REVIEW: WD My Passport for Mac

I have been wanting an actual external hard drive for some time. I knew that I wanted a portable external hard drive, but it had to be USB 3.0. I had it narrowed down between a Seagate external hard drive and the WD My Passport for Mac external hard drive. I ended up going with the Western Digital external hard drive since Fry's didn't have the other hard drive. I will admit that I am not disappointed with my purchase.

The external hard drive is a lot smaller than I thought it would be.  While laying horizontally, the external hard drive stands 0.60 inches tall. It is 3.23 inches in depth and 4.35 inches in width. Not only is it quite small, it is pretty light, weighing 0.30 pounds. The WD My Passport for Mac definitely met the criteria for the portable hard drive I was looking for.

I thought the read/write speeds were relatively good. I generally get between 60 to 75 mb/s write and 80 to 95 mb/s read speeds. I have transferred a lot of videos and I really like how quick the transfers are. I transferred a 16.73 GB video in about 4 minutes. I eventually want to get a Thunderbolt external hard drive, but USB 3.0 is definitely meeting the needs I have at the moment. As you know, I have been using an enclosed hard drive to get most of my data transfers done. It is USB 2.0, so videos of that size would take what felt like forever to transfer.

As far as complaints are concerned, it would have to be the cable. I wish the cable were a little longer. It isn't a big deal, but when you're wanting other things within your reach instead of the external hard drive, it becomes somewhat of a hassle. I still manage though.

I managed to acquire the external hard drive that looks much like a MacBook Pro. I really like the design of the external hard drive. I ended up going with 1 TB for now. I felt that that would be enough for me as of right now and that has proven to be the case.

OVERALL SCORE:
8/10

REVIEW: Blotter for Mac OS X 10.6 or Later

I don't have much going on this week in school. That's what happens when you only have one final.

Since I have been in college, I have been doing my best to be organized. I want to be able to know what it is I am doing throughout the day. I always carry my iPhone 5 on me, so it is easy to take a peek at the Calendar app that comes standard with the phone. I like the Calendar app that comes with all Mac computers, but I have been wanting something more. After watching a video about some neat apps for Mac computers, I thought I would check out Blotter.

Blotter works alongside the Calendar app, so whenever you record something on the Calendar app it will appear on the Blotter app. What I really like about the Blotter app is that you can have it set up to load as soon as your computer is on. I like that it is also transparent, so you will be able to see your background with ease. It also blends with your background, so you'll never find yourself accidentally clicking on it when you meant to click on a different window.

This app also is open to customization. To customize your Blotter calendar, simply click on the Blotter icon on the toolbar and then choose preferences. You can choose the window to be "Narrow," "Normal," or "Full." You can also select "Customize" to manual determine the size of the Blotter window. I chose to go with "Normal" screen window. It doesn't quite cover the entire screen, which I am happy with. It'll cover about two-thirds of the screen. "Narrow" will only have the left column of what "Normal" and "Full" screens show. It'll inform you of the date, what you have in your "To Do" list, and what is happening now and in two hours.

You can also change the layout of the calendar, but I don't find it very useful at all. It only changes the left column. Normal layout is what I have pictured, displaying the "To Do" and "Right Now" list, "To Do" layout only displays the "To Do" list, and "Right Now" layout only shows the "Right Now" list. It is pretty redundant to have the "Right Now" list only, but if you don't have much in your "To Do" list, then I would just leave the layout at "Normal." That's what I have chosen to do.

Just like the actual Calendar app, you can also decide what events will be displayed on the Blotter app. It'll also apply the colors you've chosen in the Calendar app. These colors will appear on the Blotter calendar without any problems. As you will be able to see in the picture, the calendar begins on Sunday and ends on Saturday. By clicking on the Blotter icon in the toolbar you will be able to cycle through previous weeks and upcoming weeks. It doesn't stagger at all. I love how fluid this app is.

If you're starting school, I recommend purchasing this app on the Mac App Store. It is $9.99, but completely worth the purchase. I enjoy using this app on my MacBook Pro.

OVERALL SCORE: 8.75/10