Perfect gift idea: external USB hard drive

This holiday season, considering getting an external hard drive for someone who uses a computer but does not routinely back up his/her computer. External hard drives have gotten so inexpensive recently and you can find some great deals on the Internet. I would suggest a 2.5" USB hard drive that is at least 320GB for someone who takes many digital pictures and also keeps video camcorder files on his/her computer. A 500GB is even better (and you're only looking at a price difference of approximately $30).

Some of my personal favorites include the following 2.5" USB hard drives:

• Seagate FreeAgent Go
• Iomega Prestige
• Western Digital My Passport

Don't need a portable hard drive? You'll find plenty that are 3.5" for much less. Of course, I would argue that a portable drive is more versatile, but a larger drive is more cost-efficient. Don't forget to also leverage a remote backup service so that your critical information is protected from fire, failure, and theft.