subject: What You Must Know About USB Flash Drives? [print this page] What You Must Know About USB Flash Drives?
USB flash drives are basically plug-and-play storage devices, which make use of a flash memory. They are very light in weight and can be conveniently used as a substitute for a CD or a zip drive disk. The computer identifies the device as a detachable drive. The custom USB flash drives don't require any re-booting after they are attached to the computer system. They also do not need any external batteries or any other peripheral support to operate.
With the help of a USB drive, the data can be saved for longer periods, even after the device is un-plugged from the computer, or when the system is shut down, with the drive attached to it. USB drives make data sharing and transfer of information easy.
Different sizes of USB flash drives:
There are a wide variety and sizes of USB flash drives available in the market. The capacity of the device varies a lot. They can be as small as 250 MB or as large as 4 GB. You can choose the size depending on your requirement and work load.
Advantages of the USB flash drives:
The USB flash drives are compact devices and they generally hold more data than a CD or floppy. They are also more reliable and safe to use. This type of drive uses the USB mass storage standard, and is supported by most of the modern operating systems such as Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and UNIX.
When you are planning to buy USB flash drives, opt for the one that offers more storage capacity and has a stylish design. There are some very creative and stylish USB devices available in the market. The USB flash drives are water resistant and they are a preferred portable storage. The 256 MB flash drive featuring the fingerprint verification can actually encrypt as many as 10 different thumbprints, over 200 website logins, and all your important bookmarks.
The Sony Ultra Mini Micro Vault (size: 256 MB) is a popular choice. It is nearly the same length as the little finger. The miniature version of the Micro Vault also comes with quite a few software which helps to keep the data synchronized and protected.
Though the 256 MB USB drive looks like any other product out there, but it actually offers the Active Disk technology, which allows the users to run free applications such as open office, music match, and mail portable.
The capacities of the USB flash drives in the market are increasing continuously. The drives with smaller capacities have been largely discontinued, and they have been replaced by the large capacity ones that come with advanced features.
