GetUSB.info just closed our latest poll with the best participation ever, over 150 votes, thank you. This round we asked “How Devastating Would it be to Lose Your Flash Drive?”
By a slim margin the majority of people would be OK as they have original content on another computer. Which makes sense as most flash drives are used for file transfer, rather then file storage. However, for the 20% that said your life is over, you may want to consider some of the following solutions:
So here’s a guy who took geekness to the next level. After the enclosure broke off Russell’s 1GB UFD Voyager, he decided to up the durability factor by a Thousand.
Russell home brewed an aluminum UFD case to insure breakage never happened again. I’d probably do the same if I had access to this equipment.
Using 1/4″ aluminum stock and some hex head screws he created one master piece enclosure even the indestructible guys would be proud of.
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As I reported back in March about Kingston giving U3 the axe, they continue to charge forward with UFD platform software. Migo Software now comes bundled with Kingston flash drives and most recent entry is the Kingston Data Traveler Mini.
The following summary of Migo software will sound very familiar:
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The Pinnacle PCTV DVB-T Flash Stick is one of the many TV receiver solutions out in the market these days. Dave Carter from Gadget Centre did a detailed review I’ll share with you. First off, the Pinnacle USB tuner is a step above the rest in that it’s true plug-n-play. There is no loading of software, simply plug in via USB and you’re set-up. This is a big bonus as taking the TV tuner from PC to PC is a snap.
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Swiss Army has an complete army of high-end USB flash drives. The Swiss Army Bonfort line has three designs of their 1GB “Prestige SwissMemory” product. Here is the top-shelf model, the Yellow Gold & Diamond Line. Priced at just $6,000 . The 18 ct. shell is lined with hand placed diamonds by the world’s best craftsmen. No word on diamond size and quality – I for one, would need to know that info before dropping Six Gs.
The other two designs are “Cross” and “Croco” which you can see below. The Swiss Cross design is available in yellow gold or white gold at $3,200 for either model, while the Croco is available for $800 (sl) or $3,200 (gold).
All versions of the USB Swiss knife include 1GB of memory, blade, nail file with screwdriver, scissors and key ring. But, no on-line ordering which is unfortunate as I had my wallet out and everything.
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We’ve been waiting to report on the USB storage abilities of the Nintendo Wii, today it finally came. The USB port you’ve so longed to use as extra storage will eventually see the light of day. Today Nintendo partnered with a USB embedded software vendor eSOL to use their USB stack code for file management on the Wii.
True, the Wii has an SD memory slot but that taps out at 2GBs, this new partnership means a potential storage size of 32GBs, or for the common folk, 2-8GBs of storage.
Although no official Nintendo announcement came about the news of this development, the writing is on the wall.
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WalkingSpree.com will serve as a multi-city sponsor for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. WalkingSpree is donating $20,000 worth of USB Pocket Pedometers to be distributed among the eight cities as a training tool for walkers and raffle prizes to encourage walker registration.
Angela Perera, VP for WalkingSpree states:
Breast cancer is a major challenge for all of us with more than 200,000 new cases each year in North America. The USB pedometers will also contribute to the camaraderie of the event. WalkingSpree.com’s USB pedometer and their online program is a great tool for our walkers to help them prepare for their Avon Walk.
Here are the product details for the USB Pedometer.
Here is the schedule of events for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer:
Schedule for the 2007 Avon Walk for Breast Cancer series
I read an interesting report from Dark Reading today regarding hacking Bluetooth and how USB can play a roll. (Not that hacking for the dark force is anything cool) You don’t hear much about Bluetooth hacks because the tools needed (sniffers) start at about 10Grand.
A couple of security engineers where able to use a Cambridge Silicon Radio chip-based USB dongle, some flash memory and Bluetooth 2.x technology and some code hacked from a commercial Bluetooth sniffer to hack into a device’s communication via the Bluetooth signal.
There was no specific USB hack How-To information but the point is that if a simple USB dongle can be construed to do Bluetooth hacking then security risks for not only communication but device control could become a huge big problem.
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Brando is distributing the A-Data turbo speed USB flash drive, the PD7. This is a Windows Vista Readyboost dream with 133x (20MB) per second write speeds.
Not sure what’s up with brushed aluminum case, as this is the second release in one day, but it appears to be the trend – what can you say, good looking and durable.
Caution about the Vista Readyboost claim as today Microsoft got slapped with a lawsuit for false Vista compliance ads with regards to compatibility of “signature” features working in peripheral products.
Technology fashion continues to hit the USB flash scene. PQI introduces this very girly pink UFD with brushed metal enclosure. Of course dull grey for the guys – not that we’d want something else.
PQI coins the phrase “Intelligent Drive i810” and after reviewing their press release – nothing intelligent about it. It’s a flash drive. I can surmise “intelligent” is referenced to the chick term for smart-n-sexy. I don’t think so.
Available from 512MB to 2GBs go grab yourself some chick-tech-bling from PQI.
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I came across this handy USB disk drive backup software utility the other day. Tom Bell did a nice job putting this package together. The program automatically starts when the UFD is connected to the PC. Backing up your thumb drive could never be easier.
USB Backup looks for a specific configuration file – when found – it begins the auto backup. The USB backup will archive the information to a directory of your choice. If the config file isn’t found on your UFD then a simple guide will walk you through setup.
Get USB Backup. The utility is in Beta now, so download and give him feedback. The back story for why Tom created this:
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So here we go again. Another industrial grade USB flash drive, this time from STEC. Yes it’s tough, yes the STEC will withstand shock, both physical and electric, and includes STEC proprietary flash memory controller. This built-I ECC engine can detect up to 5-byte errors and correct up to 4-byte errors and with advanced write algorithms to guarantee 2 million write/erase cycles. Not sure how they are doing that as I’ve reported before on the life cycle of a flash drive which is based more off the flash memory type not the algorithms used during the write process. None-the-less, we’ll drink their juice for now.
The STEC industrial grade UFD withstands the NEBS Level 3 compliance and passed ESD testing for 8kV and 15kV air. If you don’t know what all that means, well neither do I. With some quick Google searches we have:
NEBS Level 3 – Network Equipment Building System and level 3 means the product meets toughest requirements for fire, vibration and airflow. After reading the spec if you simply threw the UFD across the room onto your stove for 5 seconds and it survives, chances are you’ll pass the Level 3 NEBS test. Wiki NEBS
ESD 8kV & 15kV – Electrostatic Discharge of solid state electronics. A spark is triggered at 30KV so obviously the STEC wont withstand that, but surviving either 8kV or 15kV is above average. Wiki ESD
So it’s clear if you are in the need of an industrial grade UFD for specific applications the STEC key drives are worth a closer look.
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