Topic awaiting preservation: USB Pen Drives

I need to get one of those lil' USB pen drives for one of my classes. I've been meaning to get one for a while anywho so I figure I'll splurge a tad and get a quality one. Are there any companies I should stay away from or is there a brand that really stands out by making better ones?

Thanks,
Schitz0boy

I was wondering what the heck a pen drive was, sure enough, it's a thumb drive, tomaydoe tomahdoe. They're all about the same I think, except thee are exceptionally cool, and expensive: http://www.thumbdrive.com/touch.htm

I've used several different ones. Never had any problems with any of them. We use them at work for holding marketing presentations and just let our agents pick out the ones they like the best.

Most use SanDisk or Lexar. One even has one that is a wristwatch, I forget who makes it, but I think its a bit silly.

Oooh, that thumbdrive is cool. However this will get past back and forth between me and my teach so I don't think it would be practical. http://www.swissarmy.com/webstore/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=4220&category=35 would be pretty awesome too, but no cannopener, and only 128 I've seen some that double up as pens which seems neat, but I bet they're a pain to plug-in most of the time.

I've got a generic 256M one and an old generic 16M and I've had no problems with either of them so far, so you should be fine with whatever brand you get.

Best ones I've found so far are the Kingston ones, made by the same people who make the best RAM in the world. Also includes data protection, encryption and passwording


Justice 4 Pat Richard

Get one that has a write-protect option on it. I actually have a thumb drive that's just the interface. It takes any Sony Memory Card, MMC, SD card, etc as it's storage. I have a 512MB SD card in mine that I can take out and toss into my PDA. And, SD cards have write protect switches. So, connecting them to a "foreign" machine doesn't present virus and security issues. The one I have is the Lexar JumpDrive Trio. I think I paid about $20 for it (not including the SD card).

I also have a 256MB Lexar JumpDrive Sport, but it doesn't get used too much, since the other one holds more.

If you're going to get a thumb drive, MAKE SURE that the "drive" part itself is not the part that has the key ring on it. I've seen a couple that, when plugged into a computer, have keys still hanging on it, causing stress on the USB port. The JumpDrives have the keyring on the removeable cover.

Alright here's a new option though I'm not sure if it would work. Apple just announced the ipod shuffle $99 dollar mini ipod. It may be possible to use it for file storage as well (you can with other ipods). Then you can have both a cool Mp3 player and a portable drive.



.:[ Never resist a perfect moment ]:.

One thing to keep in mind... get one that will not hog other usb ports. Some are really thick and will cover the other usb ports. Not cool.

Anyway, I have had great luck with the Cruzer Mini Sandisk 256 and 512mb's Although I have been lookin for an excuse to buy this Apacer Deal

I have been pretty harsh to my 256 sandisk... it is now held together by duct tape and superglue and it works just great. So... look for a deal and buy the biggest one you can. It's worth it.



(Edited by eyezaer on 01-12-2005 06:26)

I have a verbatim store-n-go 128 (used primarily for school) which has PW protection and the only complaint I've had with it is that it is one of the larger ones and I occasionally have to use a rear USB port. I'm looking to get a slimmer 512 within the next month or so. one of the things I like best about it is that I can download pretty much anything at school and bring it home with me. this saves me alot of time because I'm on dialup at home. as an example, I downloaded the NetBeans IDE at school to bring home and do my java homework. I don't think I leave home without it...



You know I'd like to keep my cheeks dry today, so stay with me and I'll have it made (Shannon Hoon)

There ar some funny ones here and here , but one that might be handy because it's small, would be the Iomega Micro Mini USB Key. And it's not as girlish as the other ones.
Loads of other interesting stuff on there btw...