Western Digital Software
I asked OWC why they used Toshiba and they replied it fit well in their container and there was a 3 year warranty.
About WD's software--are you saying it isn't automatically downloaded onto my Mac? If I use Time Machine can I just forget all the software? I really am confused about it. I saw several comments about how unhappy people were with it. This is the unit I am leaning toward:
WD My Book Studio 1 TB USB 2.0/FireWire 800/400, Desktop External Hard Drive
by Western Digital
Customizable e-label
Automatic, continuous backup
Password protection and 256-bit encryption
WD SmartWare™ - A control center for your drive that gives you the power to:
-- Protect your data automatically - Relax, your data is secure. Automatic, continuous backup will instantly make a second copy whenever you add or change a file.
-- See your backup as it happens - Seeing is believing. Visual backup displays your content in categories and shows the progress of your backup.
-- Bring back lost files effortlessly - Retrieve your valuable data to its original location whether you've lost all your data or just overwritten an important file.
-- Take control - Customize your backup, set drive security, run diagnostics, manage the power settings, and more from the WD SmartWare control center.
Backup software you'll really use - WD SmartWare
Five great reasons to love it:
1. It's easy - Data backup can be a chore, but it's your family photos, your movies, your music - your life - and it's important to protect it. So we made this software extra easy because we really want you to use it.
2. You can see your life safe in one place -
See your content displayed in easy to understand categories like movies and photos. Watch the progress of your backup as it happens with the instant-feedback color bars. Now you can truly be sure that all your stuff is backed up.
A unique visual interface lets you see the drives connected to your computer.
WD SmartWare will automatically scan your computer and find all of your personal files, including e-mail.
Content category gauges show how much information you have to be backed up in each category. You can even mouse over a category to see a file count.
Simply click Run Backup and WD SmartWare will automatically start backing up your files.
As your backup is running the category gauges will change color showing you the backup as it happens.
When finished, you'll see a status screen and information about your backup. You only have to do this once. After the first backup your files will be backed up automatically every time you change or add a file.
3. It's always on the job - WD SmartWare is always watching your computer, so when you change a file and save it, create new files, add new pictures, movies, or songs, WD SmartWare will instantly back them up.
4. You can bring back lost files effortlessly - If you ever accidentally delete an important file, or need to get an earlier version of a file, you can find and retrieve it in seconds with this easy-to-use interface.
Restore files and folders by categories – photos, music, video, for example.
Find a lost file with the search function.
Go back in time to retrieve an older version of a file.
5. You're in control - WD SmartWare software is also a control center for your external drives. From it you can:
Customize your backup
Set drive security
Run diagnostics
Manage the power settings, and more...
I don't think you can go wrong with OWC's drive enclosures. I find it quite surprising that they use Toshiba drive mechanisms, as they are a little low rent in my opinion, while the enclosures are certainly high end. Personally, I'd buy the enclosure without the drives (I believe OWC usually has a '0GB' option) and then pick out whichever drive mechanisms I feel most confident in. For me, those would be Hitachi or WD drives.
As to your comment regarding WD's software... no software is actually needed for these drives - everything you need to format / backup or otherwise manipulate the drives is built right into OS X.