computer/usb flash drive ?

[brent warner]

just wondering, what these usb flash drives are used for, I see them advertised all the time ?
thanks,brent

[Jim Becker]

They are used for file backup, moving files between computers and other devices, etc. It's just non-volatile, read/write memory in a portable form.

[brent warner]

so you just plug it in a port and load files into it ?
brent

[Chuck Stewart]

Brent,
They are handy for any files you want to back up or for taking with you to load on another computer since all have usb ports, just a matter of sticking in any usb port and a new drive letter will pop up and so can move them or just copy the contents. Most come formatted in Fat32 but will load files on to an NTFS though I did have one 8gig that did not like my Vista laptop so I re-formatted to NTFS. Kinda weird since another 8gig with Fat32 loaded just fine. No big deal, just right click on drive letter it assigns the flash and reformat (make sure no files on flash). I've given my entire music collection to people and backed up my entire My Documents folder with these. I think there's even car radios now that except flash drives so you could load your MP3's and listen to them in the car

[Chuck Stewart]

Brent,
i forgot to say but maybe it's obvious but my rule of thumb is always "copy" the files from your computer (cuz we don't want to lose them) and "move" them to the next computer (cuz now the cards empty and you can start all over again) But any combination of copy/move will work, I just don't like deleting the files later when I want to put something else on them.

[Dave Lehnert]

just wondering, what these usb flash drives are used for, I see them advertised all the time ?
thanks,brent

Just think of them as a modern day floppy disk. Or a CD/DVD.
Just another way to store things.

[Paul Atkins]

I use one (or 3) all the time. I just wish I had a USB port on the side of my head.

[Matt Meiser]

When I worked in an office I would bring stuff home on mine when I needed to work on something but didn't want to disconnect my laptop, cords, etc and carry it home. When I need to install stuff from my computer onto client computers I use it all the time. Even for sharing files with co-workers its easier than mapping a network drive, etc.

[Matt Walton]

Buy enough hard drives and RAM from www.newegg.com, and you'll eventually get a free one

[Eric DeSilva]

I'm sure this will make some IT people scream, but I also use a flash drive for what are called "portable" applications. For many reasons, you may not be able to--or want to--install or use applications that are on someone else's computer. For example, I don't have admin privileges on the computer I use at work. And, when I travel, if I use a computer cafe to get on the internet (or a guest computer at someone's house or office or library), I don't want the internet browser leaving fingerprints about where I've been or what I've done (e.g., mobile banking).

Portable applications address that by allowing you to "run" programs that are on the flash drive. They do not require changes to the registry of the machine they are being run on, and are configured to leave no fingerprints on the computer they are used with. Most of the ones I use are open source, so they don't cost anything.

In order to provide a handy interface for these portable apps, I use Geek Menu (http://geek-menu.sourceforge.net/). I've installed the following applications:

- Firefox Portable (internet browser)
- Portable Tor (allows use of Firefox on a secure, encrypted network)
- TorButton (plug-in for Firefox to turn Tor on/off)
- Thunderbird Portable (email client)
- Open Office Suite
- Notepad++ (a text editor that is more full featured than Win's own)
- GIMP (a very full featured photo/image editor)

I usually also have some various utility programs... All rides on my keychain for ease of use.

[Dan Mages]

Another nifty feature for larger flash drives is that you can create systems on a stick. This allows you to install an operating system on the stick. This allows you to operate in a clean OS evironment at internet cafes, business centers, etc... and be less worred about keystroke loggers, viruses, etc... that are common in these environments.

Dan

[Mark Hix]

ok, they gave you all the technical stuff.....I use them alot for easy stuff.....Mom is not too good with a computer so I copy photos to the flash drive and use that to show her and she can pick the ones she wants to put on her photo frames or print.

Sent one to one of the kids with a new digital camera for Christmas last year along w/ a return, postage paid envelop...he got the hint, I got pictures. I will be sending it back for a refill soon.

I use one at work to move presentations around or when I work on them at home, I can carry them to work.

I keep my website stuff on another.

They are cheap, easy and portable.

[Eric Larsen]

I have a thumb drive that has most of Hiren's utility disk on it, along with recent versions of Malwarebytes, Superantispyware and TuneUp 2009.

It lives in my laptop case. I update it whenever the mood strikes me. It has saved my bacon (and friends' bacon) so many times, I consider it a must-have for anyone with a PC running Windows variants.