The docks stand the drives on their end.
Backing up should be a little bit easier with new docking stations that Seagate is selling alongside its external hard drives. The company's FreeAgent drives also get new colors and a slimmer look, and versions for the Apple Mac.
The docks are an industry first, Seagate says. They offer a simple way to connect the drives to one computer. They offer a USB connector in the case of the PC dock, and a Firewire 800 connector for Macs. The PC dock costs $30 in addition to the drives, which start at $120 for 250 gigabytes.
The Mac drives come preformatted for OS X and can also be connected to USB or Firewire 400 ports via cables. The FreeAgent Go Drive for Mac includes the desktop dock and a carrying case and starts at $160 for 250 GB.
I've had a chance to try the Mac docking port, and it does offer a bit more convenience for someone who disconnects the drive often for taking it along. Having a dock saves fumbling for another cord. But I'm not sure it's worth the $30 premium, and it fills a valuable Firewire 800 port on a Mac.
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