| One the most widely used inventions of the past 20 | | | | are a welcome and useful item, and much more |
| years are the ubiquitous USB Flash Memory sticks. | | | | functional than an emblazoned key chain or desk |
| Variously known as Jump Drives, Thumb Drives, | | | | calendar. |
| Memory Sticks, and many other names, these portable | | | | 4. This product has seen an explosion in capacity and |
| memory devices are to be found everywhere. | | | | a great reduction in price in recent years. When they |
| | | | were first introduced in the late 1980's flash drives |
| 1. The most common use is with PC's and Laptops for | | | | could only store a few megabytes of data, and that |
| storing and transferring files, and they are not only to | | | | data came with a respectable price tag. It is now quite |
| be found in the Computer Science or Engineering | | | | common to find devices with 16 gigabytes of memory |
| departments. There are probably very few college | | | | for under $80. |
| students today, regardless of their major, that do not | | | | 5. It is a key component of the popular MP3 players, |
| own at least one such device. | | | | as well as cellular phones, ATM's, and just about any |
| 2. Memory cards using the same technology are also | | | | device that uses upgradeable software, known as |
| widely used in digital cameras. The large capacity is | | | | firmware. |
| what allows hundreds of pictures to be stored before | | | | Look for there to be more uses for this type of |
| it is necessary to download the images and clear the | | | | memory in the near future. As the reliability increases |
| memory. | | | | and cost decreases, they may replace hard drives in |
| 3. Another very popular use for USB drives is as a | | | | some applications. |
| give-away at trade shows. Promotional flash drives | | | | |