Well this is certainly interesting. Apparently, PNY has released a 2 GB USB Flash Drive that is preloaded with the full Ghostbusters movie. From the press release:
“2GB USB preloaded with movie for download
PNY Technologies and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment announce the launch of a new 2GB USB preloaded with Sony Pictures’ 80’s comedy classic, GHOSTBUSTERS starring Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd. This marks the first time for the release of a full length movie via a USB flash drive and will enable consumers to watch the film with one simple click on their PC or Laptop. The PNY GHOSTBUSTERS USB will be available from Argos stores nationwide from now, just ahead of the 25th anniversary year of Ghostbusters in 2009.”
So uh.. who you gonna call? PNY! (sorry, that was awful, I know.)
Here’s a fantastic presentation for those of you that may be new to the tech world, or if you are just getting up to speed on all the fancy new gadgets out there. It explains what a flash drive is, its benefits, and uses.
ComputerWorld has this to say regarding the state of SSD:
“Most observers agree that solid-state disk (SSD) will eventually overtake magnetic disk drives as the storage medium of choice. SSD is lighter than traditional hard disk drives, is faster, is more durable and consumes less power. Still, SSD doesn’t measure up to the hype, particularly when using it in a desktop or laptop PC.”
“There are a host of problems with SSD,” says Avi Cohen, head of research at Avian Securities LLC in Boston. “There’s no reason to pay the extra $600 to $800 — or a 40% to 80% premium — for a solid-state drive.”
This sounds like the same growing pains every new technology goes through. Slow adoption, high prices, and lackluster performance at first; But eventually the price comes down, the technology improves and it becomes mainstream. Early adopters typically get burned - either because they overpayed for the “cool” technology, or because it is riddled with performance or reliabilty issues. I am still convinced that Solid State Drives are here to stay, and there is no doubt in my mind that they will be replacing magnetic media very very soon. If I had the money, I would snatch up an SSD and stick it in my desktop anyway.
This USB flash drive combo has been my absolute favorite for a long time, hence the reason for it being my first review. I’ve owned many iterations of the drive, ever since they came out with the first 256mb capacity flash drive. The features have stayed the same, except for incremental increases in drive capacity. It’s an absolute must have for any computer technician, and has proven useful in many ways time and time again. Since it’s attached to my keychain as a normal Swiss army knife would be, the USB drive is always with me, but doesn’t take up any more of my valuable pocket real estate. It’s small enough to not be bothersome while carrying it around, but the knife and screwdriver portion are sturdy enough to actually be useful. I would like to see a phillips-head attachment added to the drive, but otherwise I have absolutely no complaints. The speed of the USB drive is fast enough for normal use, and I’ve yet to have a drive die on me. As a matter of fact I still have my first 256MB drive kicking around. The USB drive also pops off of the main part, in case you ever need to bring it with you on an airplane. Here’s the official list of features:
Compact, multi-purpose tool; transport image, music, and data files
Includes: 2GB memory stick, knife blade, nail file with screwdriver, scissors, keyring, LED mini-light, and retractable ballpoint pen
Compatible with USB 1.1/2.0 interface, Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP/MAC OS X, OS 8.6 and higher, Linux 2.4 and higher
Free, downloadable SecureLock software; protects data from unauthorized access
I highly recommend this flash drive. It has served me well, and let’s face it - what self respecting computer geek could possibly be without one of these? Every time I pull it out of my pocket people bow down to me in awe of my uber-geekyness. (Okay I may have made that part up – but still you know it’s awesome.) Go get one!
So I came across the ultimate solution for those of you who are prone to losing your USB flash storage drives:
Amazing ain’t it?! You also get the added bonus of significant weight loss as a result of carrying this with you all day! I’m not sure how I’d fit it in my pocket though… But hey - if you do happen to be known for losing things like your flash drive, here’s a quick tip that may help you retrieve it: make a text document with your name and address or a phone number in it, and maybe a small picture of yourself in the root folder of the drive. That way, at least there is some small chance of it actually getting back to you.
Here’s a quick interview of Paul Price from Dell about some exciting technology emerging in the SSD and flash storage drives market from Flash Memory Summit 2008:
What really piques my interest is the use of SSD’s for SAN’s and NAS devices used in enterprise Virtualization platforms such as VMWare’s ESX server. My inner geek drools at the speed increases an array of SSD’s would provide! (I play with this stuff at my day job.)
A really cool use of flash memory that is finally starting to get popular is called the Solid State Drive. A solid state drive is used as a replacement to the typical run of the mill magnetic hard drive. Since it uses flash memory, there are no moving parts, and it is much quieter than a standard hard drive. The best feature is that they are much faster than a magnetic hard drive. They are currently being used in low power applications such as laptops, although enterprise adoption is finally starting to take off. They are still fairly expensive, but as with any other technology, the price will come down as demand increases. It’s only a matter of time before magnetic storage is another page in computer history.
Along these lines, Western Digital has just announced an upcoming 20,000 RPM hard drive, which will be the next addition to its popular Raptor series, in order to try to compete with emerging SSD technology. If you know anything about hard drive technology, 20,000 RPM is twice the rotation speed of the current fastest SATA hard drive (also a Raptor, made by Western Digital). While platter speed is not the only factor that plays into hard drive performance, generally speaking the faster the platters spin, the faster the disk can access data. Will this drive put an end to the SSD market? My money is still on SSD, but I do think that this drive will be a great stop-gap solution until the price of SSD flash storage drives finally comes down to something the average consumer can afford.
I’ve just found this cool utility Microsoft provides for free for managing your flash storage drives. It can be used for various purposes: You can copy files, and store Windows wireless profiles on it, which is a very handy feature. You can also use it to take an image of your entire drive to use as a backup, and you can also make the drive auto-run and perform the backup automatically when you insert it. I know it’s old, but hey, it’s free. And it works. Did I mention it’s free? Go get it!
While I’m on the topic of backing up your data, one thing I’d like to point out about flash storage drives is that it is important not to rely on them as the sole place to store all of your critical data. Like any other electronic device, things can sometimes go wrong for no particular reason. Your data could be wiped out, or you could lose the drive. If the drive was storing the only copy of your business’s financial data, you would be in serious trouble! So I would recommend storing your important data on your PC first, and then making a copy onto your drive as a backup. There are various programs to help make this easier for you, but my favorite app is called SyncBack and the best part about it is that it’s completely free, and very simple to use.
Flash storage drives are a great way to quickly and easily move data between computers. They are small and convenient. They can be also be used to back up important data like school papers or files for work.
Flash storage drives are the modern day equivalent to the floppy disk; however, they are vastly superior in a number of ways. They are much more robust then floppy disks ever were. You don’t have to worry about accidentally dropping them or storing them near magnets and having all of your data wiped out. I’ve even put a flash drive through the washer and the dryer (I accidentally left it in my pants pocket) and it came through just fine! even the data was intact. I still use it to this day.
The storage capacity of flash storage drives are several orders of magnitudes higher than a floppy disk. A typical flash storage drive can hold around 8 gigabytes - which, to put in perspective, is about 200,000 (yes, two hundred thousand) average size word documents! You can also store songs, movie clips, and even copy the contents of multiple CD’s onto one single little flash device!
The devices are also fairly inexpensive, and can be used in just about any modern computer. Many models even come with encryption, to protect sensitive documents in case your drive gets lost or stolen. If you need a fast and easy way to move files and data between computers, nothing beats flash storage drives.
If you are always on the go and need to keep your data with you at all times, then check out this flash drive. It holds all your documents in an affordable, convenient device and allows you to easily store and move large files in a device no bigger than a pocketknife! Click here to grab one now!
Well this is certainly interesting. Apparently, PNY has released a 2 GB USB Flash Drive that is preloaded with the full Ghostbusters movie. From the press release:
