USB Memory

 USB memory or otherwise known as jump drives, usb thumb drives, and usb sticks provide computer users with a quick storage solution.  Sometimes the files you use at work are just too big to e-mail and you need to take a presentation or file somewhere quickly.  This page is dedicated in helping you know everything you want to know about USB memory.

 USB memory has come a long way during the years.  Four years ago a thumb drive that could hold 256 megabytes seemed like an unreal amount of space and was likened to the moon landing of impossible feats.  Today we have USB memory that can hold much much more than those of four years ago.  The picture to the right shows the new Kanguru USB Flash Drive that can hold a whopping 64 gigabytes!  That's right, we are talking gigabytes now! 

What is the largest USB flash memory drive available you may ask?  Kingston makes a USB memory drive that holds 256 Gigabytes of information!  The amazing thing is that this little device is about the size of a person's thumb and can just easily fit in someones pocket.  With this much space at your fingertips you could put hundreds of thousands of presentations on a USB memory drive or many hour length movies.  As you can see we have definitely come very far in the size these little USB memory drives can hold.

USB memory is very cheap and affordable.  USB memory does get a little pricy when you get into the larger holding space drives, but you still can't beat the easy mobility of these small drives.  Here is a good price guide to help you know what current USB memory is going for in today's market.

• 1 GB drive goes for about $5.99
• 4 GB drive goes for about $7.99
• 8 GB drive goes for about $14.99
• 16 GB drive goes for about $32.99
• 32 GB drive goes for about $64.99
• 64 GB drive goes for about $129.99
• 300 GB drive goes for about $900.00

As you can see USB memory is relatively cheap compared to actual harddrive prices which are not mobile. 

 USB memory utilizes USB 2.0 which is a data transfer rate protocol.  The larger the storage capacity of a USB flash drive the longer it will feel to transfer data.  For example, the new kingston datatraveler 300 drive, which boasts 300 GB, has a transfer rate of 10 Mbps and a read rate of 20Mbps.  If you tried to transfer 256 GB to the card it would take several hours.  Remember that USB memory is meant for the quick things like business charts, presentations, graphs, music, etc. and if you stay with those kinds of things you can transfer within minutes.  If you are using USB memory to back up programs or larger files you need to understand that this could take minutes or hours depending on the size of the files.

USB memory flash drives will really determine the speed of its transfer rate.  There are some USB drives that have a transfer rate of 32-39Mbps and a reat rate of 60-80Mbps.  If speed is something you need than you may need to make sure you purchase a drive with the correct specifications to meet your needs.

 People that don't have a USB memory drive often wonder what they would even use it for.  Well here are a few real life situations in which flash drives come in extremely handy.

1. Store personal files such as documents, pictures, and videos.
2. System administrators use flash drives to transfer recovery and antivirus software to infected Pc's.
3. Computer forensics and law enforcement use these drives to carry computer evidence.
4. These drives come in very handy in booting up operating systems without needing a floppy disk.
5. Car audio players now often have a USB port so you can listen to your favorite music right from your USB memory drive.
6. Gaming Consoles such as the PS3 have USB functionality to transfer video, music, and game data.

There are many advantages to using USB memory drives as the data stored on them is impervious to dust and scratches. Another advantage is that Macs and PC's all have USB ports which will make your USB memory drive work with any computer. Another nice advantage is that you don't have to download drivers to work with the USB drive. USB memory is also extremely light weight and small which makes it very easy to transport data with ease. USB Memory is usually cheaper than other backup systems to backup sensitive data. Because flash drives are so portable it can be easy to lose them, but you can encrypt the data on the drives so that other's cannot access the data. 

Nothing acutally moves in a USB memory drive because computers read and write flash drive data using the same commands as a regular disk drive.  This is nice because moving parts tend to break or get worn out over time.  Most USB drives have a 1 million read and write life cycle before they bite the dust.

Since it's first debut in 2000, USB memory has certainly come a long way and we are all happy about where it's going.