<p>Is a USB memory stick a good thing to have? How does it compare to storing data on a CD or an external hard drive? </p>
<p>PS - I’m sort of computer illiterate, so pardon the question if it is stupid.</p>
<p>I have one that I love. Lots of memory much easier to use than a CD but much more expensive and not as much capacity. Also they tend to wear out so they are more of a transport medium than a storage medium. MY college son says noone uses them. They jsut burn cd’s. I’ll probably get one for my d to take with her if she wants one.</p>
<p>Last year, I learned the use of USB sticks. I was traveling with a more computer savvy person and we both had laptops. He had a USB which he used to transfer data from my laptop to his and vice-versa, as well as to print out stuff by hooking the USB to other people’s printers. I had brought CDs and used them for backing up, but they were not as handy or versatile. He carried his on a chain so it did not get lost.
I still use CDs to store data.</p>
<p>A great alternative, which costs more, but does SO MUCH. My PDA is a Palm LifeDrive. It is a top notch PDA, plus it has 4GB of hard disk space to serve as my computer backup. Always have it with me, easy to use. Unlike a CD, you can actually see and use your files on the PDA if you want. Can also transfer data ala marite’s travelling companion. If you are away from your own computer, you can hook it (it is also USB) to any computer and immediately have “your” computer with you wherever you are. Sorry for the infomercial, but I am very enamored of this feature. I recently upgraded from my beloved Palm Vx to the LifeDrive which serves as cmputer backup, as I’ve outlined, also contact manager, calendar, task manager, and accesses email and the Web, stores pictures. It’s also an MP3, but I don’t use that feature (yet?)</p>
<p>Think of the USB memory stick as the modern day floppy… easy way to move data around, physically, and it’s Read/Write. Their advantage over floppies, CDs, and zip drives is that there is no additional media and no drive - just a USB port. They can go up to 1 GB, which is larger than a CD, but yes, they are expensive.</p>
<p>My son uses his all the time at school. He is in engineering and thus has to work both on his own PC plus lab PCs. This is a very handy method to transport the files between the two environments. It’s like taking your own mini-hard drive to a school computer. I assume the same concept holds for students who want to use PCs that are in the library. The costs for the very large ones may be a bit expensive, but for most uses, the 128 or the 256 drives are more than sufficient and very inexpensive.</p>
<p>The only drawback with a memory stick is you have to remember to take it out of your pocket before you throw your jeans in the wash…(this really happened to me last year and I had to do the “my dog ate my homework” thing with my government teacher) I bought a small (100 gig I think) external hard drive for school to back up everything (including ipod songs etc.)every day. Your laptop could always get lost or stolen.</p>
<p>My son does have the external hard drive thing, and I guess he can save stuff onto CDs too. So is there any compelling reason to get the memory stick? Faster? More reliable? etc…</p>
<p>Theyr’e really good to have, but just make sure your kids remember to take them with them. you have no idea how many students leave them in computers on campus or things like that.</p>
<p>Advantage to the memory stick is that it doesnt necessarily need an additional driver (win 2k/xp and osx can all handle the memsticks by default), and unlike most portable hard drives, doesn’t need to be plugged in to a power source. simply pull off a lanyard, stick it in the usb port, and open the drive on computer. They’re also a great deal smaller than a hard drive - the size of a pack of gum vs the size of an old tape walkman.</p>