zip drives

The 250MB USB-Powered Zip drive is great for backing up personal data (obviously not entire hard drives) and, thanks to the easy portability, for transferring data between computers. This drive costs the same as the Zip 250 USB drive that draws power from an AC adapter instead of the USB bus, which is of course less convenient, but that other model has a couple of advantages: 1) it can be upgraded to a FireWire interface using a... adapter from Iomega, which Iomega says doubles the read spead over using the drive in USB mode; and 2) the AC-adapter-powered drive can be used with USB hubs operating in unpowered mode, while this USB-powered drive has to be used with a powered hub or a PC's built-in USB port. But I think that the convenience of the USB-powered model outweighs the disadvantages, especially if you travel a lot. The stand that allows the drive to be oriented vertically (see the photos) is a nice touch that saves desk space.

I used to own a Zip 100 Parallel. It was useful alright but it was heavy. The drive itself was kinda big and the power adapter was heavy.

I was delighted to see the release of the Zip 250 USB Powered drive. Not only is it slim and lightweight it can store a lot of files. Since it's USB it's faster than the Parallel port drive so you could copy large files quickly. Since I travel to other countries, I don't have to bring a power adapter to make it work.

Installation is a snap. Install the drivers, plug the unit into your USB port and it's ready to store your files. If you have Windows ME you don't even need to install drivers, just plug the drive in and it automatically starts it.

Buy this drive, you won't be disappointed. They usually sell for $189.

This drive was originally bought as a replacement for a stolen one. In comparison to the externally-powered comparable Zip-250 USB, this drive is smaller and lighter - not even counting the power brick.

There is a tradeoff, though - I have some old 100-MB Zip disks, and Iomega admits this drive is much slower than spec. when handiling that format. I haven't noticed a problem, but I only used them for archival purposes.
Second, of course - if you want usb power and easy portability, then you may be looking at powering it off a laptop. If used as a secondary or portable hard-drive, it will add considerable drain to battery load. When working using it as the primary drive for Power Point presentations, I found it comparable to watching DVD movies (about 1/2 normal battery run time).
Its a good, fast, drive, but if power is a problem, then use it primarily for archival purposes - transferring your active work to/from your laptop's hard drive.