| Whether you call them flash drives, thumb drives, or | | | | need to be sure that the drive actually will fit into the |
| usb keys, storage devices with flash memory are | | | | available USB ports on the computers they want to |
| currently the most efficient, most versatile means of | | | | use. |
| storing and transporting computer data. Offering true | | | | The peculiar angled design of the front usb ports on |
| plug-and-play functionality, the drives allow you to take | | | | the computers used at my school means that only a |
| large amounts of data on the road without worrying | | | | long, narrow flash drive will fit. Any other shape |
| about whether the computer on the other end will be | | | | requires the user to poke around on the back of the |
| able to read your data. | | | | machine. The ports on the back also have the |
| When shopping for a flash drive, consumers are faced | | | | unfortunate characteristic of being too tightly spaced, |
| with an overwhelming variety of choices. Over the last | | | | so round drives cannot be plugged in at the same time |
| year, dozens of manufacturers have gotten into the | | | | as the usb printer cable. |
| game, offering ever-smaller devices, with ever | | | | You also should pay attention to the design of the cap |
| expanding storage capacity. Drives as small as a stick | | | | that covers the USB plug on the drive. Many are |
| of gum now offer hundreds of megabytes -- even | | | | attached to the drive with a small string (a good idea). |
| gigabytes of storage. And prices continue to fall. | | | | Other flash drives come with a spare. I am constantly |
| With so many devices on the shelves, its no wonder | | | | losing my caps, and the spares come in handy. Some |
| that people are confused. Worse, there seems to be | | | | of the newer drives have retractable USB plugs, or |
| little practical advice available. As a result, I regularly | | | | swivel designs that eliminate the need for a cap |
| find myself advising my colleagues, on which devices | | | | entirely. |
| they should buy. | | | | Durability and reliability are also considerations. While I |
| The main difference in the flash drives is in the price | | | | have never had a flash drive fail, I know that they can. |
| and storage capacity. There also are some secondary | | | | Thus, I tend to stick with name brand manufacturers. |
| considerations surrounding additional features. | | | | While you can get a very cheap drive from an |
| The first thing you need to do is to figure out what kind | | | | unknown producer, it may not be worth the risk. |
| of storage capacity you're going to need. If you are | | | | If security is an issue, many of the manufacturers |
| going to tote a few Word files, for example, you | | | | provide software that allow you to password protect |
| probably won't need very much in the way of storage | | | | your flash drive. In most of these, you can designate |
| a 128MB stick will be plenty. But if you're going to carry | | | | separate areas of your drive as "public" and "private." |
| a lot of pictures or graphics files, you're going to need | | | | Others offer flash drives with biometric security |
| much more capacity 512MB, or more. | | | | features (they actually read your fingerprints). |
| I have a couple of fairly large (513mb) sticks that I use | | | | Whether you need the security depends upon your |
| to transport the PowerPoint files I use in my classes. | | | | level of paranioa. I have never used the password |
| The individual files tend to be very large because of | | | | feature on my flash drives, and don't take the feature |
| the large number of images that I use in those | | | | into consideration. |
| slideshows. I also have a 32MB stick that I use to hold | | | | A recent trend is to offer drives with additional (and to |
| all the worksheets and handouts for all of my classes | | | | my mind useless) features such as built-in MP3 players |
| for both semesters. | | | | and voice recorders. Don't bother paying for these |
| In general, though, more is better. You will never be | | | | features. If you want an MP3 player, buy an MP3 |
| disappointed at having too much space -- only in not | | | | player. You'll be much happier with the sound quality |
| having enough. | | | | and ease of use on a device built for the task. |
| Be sure that the drive is designed for USB 2.0, but is | | | | Finally, don't get caught up in the manufacturer's hype. |
| backwards compatible. Many older computers (such | | | | My colleagues will often show me an ad and point out |
| as the ones at my school) have only USB 1.1 ports. | | | | that a particular drive is "fast" and "multimedia |
| The safest thing to do is to have one that covers all | | | | compatible." |
| of your bases. | | | | They're all fast. (And if one is faster than another, its |
| Another consideration is the physical size of the stick. | | | | undetectable by anyone other than the geekiest of |
| The general thought seems to be that smaller is better. | | | | humans) And they all can store photos, graphics and |
| But smaller also means that it's easier to lose. I | | | | movies (assuming you have enough storage space). |
| personally shy away from the very tiny ones. | | | | Anything that you can store on a computer, you can |
| The shape of the flash drive also needs to be | | | | store on a flash drive. |
| considered. Most of the drives are rectangular, but a | | | | In general, the best prices that you're going to get are |
| few look like a lipstick, or are bullet shaped, or have | | | | online. I recommend looking at a couple of likely |
| other unique designs. While a different design may help | | | | suspects at your local office supply mega-mart, and |
| the manufacturer distinguish his products, consumers | | | | then going online to compare prices. |