Portable Hard Drive here too. 160GB Thinkpad USB Portable Secure Hard Drive (physical encryption). After carrying all my data on this USB hard drive for the past year, it dawned on me that I'm collecting a lot of info on there (business and personal) that I wouldn't want someone to be able to have access to if my HDD were lost or stolen. I personally carry my HDD with me 90% of the time, but I don't take it dinner with me when I'm on the road :>)

I bought my girlfriend an APC BACK-UPS RS 800VA (in the US). I have the 900VA unit on one of my computers at home. They both appear to be working fine - no issues. But they are very sensitive to line spikes.

My girfriend's condo was built back in the early sixties and hasn't been rewired since. Depending on circumstances - maybe electric usage in the rest of the building? - the APC unit will switch into battery mode and immediately switch back to the electric line. Some days it doesn't hapen at all. Other days its constantly switching like every 4 or 5 seconds. The unit pops up a message dialog box in the middle of the screen every time a switch takes place. I've found no way to turn this message off. It can get very annoying when you are trying to get work done.

BTW, I've contacted APC tech support about this issue on several occasions. None of the adjustments they have suggested make any difference in the way the APC unit will handle the spikes.

A case made of aluminum acts much more like an echo chamber than one made of steel, i.e. it amplifies internal case sounds. Higher end case manufacturers have tended toward using aluminum blended with other materials to counter this echo chamber amplification effect (increased noise level). I'd make sure that this case is appropriately blended aluminum and not just plain aluminum - giving recognition to the high-end nature of the HTPC you want to build and the money you're spending on it.

This case has been out there for 2+ years or more now, and there are almost no revews on it. That tells me to be careful because the HTPC geeks have not been hitting on this product. There must be a reason. My guess is first the price, and second the aluminum construction.