The Friendliest Computer Club in Ventura County Since 1986
USB FLASH
This is a reprint from the December 2004 issue of TOE (The Outer Edge)
By Jim Thornton
Starting with the first popular version of Microsoft Windows, I followed the example of my fellow engineering co-workers and faithfully backed up my important data onto 3.5-inch floppy diskettes both at work and at home. The original diskettes were single-sided and held 720 KB (KB = kilo or 1,000 bytes) of data. These low-capacity diskettes were soon replaced with double-sided ones that held twice the quantity - 1.44 MB (mega or million bytes). The diskettes still were relatively low capacity devices, so several different products were introduced to overcome this problem - tape cartridges that required a special recorder/player and were slow; higher capacity 3.5-inch diskettes that would hold up to 120 MB and required a special drive; and Zip diskettes that would hold 100 MB with later versions that would hold 250 and 750 MB and all required special unique drives.
I did like my Zip 100 MB diskettes and equipped all of the computers in my home with Zip drives. This made the moving of large data files very easy. These files would typically consist of vacation photographs, new programs and/or program updates, etc. One 100 MB Zip diskette is the equivalent of more than 69 3.5-inch diskettes. However, in a period of approximately five years I ran through three drives. In other words, the internal mechanical mechanism of the Zip drives didn't last very long - maybe two or three years at the most. The failure of a Zip drive commonly resulted in "the blue screen of death." When my last Zip drive died, I was leaning toward buying a used or rebuilt one from e-Bay but then I discovered the USB Flash Drive.
A flash drive looks like a butane cigarette lighter or a pack of chewing gum at first glance. It is slightly thinner than the lighter and on one end is an LED (light emitting diode) activity lamp and on the other is a male type A (large) USB (universal serial bus) connector. These drives come in various capacities from 64 MB to 1 GB (giga or thousand-million bytes) and plug in to any computer that has a USB port and is running Windows 98SE or later.
Some flash drive manufacturers provide special drivers for Windows 98SE users; these drivers are already included in Windows Me, 2000, XP, etc., and some later versions of 98SE. Flash drives are totally compatible with the Linux operating system and later versions of the Apple Macintosh computers. They offer all of the advantages of the previously mentioned devices - small, portable, truly Plug-and-Play as they require no additional software, have a large capacity (one 128 MB flash drive is the equivalent of over 88 3.5-inch diskettes), etc. In addition, the data retention of a 3.5-inch diskette is estimated at two years while a flash drive is over ten years.
When you first plug the flash drive into your computer, it will report that it has found new hardware, and when using Windows Explorer you will see that a new hard drive has been added and assigned the next available drive letter. The transfer of data is fast and simple - if your computer is running the original USB version, the data transfer will be 12 Mbps (mega or million bits per second) or if you have the newer USB 2.0 version, then the speed will be 480 Mbps. The high speed comes from the fact that the flash drive is truly solid-state, meaning it has no mechanical or moving parts. To give you some idea of the speed, a typical telephone modem's transfer rate is 53 Kbps (kilo or 1,000 bits per second) more than 200 times slower than the slowest flash drive.
In addition, your new flash drive comes with one or two clear plastic colored caps to aid you in identifying which flash drive you're accessing if you have more than one plugged into your computer. Also included is a removable neck strap or key chain for ease of carrying.
Now, there are several limitations when using a flash drive. The first is that they require power to operate and must be plugged directly into your computer's USB ports. If you plug them into a keyboard that has several USB ports available, you will see an error message that the USB port that you are using doesn't have enough power to operate the flash drive. This may require rearranging your USB keyboard, USB mouse, USB printer, USB scanner, etc., to free a USB port located on your computer. With many computers, the USB ports are located on the rear of the computer, making it difficult to insert and remove the drive. One solution to this problem is to buy a short USB extension cord ($2) and plug the cord into the computer and plug the flash drive into the other end of the cable and position the flash drive so that it is easily accessible from the front of your computer. My flash drive is sitting right next to my keyboard. Another solution would be to buy a powered USB hub ($32) and plug your flash drive into the hub. These hubs typically have one USB cord to be plugged into your computer and provide four USB powered ports for your other USB devices. A third choice would be to install a USB 2.0 card in the computer - there are various capacities - 2-port version ($13), 5-port ($38), etc. The only problem with these cards is that all of the ports again are located on the rear of your computer. To overcome this limitation, there is a combination front panel host controller ($67) that would fit into any empty 5 1/4 inch bay on the front of your computer next to your CD player and provide five USB 2.0 ports and three firewire (IEEE 1394) ports. Firewire ports are typically used for video editing as one example.
The drives are strong. I've read stories of people accidentally leaving their flash drives in their clothes, and the clothes with the flash drive went though the washing machine and then into the clothes dryer, and the flash drive continued to work afterward. Others have dropped the flash drive the equivalent height of a two-story building on to a sidewalk and the flash drive continued to work.
Flash drives are for sale at all computer stores - CompUSA, Fry's, etc., and large warehouse stores - Costco, etc., and the price ranges from 64 MB ($30), 128 MB ($16-40), 256 MB ($28-130), 512 MB ($80-150), and 1 GB ($180-300). There are lots of manufacturers to choose from, so be sure to look for the best rebate offers.
Imagine going to your friend's home carrying your flash drive containing all of your recent vacation photographs in your pants pocket or purse, plugging the drive into their computer, and showing them your photos. And should they want any copies, just copy the photos directly onto their computer without any delays.
