Press

Other World Computing (OWC), a leading provider of products and services for the Macintosh marketplace, today announced that beginning immediately all OWC Mercury FireWire drives will ship with a free copy of Intech’s Hard Drive SpeedTools 3.5, the best performing hard drive management utility available for Macintosh computers.

The software accelerates OWC’s Mercury FireWire drives’ performance drives by as much as 20 percent compared to other drive management software programs, such as Apple’s stock utility. With SpeedTools, several of OWC’s Mercury FireWire models are now able to provide sustained data transfer rates of more than 40 Megabytes per second. SpeedTools is compatible with Mac OS 7.0 through 9.2.x. SpeedTools version 3.5 also introduces two new utilities, IntegrityTM X and QuickBenchTM X, which are designed exclusively for Mac OS X.

“Our FireWire drives just got better – especially for users of high-end A/V software such as Final Cut Pro,” said Larry O’Connor, founder and president of Other World Computing. “OWC Mercury FireWire drives have already been tested as the fastest single drive solutions available. Now, with the addition of SpeedTools, we have made them even faster.”

“Less than two weeks after lowering our prices on all Mercury hard drives, we began bundling Speedtools at no additional cost. The combination of our superior FireWire drives with Intech’s HD SpeedTools delivers ultra-high performance and ultra-reliable storage for unbeatable value.”

SpeedTools combines disk configuration capabilities with advanced testing features in one software package. The software features a built-in “Precision Driver” technology that will automatically build a custom-device driver for individual Macintosh models and operating systems. In addition to improving OWC’s Mercury FireWire storage performance, SpeedTools v3.5 fully supports all ATA and SCSI disk storage devices. Other features include one-step disk setup and configuration, a simple user interface, and testing and benchmarking capabilities.

Although all of OWC’s Mercury FireWire drives are pre-configured with SpeedTools software, end-users can also reformat OWC’s drives with alternate utilities.

OWC offers a variety of FireWire storage drives, including the company’s portable On-The-Go drives which range in size from 20GBs to 60GBs, and its Mercury and Mercury Elite Pro models which spin at speeds of 5400 RPMs or 7200 RPMs, respectively, and range in size from 20GBs to 160GBs.

“OWC’s FireWire line of storage solutions offers a fast and convenient way to add plug-and-play storage to any FireWire equipped personal computer or notebook,” O’Connor explained. “And with the free addition of SpeedTools software, OWC hard drives are now an even better storage solution for digital- and audio-editing amateurs and professionals.”

According to Intech, the majority of FireWire drives sold come bundled with SpeedTools.

OWC customers that have purchased OWC Mercury FireWire drives within the past 90 days now have an option of buying SpeedTools for $10.00. Customers need to simply call 1-800-275-4576 and have their invoice number available to receive the special price. OWC will also begin selling SpeedTools to the general public via Macsales.com.

All OWC Mercury drives are available online at eshop.macsales.com. More information about Hard Drive SpeedTools can be found online at www.intechusa.com.