Hard drive vendor LaCie has teamed up with Mandriva on a bus-powered USB 2.0 harddrive preloaded with desktop Linux. The "GlobeTrotter" boots Mandriva Linux LE 2005, and is available in 40GB and 80GB models priced at $140 and $199, respectively.

The GlobeTrotter drives feature an industrial design by F.A. Porsche, are based on 2.5-inch (laptop-size) drives spinning at 5400rpm, and have a USB 2.0 interface theoretically capable of transfers up to 480Mbps, yet compliant with USB 1.1 hosts as well.

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