[conspire] would this be a good external hard drive for my Linux Certified laptop?

[Eric De Mund]

Darlene,

] I'm looking at external hard drives for my Linux Certified laptop that
] I would carry around with me. [...]
] 
] Can anyone recommend or warn me away from this external hard drive?
] I'm thinking the "rugged" will protect the hard drive given I'll be
] carrying it around with the laptop.
] 
] http://www.centralcomputers.com/ccp68099--lacie-301371-rugged-500gb-2-5--fw-fw800-usb-5400-301371-drilac30186r.htm

In a word, no. It's overpriced. (Plus, I don't see that it's really
rugged; there's no mention in the specifications of how many G forces it
can withstand, so I don't trust that they're using the term "rugged" in
anything other than a marketing sense.)

It seems that the going price these days for external USB 2.0 drives is
$100.00 per terabyte; cf. the $50 drive at:

    500 GB Hitachi USB 2.0 External Hard Drive (SKU #5742212)
    http://newspaperads.mercurynews.com/ROP/ads.aspx?advid=32664&adid=8898477&subid=28337124&type=

In general, see the Friday Fry's supplement in the San Jose Mercury News
to see what hardware prices have fallen to (i.e. they're always falling,
over time). If you don't get the Mercury News in paper form, then:

1.  Visit:

    San Jose Mercury News
    http://www.mercurynews.com/

2.  and search for "Fry's display ad" for any Friday date (their weekend
    supplement, printed each Friday, is the biggest, typically 8 pages);

3.  this weekend's (2/5/2010's) supplement may be found at:

    Fry's Electronics
    http://newspaperads.mercurynews.com/ROP/ads.aspx?adid=8898475&advid=32664&type=

Then, with that price knowledge, shop at your preferred vendor. (Mine is
presently newegg.com.)

I hope this helps,
Eric
--
Eric De Mund
ead at ixian.com