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Hard drive maker Seagate Technology has acquired Mirra, which develops hardware and software that allows PC users to back up their data and access it from any PC connected to the Internet, Seagate announced Wednesday.

Seagate is not disclosing the purchase price of the cash deal, a company spokesperson said. All of the 34 employees of Mirra, based in Sunnyvale, California, will become Seagate employees and Mirra will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary, he said.

Personal Storage

Mirra's Personal Server product is designed to automatically save documents and media files to an external hard drive when users save those files to their hard drives. It also allows users to access their files on the external hard drive from any computer connected to the Internet and share those files with friends or colleagues.

An 80GB version of the Mirra Personal Server costs $249 on the company's Web site, but is listed as having been sold out. The next product, a 160GB version, costs $399, and higher capacity versions are also available. First versions of the line of personal servers launched about two years ago.

Seagate Bolsters Line

Seagate, based in Scotts Valley, California, makes hard drives for PCs, servers and consumer electronics devices. The company will blend Mirra's software and services with its own lineup of hard drives and external storage products, according to a company statement. Seagate has yet to decide how future products will be branded, the spokesperson said.

Seagate is the worldwide market share leader in hard drives, according to a recent report from iSuppli. The company shipped 30.5 percent of all hard drives worldwide during the second quarter, a lead of almost 13 percent over Western Digital.