I do a lot of different things for work. I write, I blog, and I take lots and lots of pictures for magazines. As a result, I have tons of pictures stored in various places, and I’m triple backed up at all times. Right now, it’s a fairly simple setup, but it’s going to get a lot more complicated pretty soon. That’s because of two things:

1. I want to do a home theatre setup
2. I got a new camera.

In the past decade or so, I’ve taken a lot of pictures. But at the beginning, a lot of my work was in film, so I have to keep the original slides. Then when I did go digital, I had a basic 6 megapixel camera. Back then, each shot took up 2.5 mb. In fact, for as long as I’ve been shooting, I’ve only got 110 GB worth of images. Now, each image is 15 mb between the raw image and the jpeg file. I shot 22 GB of a single truck the other day, and that 350 GB drive isn’t going to last me much longer.

So I’ve been debating my options, but I’d like to ask for some suggestions from you, the readers. Here’s what I’ve got:

• 20-inch iMac with 250 GB drive, hosting my iTunes library
• 15-inch MacBook Pro with 500 GB drive, with all of my business data
• 500 GB Time Capsule
• AppleTV

I’m an Apple guy. Go figure.

Right off the bat, I know that the AppleTV isn’t the best solution for my media needs. I’ve been considering buying a Mac Mini to do the home theatre part of things, but either way, I need a place to put my iTunes library. I’m in the process of converting over my DVDs, and at the moment I’ve filled up a 250 GB drive and I’ve barely scratched the surface. I figure I need at least a terabyte to take care of that.

On the photography side, I’m thinking I need to get proactive and get at least a terabyte of storage. I try to do a shoot per week, and each one is at least 10 GB worth of data. By getting a terabyte now, I’m going to have more than enough to cover my needs in the short term, and I’ll be OK when it comes time to upgrade later.

Now the big issue: Backup. My 500 GB Time Capsule isn’t going to be able to support this new setup in any way. Even if I upgraded to the 2 TB Time Capsule, I’d really only have one machine covered. So my thought is to double up on my storage. When I buy a 1 TB drive for the photography, I buy a second (or step up to a 1.5 TB model) to handle backing up both the MacBook Pro and the library. When I get the 1.5 TB for the iMac, I do the same thing with a 1.5 or 2 TB unit for backup. On the downside, my Time Capsule would pretty much turn into a router.

So there’s my current strategy. I’ve considered a Drobo, and I’ve considered just getting a Mac Mini server to handle the duty, but I think that might be overkill. Anyone have any suggestions?

1. LaCie Starck Desktop/Mobile hard drives

Desgned by Philippe Starck, these cool hard drives (one for the desktop, one for mobile users) look amazing, are made from thick aluminium casing, have a touch sensitive surface for quick launch of applications, and come with auto-backup software.

Lacie UK

2. Buffalo SuperSpeed USB 3.0 hard drive

Not only does Buffalo’s hard drive use the cutting edge USB 3.0 high speed interface offering up to 125MB/s data transfer rates, but its black curvy body is well worth showing off as you transfer high definition movies back and forth in mere seconds.

3. Buffalo MiniStation

Attractive portable hard drives from Buffalo feature built-in security and direct USB connection without the need for an additional power supply.

4. Toshiba portable hard drive

This 400GB portable hard drive from Toshiba has some cool blue swishes on it and has NTI Shadow backup software built in.

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5. Seagate FreeAgent Pro

Like orange? Try this desktop hard drive from Seagate: the FreeAgent Pro, available in a range of capacities and connectable via FireWire, USB 2.0 or eSata.

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6. Suissa Shadow Wooden external hard drive

If you yearn for a wood effect on your gadgets, check out this hard drive from Suissa.

As you can see, this maplewood drive has plenty of connectivity so it’s also a USB hub.

Each unit is built to order.

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7. Seagate eSATA external hard drive

Sports one of the most up-to-date data connections and 500GB of storage.

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8. Iomega Camo Ego hard drive

Check out the camouflage on this hard drive, the Iomega Camo Ego. It’s not just pretty colours either, as it has Drop Guard protection built in to protect data, plus a Power Grip band that is supposed to provide stability and extra durability.

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9. GigaBank 1TB hard drive

One terabyte of storage as two 500GB drives in an array, with some interesting curves on the body and stand.

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10. Anaconda 1TB hard drive

Not much to say about this drive, except to note the cool blue light swish on the front panel.

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11. LaCie Rugged XL hard drive

Definitely one for orange lovers who need rugged protection for their hard drive.

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12. Fabrik SimpleTech [re]drive

Offering Turbo USB 2.0 for 25% faster performance and an enclosure made from sustainable bamboo.

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