In the past, digital data storage was handled by humongous mainframes that could crowd half your living room. Fortunately, those times are finally over in this period of small-sized digital hard drives. Computer parts manufacturers have successfully reduced the size of data storage devices to more or less the size of a palm. This type of digital storage stands in the center of this Information Age as the haven for tech-advanced and ordinary people alike who are continuously hit with avalanches of digital information and data rushing. Moreover, this period of small-sized digital hard drives is where the maverick Western Digital comes in for all tech-savvy out there who want more storage capacity and reliability.

Earlier versions of digital hard drives could already store a cabinet full of information. While this may have been an immense accomplishment before, the current versions of digital hard drives surpass this capacity as they can store files of information as tall as a ten-story building. And, Western Digital hard drives prove to be responding to this challenge with flying colors.

Even as early as 2003, Western Digital has been expertly satisfying the market of tech people and gamers with its Raptor series internal hard drives. These internal hard drives were synonymous with high performance, speed and class. The first of its series, a 36GB internal hard drive, set off perfectly in the right course with an impressive 10K RPM spindle speed and 16MB buffer size. But Western Digital did not stop there. In the following year, they released the 74GB internal hard drive that gave users even more room for data storage.

Presently, internal Western Digital hard drives still have the same 16MB buffer size and 10K RPM spindle speed. The only difference is that they offer more storage capacity. Western Digital hard drives now have the storage capacity as large as 300GB! This storage size offers higher performance in terms of access time, sustained data transfer rates and IOPS. Moreover, Western Digital hard drives keep down their noise level and temperatures despite the doubled capacity and interface speed. And, as if these features are not enough, Western Digital has managed to keep the size of its hard drives as small as possible. To every computer savvy's surprise, they look more like a notebook hard drive than the typical desktop drive.

Despite larger internal storage capacity, computer users can't seem to get enough space for digital photos, videos, music and important files. Also, these computer users are in the look-out for a portable data storage device. Western Digital meets these needs by offering a line of portable external hard drives.

Installed in these hard drives is the My BookTM Essential EditionTM that helps manage a roomful of space for digital files, photos and music. Knowing that, downloaded files like an mp3 music album of one's favorite artist can get as big as 1GB; this special feature is a blessing to Western Digital hard drives users.

External Western Digital hard drives are sleek and easy to use. These hard drives are pre-formatted so there are no hassles about technical setups. To use these hard drives, you only need to plug them into USB 2.0 ports and you are off to a one-of-kind digital storage experience. Moreover, once external hard drives are plugged in, they are integrated with the host computer that they automatically turn on and off along with it. With these features, describing external Western digital hard drives as user-friendly is simply unavoidable.