USB flash drives FAQ (part 2)
Q. What are the advantages of using a USB Flash Drive instead of an External Hard Drive?
A. At the size of a pack of gum, USB flash drives are far smaller than external hard drives, and with no fragile moving parts that can break if dropped, they're more easily transported. USB flash drives also do not require the time-consuming configuration required to connect an external hard drive to your computer.
Q: Who are USB Flash Drives for?
A. USB flash drives are for everyone! Power users will appreciate the power and portability that USB flash drives provide, while tech novices will love how easily and intuitively USB flash drives allow you to share files. If you can turn on a computer and open a document, you can operate a USB flash drive!
Q. Do I need a USB Flash Drive?
A. If you often find yourself in need of a way to share information between computers, or want to secure your most precious computer data, USB flash drives are for you. With USB flash drives you can transport a PowerPoint file to your client's office for presentation, work on documents from home and then bring them back with you to work in the morning, bring thousands of digital photos across the country to share with your relatives, and much more.
Q: How much do USB Flash Drives cost?
A. Prices vary greatly, based on the manufacturer and the size of the drive.
Q. Are there many manufactures of these kinds of products? If so, who are they?
A. USB flash drives are manufactured and sold by a number of different companies, including Lexar Media Inc., Kingston Technologies, SimpleTech Inc., PNY Technologies, and Viking InterWorks.
Q. I'm looking for a USB flash drive that will work on my Linux OS.
A. Most USB flash drives use mass storage class drivers that are supported in newer versions of the Linux operating system. Please check your system configuration for support of mass storage class drivers.
Q. How can I protect my computer from possible virus corruption when using a USB flash drive?
A. In general, the best way to protect your computer against virus attacks is through various security methods. These may include an Internet fire wall, a virus scanner and other tools screening incoming files for viruses. In the case of USB flash drives, you might want to consider running a virus scan on the contents of the drive before accessing any files.
Q. Can I use a USB flash drive as a back-up for significant files?
A. USB flash drives have many usage models. One of them is to function as a backup of your important files.
Q. What is the general architecture of a USB flash drive?
A. A USB flash drive typically consists of a controller with a USB interface and a non-volatile memory interface that is connected to one or multiple non-volatile memories (lower level or higher level of integration are possible), Hi-Speed UFDs typically use a crystal for external clock generation, a LED is typically used as optical activity indicator, possibly a write protect switch is controlling the write access and some other components are used for the remaining circuitry. Beyond this configuration, other components might be integrated depending on the functionality of the drive, such as an MP3 player, fingerprint sensor, etc.
