Hard drives are the most commonly replaced hardware item but, until recently, actual failure rates have been a matter of anecdotal experience and small scale research. Now there are hard facts.

Recently released data derived from Google's server farms proves hard drive failure rates take a big jump after two years and then keep on increasing. They typically don't last the five years the vendors say they should.

If you don't back up you're definitely asking for trouble. What are the options for Mac?