Best Laptop Accessories: Flash Drives
October 13, 2011, By Michael O. Varhola 0 comments
As much as I have used USB flash drives over the past couple of years, it is kind of surprising even to me that I had such a tepid attitude toward them the first time I was given one to use way back in 2005. I understood what they did and was actually working on computers at three different locations, which required me to transfer files among them, but was in the habit of moving smaller files by emailing them to myself and larger ones on Zip disks, which I relied on for more than a decade (and still use to some extent).
Suffice it to say, I have come around to the idea of using these portable devices to the extent that I am willing to acknowledge them as being one of the three most useful laptop accessories available (the other two being cooling pads and external mice).
Also known as thumb drives, these tiny devices use flash memory to store data and serve the same function once performed by floppy disks, Zip disks and CDs. They are, however, superior to these largely outdated systems in just about every way, having far more memory than floppies or Zip disks and being rewritable, unlike CDs. They also don't require a special drive like those other devices, instead being compatible with a standard USB port on either a laptop or desktop computer. They are also small and easy to transport in a pocket, laptop case or even on a lanyard that can be worn like a necklace to reduce the chance of losing the device.
Prices for flash drives seemed a little steep when they first came out, but their dollar-to-megabyte ratio has been steadily improving over the past few years, as has their memory capacity. Costco is an especially good place to shop for these if you need more than one. Prices start at $8.99 for a single 4 GB PNY 4 GB flash drive and run up to $39.99 for a pack of three 8 GB SanDisk USB flash drives (that latter price being about what I paid at an office supply store for a single device half as big just two years ago).
