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USB Flash Drive With Activity Light

A USB flash drive with activity light gives the user visual feedback the device is working.

Click here to buy a USB flash drive with activity light. While on this site, consider some other advanced functions you might need, but didn’t think of. Advanced functions such as:

  • Maybe you want the USB flash drive to be read-only (write protected)
  • Maybe you want the USB to act like a CD-ROM drive
  • Maybe you need to copy protect files on the drive – meaning people can view the files but they cannot print them, save them, screen capture, share, etc. The files can only be viewed.

These USB flash drives use an activity light and also provide the other cool functions mentioned above. The landing website offers six different body styles and an unlimited number of body colors along with free printing / branding if required.

Many small and portable flash drives do not have an activity light and we don’t like those types of drives. They don’t give the visual feedback we want to see.

USB flash drive no activity light

The people who write for this blog prefer a USB flash drive with an activity light. The USB manufacturers have different settings for the LED activity light. Here is a screen shot of the mass production software tool used when making a flash drive.

There are two main settings for a USB activity light:

  • On or Off setting for the LED on when device is ready
  • Blink or not when flash memory is being accessed (this is for either read or write)

USB flash drive with activity light, settings

In our experience any USB flash drive with an activity light will have both of the above settings to On. Meaning the LED will be a solid color when connected and ready, and will blink as the device is being accessed for either a read or write request.

USB flash drive with activity light, on

The most common LED color of a flash drive is red. However, we have seen green and blue LED lights on occasion. Most flash drives can be customized with specific LED colors if required. Lead times and pricing might fluctuate depending on what is required.

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Steampunk USB, The Gatling Gun Flash Drive

The Gatling gun is one of the earliest known rapid-fire, hand cranked weapons. The Gatling design is a forerunner of the modern machine gun and rotary cannon. Invented by Richard Gatling, it saw occasional use by the Union forces during the American Civil War in the 1860s.

Megan Kening at Etsy has taken this concept and made a steampunk USB flash drive. The Gatling gun USB has incredible detail, impressive color LED during operation and a rotating cannon when power up.

steampunk usb, Gatling gun

Megan’s collection includes the Gatling gun and a ball-point pen in a nice wooden case. Both devices are 100% hand made from a collection of materials that include copper, brass, glass tubing, USB and motorized engine with gears.

Mr. Kening has been mentioned before on GetUSB and his work continues to impress. With a near perfect, five star rating, we are confident to say any purchase from Megan is worth the money. Additional pictures after the break…

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Flash Memory Puts Mars Curiosity into Safe Mode

As with any good project, there should always be a back up plan.  The Curiosity for Mars is no different.  The system has a B-Side computer in the event the A-Side computer went down…well guess what, it went down. There is a theory that cosmic rays affected some of the flash memory on Curiosity causing the A-Side computer to shut down and reboot into Safe Mode. JPL is currently backup up the A-Side data to the B-Side computer and should reboot by weeks end.  Configuration and data transfer can take a while, then of course the verification process of everything done right. JPL states:
“The hardware that we fly is radiation tolerant, but there’s a limit to how hardened it can be, you can still get high-energy particles that can cause the memory to be corrupted. It certainly is a possibility and that’s what we’re looking into.”
For updates please visit the NASA website. Continue Reading

Verbatim Tuff-N-Tiny USB Drive

Verbatim has been busy these days.  On Monday we reported about the Verbatim USB Tuff Clip flash drive, and today Verbatim is announcing their new Tuff-N-Tiny USB flash drive.

tuff n tiny

At the thickness of a penny and about twice as long, the Tuff-n-Tiny USB drive is available in 4 & 8GB sizes.  It’s almost the side of microSD card. The stick gets so incredibly small, because of it’s SIP technology which encapsulates all of the electronic components into a single miniaturized and sealed unit. As a result, the tiny drives are resistant to dust, water and static discharges. Our comment about this drive, and any other drive which uses the same USB contacts [image below] Continue Reading

Verbatim: USB Tuff Clip Flash Drive

Verbatim turned 40 this year and one of the products they have released to celebrate is the USB TUFF CLIP flash drive.  Designed for the everyday use by a teen or college student the USB TUFF CLIP is made of ABS plastic and includes a retractable USB connector.  In addition the TUFF CLIP comes with the obvious carabineer clip.

USB TUFF CLIP

The clip is the compelling part about this project, as you can pick up a 4 or 8GB flash drive just about anywhere.  The clip is well designed to fasten the flash drive to backpacks, key chains, belt loops and notebooks.  With a capless design the caps wont fall off or get lost while dangling from your person. The 4 [light blue] & 8GB [black] drives are priced at $29 and $39 respectively. Continue Reading

USB Steampunk – They Simply Get More Amazing

Back in June of 2009 I made a joke that GetUSB.info had a USB Steampunk award, now I’m seriously considering it.  Especially after seeing this new rendition. This USB steampunk drive was made by a Russian modder.  He traveled to a local rag fair [I’m assuming street fair] to pick up old clock parts and gears.  The guy also picked up some stock brass tubing and screw rods to build a sturdy housing.  Then off the the metal shop.

USB steampunk

The source website, EnglishRussia, has the entire tutorial on how to do this crafty artwork.  It’s far more interesting than educational, so if you are curious about the Continue Reading

LaCie iamaKey In The Wild

The blogosphere has been talking quite a bit about the new LaCie USB key chains, in fact, I did a post just the other day about them.  Well, yesterday LaCie sent GetUSB.info the iamaKey model.  Here she is in the wild.

The iamaKey is a beautiful drive.  Extremely solid, heavy and doesn’t scratch easily.  LaCie put a lot of effort into the design and material selection to make one outstanding drive.  I’ve used dozens of flash keys  and most end up failing and in the trash.  With the durability I see here, the iamaKey will last. So here’s the deal…I’m going to keep the iamaKey on my keychain until it breaks.  I use USB sticks daily so there will be frequent tests.  I’ve also been known to forget my keys in my pants, which ultimately ends up in the wash…so there are many stress test opportunities. I’ll report back when the device fails, but don’t expect an update anytime soon. Continue Reading

USB Blade is Silicon System’s Solid State Space Saver

Silicon Systems introduces their new USB Blade SiliconDrive, an ultra slim, ultra small USB drive designed for embedded applications.
usb blade silicon systems
Although it’s not the first embedded USB drive we’ve seen, it does have the smallest foot print. Silicon Systems put the USB Blade out for those seeking additional storage where space is a big concern. Designed for shock, vibration and temperature changes the USB Blade does aid in the embedded applications market. At the size no bigger than a postage stamp, the USB Blade includes Silicon Systems PowerArmor, SiSMART and Continue Reading

Not USB 3.0, But Speedy USB 2.0 by Buffalo

Buffalo figured out a way to turbo boost USB 2.0 to claim increased transfer speed of up-to 60%.
turbo usb
So what’s the deal? Buffalo gives no detail to this increased performance and makes a broad statement about Windows and Mac compatibility for the two new USB Turbo products, the MiniStation and DriveStation. I would figure Buffalo addressed power issues as many USB devices have poor power management which directly effects performance. The Buffalo MiniStation with Turbo USB is a portable storage device designed to withstand durable environment such as bumps, drops and turbulence (what?) you’d experience in everyday life. The Buffalo DriveStation with Turbo USB is a tower configuration ideal for home or office and includes a 7200 RPM SATA drive with Turbo USB enhancements. The MiniStation has a price range of $99 to $250 The DriveStation has a price range of $130 to $500. Buffalo Turbo USB information page Continue Reading

Poll Results: The Worst Your Flash Drive Went Through

Rugged flash drives have been a trend these last couple months. Manufacturers see how popular flash drives continue to be and conclude a more durable version is needed for every day use. So along with the never-ending quest of more data storage, manufacturers are developing ways to make UFDs last longer and handle more abuse. We put the question out there, “What’s the worst your flash drive went through?” and this is what we found:
poll results rugged flash drive
It’s predictable that our most popular abuse was dropping them. Although it doesn’t sound like a much, it can be. Flash drives – well the memory in them – are sensitive and cannot take large amounts of shock. Many times dropping a drive from your table top is good enough to damage the drive. I did find it interesting the next most frequent UFD abuse came from submersing them in water. I’ll assume in this case, the most common mistake is forgetting about the drive and accidentally washing it. Whatever your daily routine, it’s worth taking an extra few minutes to search out the right flash drive for your habits. Rugged flash drives will become more popular as 1) materials drop in price to build a better box and 2) users continue to put more and more valuable information on their flash drives. Continue Reading

Corsair Introduces Survivor Rugged Flash Drive

corsair survivor flash drive

We’ve seen rugged flash drives before, we’ve seen indestructible flash drives before, but to throw a flash drive in mud really drives home the point of a rugged flash drive.

Corsair introduces their latest USB entry, the Survivor, design for those with a very active lifestyle.

Apparently there is a world of extreme sports going on where flash memory is apart of the ensemble.

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