Thumb memory drives carry personal data, music

Is it a pendant? Is it a mobile phone? No, it is a thumb drive!More and more people are wearing their digital data storage device as part of their personal accessories.

This device is actually a tiny flash memory card contained inside a small and sleek case. It can hold data such as documents, spreadsheets, presentation and MP3 files, even pictures and games for some refreshing moments on the road.

At one end, it has a USB plug. To store or retrieve data from and to this device, all we have to do is plug it into one of the USB ports on our notebook or desktop. If you are using Windows XP, the operating system will immediately recognize it and open a window that will ask you what you want to do next. If you use an older version of Windows, you may need to install the driver that comes with the thumb drive.

The device is small and resembles our thumb, and therefore it is popularly known as a thumb drive. Some people prefer to call it a pen drive, because it also looks like a pen, too. The good thing about this storage device is that no battery or external power source is required. The power required for the data read and write process comes from the host computer through the USB connection. The flash memory is non-volatile, so the data will not be lost when the device is unplugged from your notebook or desktop.

About the only problem we may have with the thumb drive -- as well as other mini data storage device such as SecureDigital cards, Memory Sticks, Smart Media Card and MultiMedia Cards is their minuscule size. They are so small that there is a chance you may forget to take them out of the pocket of your pants and you realize what you have done when it is too late. That is, when they are already soaked in sudsy water.

One interesting solution is to hook your thumb drive to a neck strap to make a necklace, or a key chain, That way, you will never leave home without it. Better still, it has less chance of getting washed. Even then, a Singaporean claimed that he could still use his thumb drive even though it had been accidentally put through the wash by his wife.

What to check if you are buying a thumb drive? They should use USB 2.0, which supports faster data transfer. If your notebook or desktop computer has USB 1.1, do not worry, as these tiny devices are backward compatible with the older and slower USB standard.

The thumb drives also come in different capacities. Buy the capacity that you think you will need. If you need to back up all the contents in your My Document folder, you may need 512 MB. But if what you store in it is just your PowerPoint presentation files, then the 64 MB drive may be enough. However, if your PowerPoint presentation contains a lot of video clips, you may opt for the larger capacities -- up to 2 GB.

The casing usually comes in stylish designs. However, it is better to choose the drives with rubberized housing so that they can withstand a little bit more abuse.

Now, if you cannot live without music, there is good news for you. There is a wide choice of thumb drives with MP3 players and recorders already built-in. Some even show the time. As you see, in the future we are going to see more and more digital functions thrown into thumb drives. So, invest just on what you actually need today, because you are bound to buy more thumb drives in three or four months. -- Zatni Arbi

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