Rourke on Technology

I hate carrying cables around, but I also hate being unable to sync my iPod or connect an external drive to my laptop. Cables aren’t so bad if they’re short and well coiled, but who actually takes the time to recoil cables after each use? Retractable cables mean you don’t have to — thee cable does it for you.

I discovered retractable cables about a year ago and have had mixed luck with the first few I purchased. The retractable iPod cable I purchased from Belkin failed completely — first the cable wouldn’t stay out of the winder (didn’t click and stop), then the insulation pulled back from the end of the connector on one side. The first USB-A to Mini USB cable I purchased worked with with my Blackberry, but didn’t work with my portable hard drives.

This article talks about two new additions to the Hitachi TravelStar laptop drive lineup — a 200GB 7200rpm drive and a 250GB 5400rpm drive. If you combine that 250GB drive with the Nexto OTG enclosure you have the ability to shoot over 14,000 10 megapixel raw images without having to carry a computer — just a tiny laptop drive. The buzz on the Nexto OTG is very positive, and I know of at least one person using it without problems.