Flash Disks

[mvachon]

Hello All,
Query for the hardware techies out there...
Have been investigating these new devices called flash drives
[see

http://www.m-sys.com/content/documentation/maindocFFD_table.asp?PID=4&FILE=ffd25ide&FAM=FFD

]
I have a situation where I have to support legacy computers running {ARGH!} DOS! The problem has been lately the hard drives we're using become EOL before we even get a chance to implement them [industry turn-arounds are running around 6 mo. to a year]

The flash drives appear to be an attractive option as they profess to be longer in product life-cycle and have no moving
parts to fail.
Just wondering if anyone out there has exposure to these and has any feed-back.

Thanks,
Mike ;-)

 

[mojodk]

Hi Mike,

To use the flash drives, all you need to do is just plug it into any USB port on a PC or Apple and within seconds it is recognized by the computer. Computers will typically assign a letter and name to the device often times referring to it as a "removable disk." It then lets you drop and drag files just as you would do with your regular hard drive. When you're done you can simply remove the flash drive and access the information as you need it on various devices. Other features of the USB flash drive include the ability to act as a memory card reader, the absence of cumbersome cords, and, depending on what operating system you run, plug-n-play compliancy. All of these make it easy to use on any device. If you run Mac OS 9 or later, or Windows 2000 or later, you typically won't need a software driver. However, if that's not the case, all USB flash drives include software drivers to get you up and running.

Data is stored in these devices on flash memory chips, the memory frequently used in digital cameras, PDAs and digital music players. Flash memory is unique in that it retains its contents even when it's not powered. This feature, along with its ruggedness, enables users to handle it with more abandon when compared to floppies, ensuring that your data is less likely to be compromised in any way.

USB flash drives come in many different form factors and colors, ranging in size from that of a fat highlighter pen to a Zippo lighter. Their practicality and their attractive designs appeal to a diverse audience including business users and students. They are reusable, and can store anywhere from 8MB to 1GB, compared to 1.44MB for floppies, and 650MB for CDs. This higher capacity is extremely useful, considering most files from digital cameras and MP3 players can range from 7KB to 650KB in size. The physical size of the device doesn't change as the capacity goes up, but the price does, and they don't come cheap.

Through the use of USB flash drives, users now have an increasingly cheaper and easier way to store and exchange data, but awareness of these devices is minimal. There are cost effective ways of transferring data if you don't have a laptop, such as CDs or zip drives. If you want a quick, easy and practical way to transfer large files without lugging around a laptop, portable USB flash devices definitely fit the bill.

M

 

[mojodk]

Hi Mike,

To use the flash drives, all you need to do is just plug it into any USB port on a PC or Apple and within seconds it is recognized by the computer. Computers will typically assign a letter and name to the device often times referring to it as a "removable disk." It then lets you drop and drag files just as you would do with your regular hard drive. When you're done you can simply remove the flash drive and access the information as you need it on various devices. Other features of the USB flash drive include the ability to act as a memory card reader, the absence of cumbersome cords, and, depending on what operating system you run, plug-n-play compliancy. All of these make it easy to use on any device. If you run Mac OS 9 or later, or Windows 2000 or later, you typically won't need a software driver. However, if that's not the case, all USB flash drives include software drivers to get you up and running.

Data is stored in these devices on flash memory chips, the memory frequently used in digital cameras, PDAs and digital music players. Flash memory is unique in that it retains its contents even when it's not powered. This feature, along with its ruggedness, enables users to handle it with more abandon when compared to floppies, ensuring that your data is less likely to be compromised in any way.

USB flash drives come in many different form factors and colors, ranging in size from that of a fat highlighter pen to a Zippo lighter. Their practicality and their attractive designs appeal to a diverse audience including business users and students. They are reusable, and can store anywhere from 8MB to 1GB, compared to 1.44MB for floppies, and 650MB for CDs. This higher capacity is extremely useful, considering most files from digital cameras and MP3 players can range from 7KB to 650KB in size. The physical size of the device doesn't change as the capacity goes up, but the price does, and they don't come cheap.

Through the use of USB flash drives, users now have an increasingly cheaper and easier way to store and exchange data, but awareness of these devices is minimal. There are cost effective ways of transferring data if you don't have a laptop, such as CDs or zip drives. If you want a quick, easy and practical way to transfer large files without lugging around a laptop, portable USB flash devices definitely fit the bill.

M