Strengths: Easy to use. Just plug in the USB2 or FireWire cables and it's ready to go. No software to install. Net storage capacity is 931gb. 5-year Seagate warranty.

Weaknesses: Some may dislike the bright yellow power indicator, but it doesn't bother me.

Summary: Relatively small, upright design uses little desk space. Solid black with encircling yellow power indicator. Simple. Pre-loaded software. You don't even need to activate Seagate's tool pack, it works flawlessly with Vista upon plugin.Excellent.

Strengths: Capacity, included software, quiet, speed, looks

Weaknesses: Not stackable

Summary: The FreeAgent Pro External 1TB hard drive is a great product. I also own 2 older 300GB Seagate external hard drives, and while I was happy with them, this one is much better.The capacity at 1TB is great by modern standards. I can store all of my media files and still have 50% free space. This allows me to use my 2 older Seagage H/Ds to back up the H/D on my computer, and the more important files on this one.This brings me to the next strength for this product. The included backup software (AutoBackup by Memeo) works great. It runs seamlessly in the background to back up files on my computer. You can select the folders that you want to back up, whether you want to encrypt them, and the number of copies to retain. You can also use the software with non-FreeAgent H/Ds, which is nice (I'm using the it to back up my computer to one of the older Seagate H/Ds).The H/D is also very quiet and doesn't get too hot. The speed on this H/D is decent. It is definitely faster than the older H/Ds from Seagate. Finally, the H/D looks pleasing and lights up when it is on. It also powers on/off automatically when I use my computer, which eliminates the need to use the power button, which some other users have found to be quirky.The only improvements that I would suggest is that while the older H/Ds from Seagate were stackable, this one is not. Still, it takes up very little real estate (same as a stapler), and with its capacity, this is not a big deal. Also, it'd be nice if I can configure the AutoBackup program to only run when the computer is idle by default. You can set this option manually, but I can't seem to save it as the default behavior.

Strengths: Ease of use, quiet, multiple connection options

Weaknesses: not Mac formatted

Summary: I was looking for a FIrewire external hard drive to use with Time Machine on my new iMac and even though this model was only Firewire 400 (and not the faster Firewire 800), I thought the price was right and decided to get it anyway. I had to reformat it to the Mac OS as it did not come that way out of the box as some externals do. I could not find any Mac backup software on the drive to save before erasing it, but the documents that come with it claim that there is a Mac backup software program with it, so maybe I missed it. Regardless, I intend to use the built in "Time Machine" back up software in Leopard so I did not care. It took a while to back up about 300GB, but not too long. In addition to Firewire 400, the drive also comes with connections for USB2 and ESATA (but no ESATA cable). The drive seemed pretty quiet to me when it was running and silent when not transferring data. The amber, glowing light that runs along the side and top of it is pretty bright and the color of a bug light so it doesn't really go with my Mac but it's a slim design that does not take up a lot of space and for a 1TB drive, it is incredibly small. I appreciate the Power button it has too, a lot of these type drives do not include one. Overall, I'm happy with the drive and have had no bad experiences with it or with other Seagate drives in the past.

Strengths: Easy set up, annoying though everytime you plug it into a new computer to transfer some data it wants to load up the backup software

Weaknesses: Large, heavy and the ON button is not very sensitive. Takes some playing around to turn the power on.

Summary: Dont rely on the drive to be your only backup. My drive failed within 30 days of purchase and any data recover will cost in excess of $1500