Technology Guide: USB Flash/Thumb Drives

Technology Introduction

USB Flash Drives

A Thousand Floppies
In The Palm Of Your Hand

The age of floppy disks is finally over. The age of Zip disks, and maybe even CDs could be over too!

As media files are becoming more robust and heavy in size, portable devices that store them are getting smaller physically while storing increasingly massive amounts of information. CDs & DVDs may be compact, and floppies thin and small, but they are limited in their storage space, security and not to mention susceptibility to damage, rendering the data unreadable.

Enter the flash drive. A tiny unit that fits in the palm of your hands that can store up to multiple gigabytes of data. These small, plastic devices connect to your computer via a USB port (which virtually every computer now has (has at least one), where data can be written and copied from an internal flash memory chip. You then simply attach it to your key ring, put it in your pocket and take your information with you wherever you go.

Forget about damage to the data, or if your client has the proper drives to access the files. Forget about some stranger accessing your files if you lose the flash drive, as most allow for password protection, and even offer file encryption. If you prefer a drive that is more functional, get an MP3 flash drive player that not only stores the data, but can also play your favorite tunes.

The types of USB flash drives currently on the market are numerous. They come in almost every conceivable shape, size, and capacity. This list goes on and on, and will, of course, evolve as time goes on to reveal more robust and probably ever smaller removable storage devices.

Types Of USB Flash Drives

	Standard USB Flash Drives We begin this guide with the standard USB flash drive. These drives are pretty simple, where you insert into an available USB port and drag files to and from the drive (your computer will recognize the drive as an external drive where you drag and drop from the USB flash drive window). The only difference among these drives is storage capacity, transfer speed (determined by the type of USB Connectivity - USB 1.1 or USB 2.0) and appearance such as size, shape and color.
	Security USB Flash Drives These drives work similar to the standard media drives but provide a security feature to prevent data loss and/or theft. Some utilize a built-in password prompt as bundled software that activates when copying to/from your drive. Another protective method that goes a step beyond a password is data encryption (64, 128 or 256 bit ). A new method of protection is the integration of fingerprint authentication in addition to encryption codes, to guarantee your information is very secure.
	MP3-USB Flash Drives If USB flash drives were made to carry data around, why not let them burst out in song? Flash technology created the MP3 player that is so popular these days (Note - there are also Hard Drive players, like the iPod, but that's another story). Each offer many different features such as displays, capacity, functions (radio tuner, mic) and cosmetic appearance. These portable music flash drives not only play your music but can also store data files to be transferred from computer to computer. Consider these the flash drives jiggling with musical entertainment rather than just sitting in your pocket.
	Innovative USB Flash Drives I call these innovative because even though they look like your typical USB flash drives, they have an added feature to distinguish them from the rest. We just covered MP3 flash drive/players with LCD screens and they certainly fall into this category. However, there are those that are not music players but offer the ability to expand memory capacity (with flash memory card slots), provide wireless LAN connectivity and faster data transfer rates via a firewire connector instead of the common USB.
	Multifunctional USB Drives Some companies have decided to put a creative spin on the USB flash drive and make them, well, more multifunctional. Rather than just develop another plain piece of molded plastic with a cap to add to your key ring, companies have developed USB flash drives that act and look like objects we would use day to day. There are currently full functioning wrist watches and pens that contain a USB cable or connector to plug into a computer and download or upload files to a certain capacity. Some even include encryption software just in case you lose the pen or watch.