Imagine driving down the road with the kiddos in the back seat and dad in the passenger side. The kids have the family’s iPad while Dad is working on some stuff for his job on the way to the beach so he can focus on the kids when they arrive. He can backup those reports while they watch that Disney flick on the iPad keeping them entertained, Dad busy and mom able to drive quietly or listening to some music from the drive via her iPhone.

The real question is how long will the battery last? Seagate is promising five hours of usage and 25 hours of standby time. That’s not too bad considering this is a traditional hard drive. We can image a much more expensive SSD that will last a lot longer, but at 500GB that SSD would likely be over $1,000 right now.

The drive supports 802.11 b/g/n standards. So it will support Mac or Windows, Apple iOS devices, Windows Phone 7 and Android. The apps for the last two are not yet ready, but the iPad app and separate iPhone/iPod touch apps are. Also the device can be accessed via web browser. It is also USB 3.0 compatible, so when you do hook it up to the computer transfer speeds will be pretty fast, so long as the computer has USB 3.0 ports too. Using the GoFlex interchangeable system you can also have an eSATA and Firewire 800 interface with optional adapters.

To set things up, tether it with your computer via the included USB port and load up the contents. You can charge it with the computer or the included wall adapter that can be used with the same USB cable.

Seagate GoFlex Satellite Wireless Hard Drive Demo Video:

The drive will be available soon from places like Amazon and BestBuy for $199.99 retail.

Seagate GoFlex Satellite Wireless Hard Drive Syncs and Streams Content is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

The Seagate GoFlex Slim has a USB 3.0 connection and is backwards compatible with USB 2.0. The GoFlex slim wraps a fast and small hard drive in a anodized black case and is ready to go out of the box on both Windows and Mac.

The GoFlex Slim isn’t just small, at 4.91in L x 3.07in W x 0.354in D, it’s also lightweight at just .356 pounds. As you can see in the images below, the drive is really small and should fit in your go bag without adding any noticeable weight, even in the smallest of bags.

The GoFlex Slim comes with backup software installed on the drive and includes a GoFlex USB 3.0 Interface adapter and 18 inch USB 3.0 cable so that you are ready to connect. The drive comes with a 3 year standard warranty.

The Seagate GoFlex Slim retails for $99.

How to win a Seagate GoFlex Slim Drive

Notebooks.com and GottaBeMobile are giving away a combined six, of these brand new super small portable hard drives, and the great news ia that you have a multitude of chances to win.

• To enter, Follow @Notebookscom and @Seagate on Twitter and tweet-

I’m backing up to the 9mm @Seagate GoFlex Slim from @Notebookscom – Win 1 of 6 #STXSlim at Notebooks.com/go/GoFlexSlim

• For an additional entry, Like Notebooks.com on Facebook and leave a comment on the Seagate GoFlex Facebook post telling us how you would use the GoFlex Slim.

Notebooks is giving away three GoFlex Slim Drives as is GottaBeMobile, so head on over for another chance to win.

The contest is valid in the U.S. only and void where prohibited by local laws. Must be 18 to enter. Contest closes at midnight Pacific on April 15th and winners will be chosen using Random.org.

Seagate GoFlex Slim Announced, Win a Pencil Thin Hard Drive [Contest] is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Why You Should Backup Regularly

Hard drive failures are one of the most common computer issues that friends and family bring to tech savvy individuals and unfortunately all to often when the hard drive crashes you’ve lost all of your documents, music, pictures and other important files. The sad part is that hard drives fail all the time, but note everyone takes the simple steps to backup their data. It used to require an afternoon and a B.S. in Computer Science to setup automatic offsite backups, but with the amazing collection of tools available today there’s no reason not to backup.

According to World Backup Day the annual hard drive failure rate is 3%, with a climb to 6% for 3-year old hard drives. When hard drives crash the data is often un-recoverable. Companies like DriveSavers can try, but all too often the hard drive is just too damaged to save your data.

If nothing else gets you to backup, think of the explaining you’ll have to do when your kid is 18 and you have to explain why you have no pictures of his first three years of life because you never backed up. Got it? Good, now let’s find out how to backup.

What is World Backup Day?

World Backup Day was born on Reddit, after user adamjeff proposed that everyone could use a “reminder to save all your cherished pictures, videos and other important data to somewhere secure.” So, on March 31 2011 we suggest you revisit your backup practices, start backing up and most importantly test your backup processes. Now there’s a World Backup Day website and a Facebook page.

How to Backup?

There are a few ways to backup your computer built right into the operating system. If you have Mac OS X you can use Time Machine to backup your files automatically. On Windows, you can backup your installation of Windows 7 and setup a backup to an external hard drive.

Thankfully, there are plenty of additional methods of backing up which are incredibly simple and can help you backup to an offsite location as well as locally. It’s important to keep a copy of your files at a different location that way they are safe in the case of a natural disaster or fire.

Online Backup Services:

CrashPlan and CrashPlan+: CrashPlan provides a free tool that allows you to backup your data to an external hard drive or to another computer at your house or to a friend’s computer. The paid version, CrashPlan+, adds online backup to the mix so that you have your data in multiple locations. CrashPlan+ starts at $1.50 a month for a limited account, and can include your entire family for as low as $6 a month with unlimited storage that covers all of your house.

Carbonite: Carbonite offers an automatic online backup solution with unlimited storage and easy access to your files for recovery or for access on the go using the iPad app or Carbonite website. Carbonite includes one computer for $54.95 a year. Check out our Carbonite Review.

Mozy: Mozy also offers automatic online backup as well as software to backup to a local hard drive. The Mozy service offers 50GB of backup space for $5.99 a month or 125GB for $9.99 a month.

SugarSync: SugarSync offers 5GB of storage for free and will automatically sync your files to the web and to multiple computers. With SugarSync, you need to identify the folders you want to backup, but it is a very easy process. The larger plans start at 30GB for $49.99 a year and range up to 250GB for $250 a year. SugarSync has given Notebooks a free 30GB promo code to give away, check out the World Backup Day Deals below to find out how you can enter to win.

World Backup Day Deals on Online Backup Services, Storage and Software

SugarSync: SugarSync has partnered with Notebooks.com to give away a free 30GB 1 year subscription to SugarSync. To Enter Follow @SugarSyncand @Notebookscom and tweet the following: “I’m in to win a @SugarSync 30GB/year account from @Notebooks.com  Find out How & Check Out these Backup Deals -Notebooks.com/go/BackupDay”

CrashPlan: Giving away 5 1-year unlimited subscriptions for following @CrashPlan on Twitter and tweeting: “I’m celebrating #WorldBackupDay by backing up my personal and business data with @CrashPlan! How are you celebrating @WorldBackUpDay?”

SpiderOak: SpiderOak is giving away free upgrades to 5GB of online storage for users who signup on World Backup Day and also offering 10% off all paid plans. You can also enter to win one of 10 100GB online backup and storage accounts by tweeting with the hashtag #worldbackupday.

BackBlaze: BackBlaze is another online backup storage and backup service and is offering 10% off with the coupon code worldbackupday. Additionally, you can enter to win one of 10 Unlimited online storage subscriptions by including the hashtag #backblaze in a Tweet.

MiMedia: Earn a chance at one of 10 100GB MiMedia online acccounts by following @MiMedia and tweeting with the hashtag #MiMediaCo.

Paragon: Paragon is offering 40% off the Paragon Backup and Recovery Suite with the coupon code ParagonBackup.

ScanMyPhotos: ScanMyPhotos is offering 10% off of photo digitizing which is a great way to backup the shoeboxes of pictures you have stored around the house. The prepaid box costs $184 and includes free S/H and same day scanning. Use coupon code Twitter to save 10%.

DollyDrive: Dolly Drive is giving away a free year of free storage and an iPod Touch. You can find the details at Dolly Drive. For more, check out our Dolly Drive Review.

Seagate: Seagate is offering discounts on a collection of hard drives through Friday including the 750GB and 1TB ultra-portable products and the 2TB and 3TB GoFlex Desk products. Prices range from $78-143.00. Checkout the Seagate Specials.

These are just the World Backup Day deals we could find, we’re sure to see many more throughout the day and we’ll update the post with the deals. Don’t forget to enter to win our free 30GB SugarSync account!

World Backup Day Deals: Save On Online Backup, Hard Drives and Storage is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

I just upgraded the hard drive in my new MacBook Pro with the Seagate Momentus XT. I bought it knowing that I would likely do so. Getting such a drive from someone other than Apple is often a money saver. In this case a MacBook Pro upgraded to a faster 7200 rpm 500GB hard drive from Apple only costs another $100. But it also is not a hybrid hard drive like the Seagate Momentus XT, and that’s where the real benefit comes. With this drive there is a nice performance boost.

Seagate Momentus XT Hybrid Hard Drive

Benefit of Seagate Momentus XT over Most HDs Pre-installed

The Seagate Momentus XT is a special kind of notebook hard drive. It is a 7200 rpm drive, which means that is faster than the stock drive that comes in the base model MacBook Pro or MacBook. That drive is only a 5400 rpm (revolutions per minute). It is the speed at which the drive spins while the computer is reading the drive. Think of a record player or a CD spinning as the music is played. It is the same concept.

The Solid State Flash Memory is the key - image from AnandTech

In addition to spinning faster it has 4GB of solid state flash storage built-in. An SSD is a new kind of hard drive that is very fast and requires less power because it has no moving parts. In small quantities, like those in USB flash drives that most people use to carry around documents, the memory is not that much. But in hard drive sized quantities they can be hundreds of dollars. The average 128GB SSD, which is small when compared to 320 or 500 GB drives in most basic notebooks, is at minimum about $150. You can get the largest notebook hard drive available in the traditional spinning form for less than that – a 1TB Western Digital Scorpio Blue internal notebook hard drive can be purchased for as little as $118 at Newegg.

Western Digital Scorpio Blue 1TB Notebook Hard Drive

The Seagate Momentus XT brings both the capacity of a traditional spinning optical drive together with the speed of an SSD. The result is a hybrid of the two, which is why it is called a hybrid hard drive. Installing it in the MacBook Pro or any laptop is not that difficult and results in a nice speed boost.

The Speed Boost from Upgrade

Notice below how similar it is in speed to an SSD, the fastest drives available:

Benchmarks from Seagate of the Momentus XT speed compared to an SSD

We timed the boot up speed of this new drive in comparison to the old one that came with our machine. Boot times were reduced to a third of the time, from around a minute and a half on average to less than 40 seconds with the Seagate Momentus XT installed.

The other boost is starting applications. On a Mac we often judge the speed of app load times by how many bounces the dock icons perform while loading. With the stock drive, one program I have that takes forever to load would bounce a dozen or so time. With the new drive it reduced the bounces to about three or four. Other applications bounce only once or twice where they used to bounce two or three times. By comparison, on the MacBook Air with an SSD drive, the same apps load in 1 bounce or instantly. So the hybrid drive is closer to an SSD than a traditional drive.

The last performance bump is in loading Internet pages. The biggest bottleneck of surfing is usually your network connection. But a fast hard drive will help your browser download the data to the temporary folder on the hard drive and then load it into the browser for display faster. With the Seagate Moments XT installed, pages pop on-screen faster.

Below is a video demonstrating the speed of the Seagate Momentus XT from the company’s website.

Warnings

There are a couple of warnings regarding this drive. Some have reported having problems with the drive in older MacBooks at Apple’s support forums. Even failures have taken place. But the only other report about using it in the newest MacBook Pros said it was a good experience. And we haven’t had any problems in the short time we’ve had it installed. So, if you install this drive, be sure to run Time Machine backups on the Mac side or a similar Windows backup solution to be safe. And remember to hold onto your old manufacturer installed hard drive. I will be keeping the drive that came with my Apple in the box that my new drive came in to be safe. That way if I have a failure I can just install it and boot up the system and restore from a recent backup.

Preparing for the Upgrade – Backup on a Mac

To do the hard drive upgrade, the first step begins before you ever even shut down the system and open it up. We’re talking about backup. Whatever your backup solution is, do it now! The best way on a Mac is to use Time Machine. If you have the menu item in your menu bar, just click on it and choose “Back Up Now”.

If you’ve been running Time Machine all along, it should not take long. For those who have not, just open Time Machine preferences from the System Preferences window. That can be found under the Apple menu in the upper left. Make sure it is set to ON. Here’s our guide to setting up Time Machine on your Mac.

It should now be in the menu bar and you can click on it and back up the system. If this is the first time you have done it, it will take a while.

Preparing for the Upgrade – Backup on Windows

On the Windows side of things, we like the idea of starting fresh when doing a hard drive backup. The reason is over time a Windows PC gets filled with software and hidden “kludge” that can slow it down. It’s a good idea on a Windows computer to start fresh once a year.

So instead of doing a complete backup, just get your personal stuff. One way to do this is just copy the user folder to an external USB hard drive. That way you have everything from documents, music, pictures, videos and a lot of system preferences and software preferences. Also make sure you have a way to reinstall Windows and your software. Go through the My Programs folder on the Start menu and take inventory. Do you have discs or install files for each one. This is also a good time to get rid of software you are not using. Just don’t reinstall it.

There are only a few reasons to not follow the above advice:

1. You have a new system and don’t suffer from the “kludge” that slows down the system
2. You don’t have a Windows install disc or your software installation discs or files
3. You just don’t want to be bothered – you want to just install the hard drive and restore the system like it is

In this case, the best way is to make a bootable restore disc with a program like Acronis True Image. It will cost you something, but will create a disc that will put everything back just as you left it pre-upgrade. It is $49.99 direct or less than $37 at Amazon. But for that you have a great backup solution even after the upgrade. We really like the program for Windows backup and restoration. The result will be a DVD or set of DVDs that can be used like a Windows restore disc only with all your programs and documents in place.

We do not have the space or time to take you through the steps of using Acronis. Their web site has a PDF with plenty of information about how to run the application.

If you choose to go the first route and reinstall Windows, make sure to get the drivers for your computer. Go to the manufacturer’s website and find the drivers in the support section. Download them to an external USB drive. I put mine in a single folder. The primary things to look for are:

• Chipset drivers
• Video card drivers
• Network drivers (especially wireless)
• Other special drivers for unique hardware like finger print readers, special button controls, etc.

Removing the Old Hard Drive – MacBook Pro

Here’s what you will need:

• New hard drive
• Torx T-6 screwdriver
• Very small Philip’s head screwdriver
• Piece of tape

On the MacBook, removing the hard drive involves taking the entire bottom plate off the system. You will use a Philip’s head screw driver to do this. We recommend a jeweler’s screw driver with a very tiny head. Turn the MacBook over and rest it on a flat surface that won’t scratch the lid.

Turn over MacBook Pro and unscrew 10 screws

Take a large piece of tape and stick it to the surface of the work space sticky side up. This will hold the screws so they don’t roll of the table onto the floor never to be seen again.

Use tape to hold loose screws

Now remove the ten screws. I like to put the loose screws on the tape in a pattern exactly like they would fit in the computer. That is because three of the screws are longer. This helps you remember which goes in which spot.

After all ten screws are removed, pull the bottom off the computer. It is easiest to get at it by pulling up on the side with the black fan vent. Put the bottom plate in a safe place.

The MacBook Pro hard drive is fastened in place by a plastic bar and two screws or posts that hold it into place. Use the Philip’s head screw driver to loosen the screws. They can stay in the bar. Once it is loose, pull out the bar with the screws in it and place it on or next to your tape.

The hard drive will have a plastic tab. Pull up on it carefully.

Pull up on tab to remove drive

There is a connector with a thin and delicate ribbon. You will have to carefully remove this connector without damaging the ribbon. If you do you will likely have to pay to fix it, as Apple will probably not give you warranty service on it since you damaged it.

Carefully remove connector

There are four posts or screws on drive. Unscrew them with a Torx T-6 screw driver. We got one from our Lowe’s store cheap.

Torx T-6 Screwdriver

It has to be the T-6 size. These have a star shape on the end. Once removed place these on the tape.

Remove the Torx screws from old drive and put them on the new one

Removing the Old Hard Drive – Windows

On a PC this is usually not that hard. On the bottom of the computer you will usually find a plat that fits over the hard drive compartment. It will have a symbol that looks like three circles stacked on top of each other. With a tiny Phillip’s head screw driver (we like jeweler’s screw drivers) unscrew the tiny screw or screws. Take a piece of tape and stick it to your work surface with the sticky side up. Place the screws on it to keep them from rolling off onto the floor never to be found again.

Unscrew any screws for the bottom plate on Windows PC

Inside the compartment is likely a hard drive with a plastic tab connected to one side. Usually you can just pull the tab and lift the drive out. Sometimes the drive will be secured by a bar, screws or some other mechanism to keep it in place. If it does, unscrew it.

Once you are able to lift the drive, pull it out carefully. There will be a connector that will usually be connecting the hard drive to the computer. Sometimes the drive just rests in the compartment with a piece attached to the drive that can be removed. Other times there is a connector with a thin ribbon attaching it to the computer. Whichever it has, carefully remove it. If it is a loose piece put it near or on the tape. If it is a ribbon rest it carefully in the computer. Don’t damage it whatever you do.

Installing the New Hard Drive – Mac

It is now time to put the new hard drive into the system. The Seagate Momentus XT comes in a wrapper. Rip it open and take the drive out. Put the four posts that you removed from the MacBook’s hard drive onto the sides of the drive with the Torx T-6 screw driver. Don’t over tighten them.

Reconnect the ribbon connector. The plastic connector can only go on one way. Make sure to connect it with the ribbon under the drive and the printed side facing you. The connector will be closer to the edge of the system.

Case has four holes in which posts on hard drive are inserted

Insert the two side posts into the tiny holes in the hard drive compartment along the edge closest to the front of the MacBook. Let the drive drop into place and then replace the black plastic bar that had the two screws in it. Tighten them snuggly.

While you are in here, you might want to upgrade the memory, but we will save that for another post.

Now it is time to replace the bottom plate. You may want to check one last time to be sure the connector is secure. Put the plate back down and screw in the screws being careful to put them back in the right place. The three long screws will go into the holes closest to the back of the system. If the system is upside down and the black fan vents are on your right the three screws go into the three holes on the long right side closest to you.

Installing the New Hard Drive – Windows

The steps on the Windows PC will be similar to the Mac. Attach any connectors or any thing else you had to remove from the old drive. Insert it exactly like you took it out and replace any hardware that was used to hold it in place if there was any.

Video Tutorial

Here is our video tutorial on how to replace the hard drive in a MacBook Pro:

Restoring the Operating System – Mac

If you did a full Time Machine backup just before the project, you have an easy restoration process. Boot the system to make sure it works. If it starts up giving you the familiar boot up tone and you see a folder icon with a question mark in it, then you did everything right. Put the Mac OS X Install disc into the drive and then shut it back down again by pressing the power button. We will use it to restore the backup.

Plug in the external drive used to make the Time Machine backup. Reboot with the disc in the drive. At first it will show the typical Apple symbol on the white screen. Then it will have a folder with a question mark again. This means it cannot find the operating system. That is normal. It will boot from the DVD instead.

Time Machine Restoration - image from MacLife

Once the system boots from the DVD, it will ask you what language to use. Choose your language and click the arrow in the lower right. Wait till you see the menu across the top of the screen. Choose Utilities and then “Restore System from Backup”. Follow the directions choosing the right backup and let it restore. It will take a while, so go do something else. When it is finished, reboot. You should see your system just like you last left it before you started the upgrade.

In the video below we take you through the steps of restoring the OS from a Time Machine backup using the OS X installation DVD and our external hard drive with the backup on it.

Restoring the Operating System – Windows

To get back up and running you will have to either reinstall Windows or boot with the Acronis True Image recovery disk you created. Follow the information in the Acronis PDF to learn how to do that.

To restore with Windows just boot with the Windows install disc and follow the instructions. Microsoft has a guide on how to do this. Follow the instructions there. When finished, there are a few things you should do first. Find the external drive where you saved all the files you downloaded from the manufacturer’s support site. Run each file in this order:

1. Install the chipset driver for your computer and reboot
2. Install the video card drivers and reboot
3. Install the network drivers, if needed (including wireless and wired)
4. Install other drivers
5. Install all operating system updates before you install software like Office and other applications
6. Install programs
7. Restore your files by copying form the hard drive or USB drive backup you made

You can find additional resources in our guides that show you how to move Windows 7 to a larger hard drive, how to reinstall Windows 7 from scratch and how to reinstall Windows 7 with an upgrade DVD, without installing your old OS.

What to do with your old hard drive:

You can easily turn your old hard drive into extra storage by following our guide to installing your old hard drive in an external hard drive case.

Conclusions

Upgrading almost any stock manufacture’s notebook hard drive to the Seagate Momentus XT should result in a nice performance boost. The only way this wouldn’t be true was if you had an SSD or a fast 7200 rpm hard drive from the factory. In the case of the latter, it will still likely help a little.

We did this upgrade and got a faster 500GB drive than you can get from Apple. We bought it at Best Buy for $150, but Amazon has the Seagate Momentus XT for $100 and we should have gotten it there.

Amazon has the Seagate Momentus XT for under $100

Upgrading to the Seagate Momentus XT was well worth the cost and time. We recommend it. We are slightly concerned about all the bad warnings we found online about drive failures with this model. So we are going to be very careful about continual backups. The other thing to remember is you need to wait a little while before seeing the most performance boost as the hard drive adapts to your system usage. But after just a short time we are seeing enough of a boost to describe our upgrade with one word: “Winning!”

Technical Specs

How To Upgrade to a Fast Seagate Momentus XT Hybrid Notebook Hard Drive (Review) is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

There are four flavors of Seagate GoFlex drives. The GoFlex for Mac ultra-portable drive will come in 1TB ($199.99) and 1.5TB ($249.99) capacities. The GoFlex for Mac Limited Edition ultra-portable drive is slimmer than an iPhone and is only available with a 1TB capacity ($199.95). The GoFlex Pro for Mac ultra-portable is faster (7200 RPM) and more expensive per GB ($149.99 for 500GB; $179.99 for 750GB), but something worth considering if you need to shuffle around large files on the fly. The GoFlex Desk for Mac is a good choice if you’re looking for a drive to backup multiple Macs. The GoFlex Desk for Mac Drive uses 3.5″ platters and comes in 2TB ($229.99) and 3TB ($279.99) capacities.

Each of the GoFlex for Mac drives come with both FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 adapters. USB 3.0 and eSATA adapters can be purchased separately for use with PCs.

Seagate Announces FreeAgent GoFlex for Mac Drives is a post by Xavier Lanier from Notebooks.com.

Of the Black Friday Deals under $100 we like the Nook WiFi for $99 at Best Buy and the Sony BDP-S370 Blu-Ray Player from MacMall best, but they all represent items worth buying or getting for a gift on Black Friday.

Best Black Friday 2010 Deals Under $100:

TomTom XL335T GPS system – $79 at Target

If you want a GPS unit that isn’t built into a smartphone, we highly recommend going with one like a TomTom which is known for an easy to use interface, especially if this is a gift for someone who isn’t a tech expert.

Dell IN1920N 18.5″ HD Widescreen Monitor – $79.99 at Dell.com

Adding a bigger screen to a portable laptop or replacing an old small LCD on your desktop can make it seem like you have a new computer. You can spend more and get more screen for your money, but this is one of the cheapest Black Friday monitors we like.

Sony BDP-S370 Blu-ray Disc Player (BDPS370) - $80 at MacMall

Want to add Blu-Ray to your new HDTV? at $80 this unit from Sony is a good one to look at. It comes with an Ethernet port for connecting to the net Internet and watching your favorite TV shows and movies and is ready for a WiFi adapter.

Acer 20″ G205HV Widescreen LCD Monitor – $89.99 at Best Buy

For $10 more than the first deal, you can add an extra 1.5″ to your screen real estate. We think the extra $10 is worth it, but you may have to line up or take your chances at BestBuy.com for this one.

Seagate 2TB External USB Hard Drive – $89.99 at Office Depot

Double your money, double your storage. Compared to the deal for an internal 1TB internal hard drive this is a great deal for use as a backup drive or for adding more storage to your system. More Black Friday hard drive deals.

Samsung DualView PL100 12.4 Megapixel, 3x Optical Zoom Digital Camera $99.99 at Walmart

If you love to be in the picture, then check out this Samsung Digital Camera with a front facing LCD so that you can aim better. Pair this up with an XShot and you’re ready for vacation and the holidays.

Lexar 64GB TwistTurn USB Flash Drive – $99.99 at Office Depot

If you really need a ton of storage in your hand, this is the thumbdrive for you. Just make sure you don’t lose it since it’s a decent chunk of change and storage.

Apple TV (MC572LL/A) $97.99 at MacMall

The Apple TV isn’t discounted much for Black Friday, but at $98 it’s hard to pass up if you want to watch Netflix on your HDTV and access your iTunes collection, rentals and purchases. Check out our Apple TV review.

WDTV live Plus HD Media Player w/Free $10 Gift Card $99.99 at Best Buy

With this $99 device, you can stream your media files to your HDTV with a few simple connections. See how the WDTV stacks up to the Apple TV.

Livescribe 2GB Pulse Smartpen – 99.99 at Best Buy

Students will love this pen that records audio and syncs it up to notes so that you can dial into the specific part of the lecture you want to hear without listening to an hour of audio.

NOOK Wi-Fi eReader By Barnes & Noble – 99.99 at Best Buy

The Nook WiFi for $99 is one of the best deals we found on an eBook Reader for Black Friday 2010. You have access tote h Barnes and Noble book catalog as well as the ability to borrow books from many libraries on your Nook so you won’t have to spend a fortune. You can even take your Nook into the store and enjoy an hour of free reading!

Need more ideas, check out 10 Things to Buy on Black Friday Besides a Laptop where you can find other affordable Black Friday deals.

Also Check out our other Black Friday Buying Guides including Black Friday Deals under $50.

Black Friday Buying Guide: Deals Under $100 (Black Friday 2010) is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Best Black Friday 2010 Deals Under $50:

Free $3 Amazon MP3 Credit – Free

All you need to do is enter the code “GetMP3S” and you’ll find yourself with $3 in Amazon credit to use on DRM free music downloads that will work on any device that plays MP3 files.

Free Amazon Prime for Moms and Students – Free

If you are a Mom (or Dad) or Student, you can get a free membership in Amazon Prime which gives you free two day shipping for 3 months and $3.99 overnight shipping. Amazon Prime is normally $79 a year which makes this deal HOT!

Xbox Live Arcade Black Friday Game Deals – $1 to $8

Xbox Live arcade games, character add ons, in game content and more for $8 or less. Many of these items are half price and represent a great value for gamers on Black Friday.

Xbox Live Movie Download Sale – $4.75 to $9

Buy your favorite flicks in HD direct from Microsoft for playback on the Xbox 360. These deals include action movies like 300 and chick-clicks like P.S. I Love You.

DVD and Blu-Ray Deals from Amazon $3.99 to $12.99

Thousands of hot movies are available on Blu-Ray and DVD from Amazon including recent releases like Slumdug Millionaire, The Dark Night, The Blind Side and Get Him to the Greek. You can find similar deals in store at retailers like Best Buy, but why wait in line when you can order right now?

SanDisk 16GB Cruzer USB Flash Drive – $24.99 at Office Depot

Need to take a lot of photos or media files with you in your pants pocket? This small, but high capacity, USB thumbdrive is a good deal at under $25 on Black Friday.

PlayStation 3 DualShock3 Wireless Controller – $39.99 at Buy.com

Save $15 on this wireless dual-Chock PS3 controller as part of Buy.com’s Pre Black Friday sale. The satin silver finish is perfect for blinding flashy players who want top show their opponents they shouldn’t b messed with.

iHome iP11 Speaker Spacesaver For iPod/iPhone – $39.99 at Office Depot

This slick little iPhone, iPod Touch, dock will keep your phone off your nightstand and give you more sound than the built in speaker. Best of all the clock will make it easy to see that you’re running behind as your iPhone alarm blares over the speakers.

FallOut New Vegas for Xbox 360 – $39.99 at Gamestop

Pick up one of this fall’s hottest games for $20 off. It’s guaranteed in stock on Black Friday at Gamestop.

Seagate 1TB Internal SATA Hard Drive – $49.99 at Office Depot

Need to make room for all those holiday pictures? pick up this internal hard drive form Office Depot and you’ll have enough storage to see you through to next Black Friday… at least.

MacAlly Hi-speed eSATA/USB2.0 3.5” SATA Hard Drive Enclosure – $27.99 at MacMall

If you need a nifty looking hard drive enclosure for your Mac, this MacAlly eSata USB 2.0 enclosure will do the job and look pretty at the same time.

Lexar 32GB TwistTurn USB Flash Drive – $49.99 at Office Depot

If the 16GB USB thumbdrive we linked to earlier in the guide isn’t enough, this 32GB hard drive from Office Depot should do the job.

Need more ideas, check out 10 Things to Buy on Black Friday Besides a Laptop where you can find other affordable Black Friday deals.

Black Friday Buying Guide: Deals Under $50 (Black Friday 2010) is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

In addition to the giveaway, Seagate is offering a selection of deals on Seagate hard drives via their online store in celebration of Black Friday. The following Black Friday deals run through Monday November 29th.

Discounts on a GoFlex Desk 1TB bundled with the1TB GoFlex™ Home—the perfect combination for storing, backing up and sharing all your holiday photos, a 2TB GoFlex Home bundled with a GoFlex TV HD media player, or a very festive ruby red 500GB FreeAgent, which would make a perfect stocking stuffer!

You can also find deals on Seagate drives at Best Buy which is selling a 2TB Seagate GoFlex Drive for $89 on Black Friday.

The Seagate UltraPortable GoFlex USB 3.0 drives will come with a a USB 3.0 cable for easy and fast connectivity and provide 1.5TB of storage.

To Enter, all you need to do is leave a comment below telling us the following,

1. Tell us if you backup and how (what kind of drive/service/software).
2. Tell us what your favorite Black Friday deal is or which one you’re going to buy.

The contest will close on Black Friday at Noon Pacific when five winners will be drawn using Random.org to pick 5 random numbers. You must be a U.S. resident and 18 years old to enter, void where prohibited by law. One entry per person.

The winners have been notified by email.

Black Friday Contest: Win One of Five Seagate USB 3.0 GoFlex Drives is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Best Buy will be selling the Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex 2TB hard drive on Black Friday for just $89.99. The Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex 2TB drive normally retails for $169.99.

This hard drive comes with a base that’s compatible with both USB 2.0 and USB 3.0, which is available on some newer laptops. The ‘GoFlex’ portion of the drive’s name refers to the fact that it has a flexible adapter system. GoFlex drive users can purchase eSATA and  FireWire 800 adapters for the drive to take advantage of the fastest available interface on their Mac or PC.

The Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex 2TB comes with both Mac And PC software. When formatted properly, Mac users can continue to use the drive with both Macs and PCs.

A hard drive might not be the sexiest gift for the holidays, but it may be one of the best ones if your loved one doesn’t currently back up their data. This drive has a high enough capacity to back up several laptops and hold several dozen full-length HD movies.

View more details about the drive at BestBuy.com.

Black Friday: 2TB Seagate GoFlex Hard Drive for $89 at Best Buy is a post by Xavier Lanier from Notebooks.com.

Seagate GoFlex portable drives with lower capacities come with USB 20 cables. The USB 3.0 cable allows large files, such as HD movies to be copied from a laptop, equipped with a USB 3.0 port, about three times as quickly as using a USB 2.0 connection. Unfortunately, most laptops currently ship with only USB 2.0 ports. USB 3.0 connections will become more common by next year and the USB 3.0 cable is backwards compatible, which means it’ll work with any computer with a USB 2.0 port.

Seagate has teamed up with Paramount Digital Entertainment to offer specially marked 1.5TB GoFlex portable drives which come with 20 movie files. Customers can watch Star Trek free of charge, but the other 19 movies must be paid for. The movies can be watched on any Windows PC or HDTV that’s hooked up to a GoFlex TV HD media player.  The Paramount movies will be added to other GoFlex drives starting next month.

As with other GoFlex drives, the 1.5TB version is compatible with both Macs and PCs. It ships with a special driver that allows it to store files from both Macs and PCs by maintaining the NTFS format. This offers flexibility for homes with both Macs and PCs. The downside of using this hybrid mode is that Mac users can’t use this drive for backing up with Time Machine. If you want to use this drive for Time Machine, you can format it as HFS+, as is explained during the drive setup process.

The  1.5 TB FreeAgent GoFlex drive has an MSRP of $249.99. Seagate is selling it online for $229.99 and we expect to see it even lower online. Visit our price comparison tool to find more pricing info.

Seagate is giving away a 1.5TB GoFlex ultra Portable Drive AND an Asus netbook with a USB 3.0 port, visit Seagate’s blog and tell them how you’d use USB 3.0.

Seagate 1.5 TB GoFlex Portable Drive Introduced, Giveaway is a post by Xavier Lanier from Notebooks.com.