WD’s Mirrored My Book Drives Double Data

By Nick Mokey June 17, 2008

With Western Digital’s recent entries into the fashion segment of portable hard drives, you might expect a product dubbed the Western Digital My Book Mirror Edition to be a trendy book-shaped drive with a finish you can shave in. Sadly for this writer’s imagination, it’s not. The “mirror” in the new My Book represents the twice redundant way it stores your data, to save your most important files from mishaps.

The piano-black MyBook uses a standard RAID 1 configuration to write data twice – once to each drive within. If one drive fails, the other drive has every scrap of data preserved for future use without so much as a hiccup in retrieval. The enclosure is even user serviceable, making it possible to replace the faulty drive in such a situation.

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Since this method of storage doubles the space needed for every file, users can also switch the My Book to a striped RAID 0 configuration, which will write data only once, but across both drives simultaneously, effectively doubling capacity. Other features include a green power-supply that WD claims lets the My Book use one third less power than traditional dual-drive setups, and a capacity gauge to let users know how much room they have left at a glance.

The My Book Mirror Edition is available immediately from both Western Digital’s online store and retailers. The 1TB version sells for $289.99, while the enormous 2TB version goes for $549.99.

Check out our Western Digital My Book Mirror Edition review.

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Best back-to-school MacBook deals: Save on MacBook Air and Pro

A man sits at his couch using the M2 Macbook Air.

There’s few times of the year better to buy a new laptop than when school is around the corner. With so many people looking for new computers for the school year, there’s always some great savings to be found. Apple makes some of the best laptops on the market. Its MacBook lineup offers a range of features at different price points, and while Apple’s prices tend to lean a little higher than many of the other best laptop brands, some great discounts on Apple laptops can be yours right now. We’ve tracked down the best back-to-school MacBook deals taking place. From the MacBook Air to the high-end MacBook Pros, we’ve tracked down the best savings you can find. Read onward for more details.
MacBook Air M1 (2020) — $899, was $999

The first incarnation of the new Apple processor in a MacBook came in the Apple MacBook Air M1, which is still now a few years later still an incredibly capable laptop. The M1 chip is both powerful and efficient, which is what allows such a slim laptop to be able to handle certain professional-grade tasks. This is the base model, which comes in with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB solid state drive. This should be plenty for most uses, and Apple manages to squeeze the most out of all if its laptops’ specs. The MacBook Air M1 is a great laptop for both students and professionals, as it’s designed to make work, play, and creating easier and more exciting.

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MacBook Air is still at its lowest-ever price following Prime Day 2023

The M1-powered Macbook Air, open on a table.

The 256GB version of the M1-powered Apple MacBook Air 2020 was on sale for its lowest-ever price of $750 for Amazon's Prime Day, but if you missed the shopping event, don't worry because the discount is still available. You can still take advantage of the $250 discount on the laptop's original price of $1,000, but because it's a holdover from the MacBook deals of Prime Day, we're pretty sure that it won't last long. If you want to get a MacBook for cheap, you're going to want to push through with this transaction before it gets taken down.

Why you should buy the Apple MacBook Air 2020
It has since been overshadowed by the M2-powered Apple MacBook Air 2022, but the Apple MacBook Air 2020 remains in our list of the best MacBooks as the lowest-price option if you want one of Apple's laptops. It's powered by Apple's M1 chip, which is so power-efficient that this model of the MacBook Air can last up to 18 hours on a single charge, and it goes completely fanless. This also makes the laptop completely silent even when it's handling heavy workloads, which you probably didn't think would be such a big deal until you experience it first hand.

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This fantastic MacBook Air deal ends at midnight

A MacBook Air on a desk with an open book in front of it.

There's only a matter of hours until all the Prime Day deals end for another year. However, that does still leave you enough time to buy the Apple MacBook Air M1 while it remains at its lowest-ever price at Amazon. Right now, you can buy it for $750 saving you $249 or 25% off the usual price of $999. It's a great entry point for anyone looking to buy a new MacBook and easily one of the best Prime Day MacBook deals. While it might not have the latest M2 chip, the M1 chip remains exceptional and more than powerful enough for most people. You're really not missing out on much given the price difference involved. Here's a quick look at what else you need to know before you hit the buy button. Remember -- you really haven't got long left to do so.

Why you should buy the Apple MacBook Air M1
Back when it was first launched, we described the Apple MacBook Air M1 as "fast, fanless, and absolutely fantastic". It remains all of those things. We've broken down the differences between the M2 and M1 and while the newer chip is better, it's less of a substantial difference than you'd think.