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Very few Mac users are lucky enough to have an IT tech living with them. The rest of us, however, often wish we did when our Macs (inevitably) go south. MicroMat hopes to step in and fill that void with a new tech tool that is as useful as tube socks and an air freshener are to MacGyver.
The new 3"x1" TechTool Protégé is a 1GB FireWire 400 drive from which you can boot the latest version of OS X. Portable, simple in appearance and virtually weightless, the Protégé houses a whole rescue kit for when your computer exhibits warning signs—like not starting. MicroMat provides on its new drive TechTool Pro 4, the company's Cocoa-based flagship diagnostic and optimization software, and DiskStudio, which allows you to partition your hard drive without having to wipe out all of your existing data or partitions. The Protégé also comes with versions of Apple's Disk Utility, System Profiler and Terminal. In fact, you can throw some of your own favorites on, too. We even added a few photos that we were nervous about losing, for good measure.
When you plug in the Protégé, a launcher window appears with folders for the installers, utilities and, crucially, an option to reboot using the flash drive. Once you're operating from the Protégé itself, you can choose to run any of the previously mentioned apps to repair or partition your disk.
Did we mention that a little light flashes with police colors when you plug it in? How's that for projecting authority? When your machine isn't running, though, having the Protégé handy will make you feel more secure. If, for instance, you're 30,000 miles in the air, your Mac keeps crashing and the clip you're filtering in iMovie HD 6 doesn't look like it's going to get burned to DVD in time for you to show your family when you land, you'll be glad you slipped the Protégé into the side pocket of your laptop bag.
When we booted our Mac using the Protégé, we ran Disk Utility and found that permissions were in need of repair. The Disk Utility ran swiftly, and we were fixed up in less than a minute. And that's exactly how it's supposed to be with diagnostics, right? At least now we don't have to keep track of all of those backup CDs.
–COLIN MORRIS
TechTool Protégé: 
MicroMat | www.micromat.com | 800-829-6227 | $230
Pros: A portable way to resuscitate your Mac.
Cons: It's not clear how or if MicroMat will update new versions of the OS after you've purchased the tool.
Requires: FireWire 400 port
macHOME recommends: Bringing it with you when you travel with your laptop
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