 1GB USB drive.

Moderate users

This category is for a person who needs a storage device to save word documents, picture files and small video clips.

What to choose: When choosing an external device to store small video clips you should have a decent amount of storage space at your disposal. This said, the recommended sizes for a storage device of this nature should be 2GB-8GB. It is also strongly recommended to get an attachment for this device that can be worn around your neck. It would be a shame to lose or misplace a device that has so much data stored on it.

Recommended device: The PQ1 8GB travelling disk.

Power users

This category is for people who crave massive storage capacity for the sole purpose of saving or backing up large video files, data for a database, or as storage space for an Internet server. What to choose: Once you need a large storage capacity for any reason at all, you have to take certain things into deliberation like:

Does the device have the highest speed of transfer between it and the CPU (central processing unit) it's connected to?

Does the external device have the option of replacing its storage medium?

Does the device have multiple ways of being connected to your CPU?

The device you are going to purchase should give you a yes answer when you ask yourself those questions. The recommended size for devices to store massive amounts of data should be from 1TB and up.

Recommended device: Western Digital 1.5TB My Book

Conclusion

There are many devices to choose from, but these were the ones that we tested and were satisfied with. In today's society, a storage device is a must-have commodity. Just ensure to buy a dependable one.

The products mentioned in this article were provided courtesy of Royale Computers and Accessories telephone#: 906-1067, 906-1068,754-5048.