Imation

Flash drives are solid state memory devices that are versatile, compact, portable, and easy to use. A flash drive works a lot like a portable hard drive, just plug the USB flash drive into your computer's USB port (usually found at the back of your computer, but many newer PCs have ports located in the front) and drag and drop your files to the removable disk. No additional cables or adapters are required.

Flash drives can be used anytime and anywhere, including home, school, and on the road to share, transport, and store all kinds of digital content. Since Flash drives offer large capacity storage (up to 2GB) and fast read and write speeds, they are a practical and convenient tool for fun or business. You can fill a typical drive with hundreds of photos, documents, and mp3 files in just seconds. You can take it with you to:

Transfer business files easily from your work laptop to your home computer and back again, while protecting your files from being erased, altered or viewed by anyone but you.
Carry school work securely from the computer lab to your dorm PC to your professor's laptop without concern regarding compatibility.
Trade and share business presentations from laptop to laptop at a trade show without worrying about dial-up connections or if you'll have enough room on your hard drive.
Share digital photos, music, and videos with family members and friends quickly and easily.
Store personal information that you don't want on your computer's hard drive.

Carry it with you on a lanyard around your neck, on your key chain, in your backpack or purse so it is readily available when you need it. Think of it this way - up to two gigabytes (GB) and more of storage (the equivalent of 10 yards of books on a shelf, a symphony in high-fidelity sound, or a broadcast quality movie) in a drive the size of a pack of gum.

Flash Memory Demystified

Flash memory is well known today because of the popular flash memory cards used in digital still cameras. Flash memory is also used in many electronic devices including PCs, cell phones, PDAs, Ethernet adapters, network routers, cable TV set top boxes, and video game consoles.

Flash memory is a transistor technology. A single flash memory cell is made up of two transistors. One transistor is a floating gate and separated from the other transistor (a control gate) by a thin oxide layer. In the normal condition (no stored data,) electrons flow freely from the floating gate to the control gate. In computers, data is stored in binary terms - as ones (1) and zeros (0) - and the free-flowing electronic condition has a value of 1.

To store data, a value of 0 is created by applying low voltage to the floating gate and exciting the electrons, The electrons are pushed through the thin oxide layer and are trapped on the control gate side, where they block the connectivity between the control gate and the floating gate. To return the cell to a normal condition of 1, an electric field is applied to the cell and the electrons are restored to the floating gate.

Flash memory has a write endurance limit. This limit is the number of times the flash memory cell can be written until it can not be restored to its initial condition. The industry refers to this as the erase cycles. The endurance is rated between 10,000 and 100,000 erase cycles for different types flash memories.

Buying a Flash Drive? Five Things To Consider

1. Form factor - Look for a drive that fits your style, but more importantly can withstand wear and tear. Check that the most fragile part, the USB interface beneath the cap, is well protected. Some newer drives come with a swivel cap to guarantee that you will never lose this protective cap. Find out if there are any extras included with the drive, such as an extension cable, key chain, or lanyard to make the drive easier to use and carry.

2. Capacity - Think about what you will be saving or transporting. Large presentations and videos take up a lot of space, while documents and photos take up less. Flash drives are available in capacities ranging from 32MB to up to 2GB and more. Find a drive, or drives, that suit both your current and future needs as your requirements for more capacity may grow. In terms of budget, as a general rule price increases with capacity.

3. Compatibility - Find out if your computer has a USB 1.1 or USB 2.0 port and find a compatible drive (USB 1.1 ports run a little slower than 2.0 ports). Most USB 2.0 drives work with USB 1.1 ports, but to reach maximum speed, use a USB 2.0 drive with a USB 2.0 port. Also, check to see that the drive is compatible with your computer's operating system (e.g. Windows 98, 2000, XP, or Macintosh) and if you need a driver to support it.

4. Data protection - Find out how the drive protects your digital content. Many drives have a write protect switch to prevent accidental erasure, much like the tabs on video tapes and floppy disks. If security is an issue, check to see if your data can be password protected so others can't access your files.

5. Software - Look to see if software is included with the drive and where it is available. Some companies offer downloadable software to manage files or to work with your computer's operating system. Accessing software online allows you to get the software you need without taking up space on your drive and helps ensure that the most recent upgrade will always be available.