Polaroid: Ultra Simple Image Backups

Hey. Mom? Listen up. I have a gizmo that will take all the photos on your computer and put them in a safe place. You don't have to read a manual, use your mouse, or even call me for help.

The Polaroid is small, about 5- by 3-inches

The Polaroid Media Backup Photo Edition is an external drive with a no-nonsense way to backup over 60 different image file types. It has an unusual design that makes perfect sense for a novice: Just connect it to a USB port and as soon as it's recognized by your PC, it instantly starts backing up image files. (Win 98 systems need a driver. But you really oughta move to XP already...)

Yep, you heard it right. It's truly plug and play, with no on or off switch, and no software to install or configure. Everything runs right from the external drive. The device includes an AC adapter, but if you have a powered USB hub, even the adapter isn't necessary.

The ClickFree software (developed by Storage Appliance Corp) is preconfigured to search and grab all images, even those attached to e-mails and in Zipped files. (The program extracts the photos from compressed files.) It's also smart enough to bypass system folders, so you don't have three zillion system icon files stuffed into the 40GB drive. You can even configure the software, making it possible to skip specific folders.

If you need to restore image files, plug the device into the USB port and follow the simple directions on the software interface.

polaroid Start.jpg
Connect the Polaroid and you'll see this opening screen

Here's how to restore photos

You can also send images by e-mail or burn a CD

Experienced Fiddling
If you've been around computers for a while, you're probably wondering about a few things. (All right, so maybe it's just me wondering.)

There's no on or off switch. That means once the program is closed, an inexperienced user will have to unplug the device from the USB port, wait a sec, and plug it back in to gain access. You're one step ahead of me. If the device is still connected to the PC, the product could be launched simply by accessing the external drive using My Computer and clicking on MediaBackup.exe.

What about using the Polaroid to store other files? You could, because it's just a hard drive. But if you want to do that, then you should buy any one of hundreds of plain vanilla external drives, because the Polaroid's not designed for you. It isn't meant to be an external hard drive that's always connected. The idea is to keep this device in a safe place unconnected to the PC. In the event your PC's stolen, or there's a disaster of some kind, your pictures are safe. And that makes it ideal for mass market consumers to back up their photos.

With the Polaroid Media Backup, I don't have to say, "hey, mom, have you backed up your photos recently?"

Comments

Aww... I remember the good ol' days when I could fit all my photos on a 40 gb drive. :)

BillP

January 16, 2007

4:59 PM PT

BillP: And you probably also remember when Wordstar fit on two floppies.

stevebass

January 17, 2007

4:38 AM PT