I was just checking out 4GB USB Flash prices. They are quite reasonable: under $300.
I have a couple smaller USB sticks that I use all the time, but the 4GB drive will make more sense for how I work. I don't like deleting things until I'm really, really sure I don't need them. I'm paranoid when it comes to losing files.
Actually, I don't use the USB sticks as much for storing files as I do for transfering files between machines.
These Flash drives, however, are turning into more than just sneakernets. Windows Vista has this hands-down-clever feature where you can use external USB drives to extend Vista's application cache size. The feature is called SuperFetch:
"SuperFetch is the utility in Windows Vista that proactively loads all or part of the customer’s most-often-used applications and files into unallocated system memory before they are needed by the system. Windows SuperFetch adapts to a customer’s usage patterns, optimizing the utilization of available memory to help keep the PC performance at its peak."
Does't this sound slick? Your Tablet running too slow as you pop back and forth between huge applications, such as Photoshop and AutoCAD? Add a USB Flash drive.
As Flash drives approach the 4GB+ range in terms of reasonable price, it doesn't take much imagination to come up with some new ways to design and use these devices.
Since making end-of-year predictions is so common, I'll make one: 2006 will be the crossover year for Flash drives (and comparable technologies). Not only will they continue to fall in price, they will enable new practical devices--in large part because the storage can be sold and added to separately.
Posted by Loren at December 20, 2005 08:26 AMOr use it to save a couple of movies to watch while on a trip.
Posted by: Lora on December 20, 2005 09:14 AMI am looking forward to replacing the HDD in my HP TC1000 Tablet with a solid state storage someday. It will make the batteries last longer, the filesystem faster and the Tablet more bump-proof.
The only problem is that the solid state HDDs are still really expensive even though the Flash memory itself is getting quite cheap. I don't really understand the reason why...
I seem to remember that Vista is also going to support a new kind of HDD: a mixed platters and flash solution. The advantage is that the platters can spin down and the HDD can still be accessed (using the flash memory as a buffer and cache). Seems like a good solution to improve Tablets and laptops in general.
Posted by: Julien Couvreur on December 21, 2005 08:44 AMJulien, I heard something similar at PDC. It sounds like the HDD/Flash combo as you described would have a lot of advantages. Hopefully, some day the solid state drives will be inexpensive enough to justify using them.
In terms of a Flash drive for a computer, one solution I'd like to see is manufacturers provide a recessed bay that I can slip/snap the Flash drive into. I'm thinking of something similar to a bay in which you'd put a battery.
Posted by: Loren on December 21, 2005 10:31 AM