Number 269 - October 2005

Excerpts from The Computer Buffet,
by Herb Goldstein, Sarasota PCUG
USB Flash Drives    Gobs of products are available that can help you send, store, and transport your data, but few can match the simphcity and sheer portability of a tiny USB flash drive. Like an old-school floppy disk re-tailored for the twenty-first century, USB flash drives offer the capacity of a modest hard drive, the portability of a cigarette lighter, and the phug-and-play simplicity of a modem peripheral.    These portable devices go by a colorful assortment of names-keychain drives. memory sticks, iDucks, and so on--but they all work pretty much the same way Plug one into a USB port on the back of your PC. and it'll show up like any other hard drive Drag and drop your data onto it from your PC at work, pull out the drive, and plug it into your computer at home. These portable drives are perfect for people who regularly work on two or more different PCs--particularly students and business people--and need a dependable way to transport data.    A 256MB flash drive can hold a surprising amount of data: dozens of digital pictures. a couple of hours of MP3s, or hundreds of Microsoft Word documents. While they come in a variety of capacities, ranging from 64MB to 2GB, the 256MB and 512MB models hit the sweet spot.	Lesser capacities fill up quickly, especiaDy if you're loading photos and music, and larger capacities are still quite expensive (2GB drives run about $200) Still, prices will continue to come down, though capacities seem to have topped out at 2GB for now, at least from the major manufacturers.    USB drives are pricey storage devices when you consider the cost per megabyte. You can buy a 40GB mini USB hard drive for $150 to $200, which works out to between $3 to $5 per gigabyte, whereas a 1GB flash drive runs about $140. If you're using an older operating system, take note: if you're still using Windows 98, youll need to download a driver before you can use the drive. Make A USB Flash Drive Bootable    This detailed guide not only shows you how, it also shows you some clever things you can do with your bootable USB. www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=1676?page=1 (Ed note: If this link doesn't load directly to the article, select Item 60 USB Memory Drive Projects & Tips from the list in the right column on the screen.) Outlook Express    Outlook Express users will find a goldmine of information, problem solutions and lots more at http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/. If you use Outlook Express make this a must!
Number 269 - October 2005