Instant Memory With A Pen Drive

We`ve all been in the situation where we`ve had important data that needs transferring. Be it a system we`ve developed, or music or photographs. The inception of the pen drive enables you to do all this and more. A pen drive is a flash memory storage device which can be used in any PC or laptop. Smaller, faster and more convenient that a floppy disk; these little gadgets are useful for students, businessmen and just about everyone.

A pen drive is very small and light, typically weighing less that 28g. They work in the same way as a floppy disk as they are re-writable. Until 2005, all PC equipment came with floppy disk drives as well as USB ports. As the untapped possibilities of the USB became apparent, the floppy disk became obsolete. A USB, or Universal Serial Bus, is the small hole in the back or side of your equipment where you can plug in a variety of hardware. A mouse, wireless adaptor and the wire to transfer information from your cell phone to your PC are just some of the most common things that go into a USB port.

PC`s are a major part of our lives now, at home, school and work. Imagine you are at work, it`s getting late but you have to get that project finished by tomorrow. The pen drive has given you the luxury of downloading the data you need so you can finish the work at home. The biggest users of pen drives are students. As teaching has moved away from traditional methods to use computer technology, this little portable, memory device has become a must have for every student.

They can download the data that they need from their school or college computer and do the work at home. They are essential for teachers too. They research the work for their classes in the comfort of their own home, download the data onto the pen drive, take it to work in their pocket then just pop it into the PC in their classroom.

Amongst non professionals, pen drives are mostly used for photographs and music, before you purchase one, think about how much memory you need as they come in various memory capacities. The smallest is 32MB; this gives you the capacity for 15 photographs and 8 MP3 files. Next up is 64MB, with 30 photos and 15 MP3. 128MB allows you 61 photos and 30 MP3. On a 256MB you can save 122 photos and 61 MP3. 512MB gives you 243 photos and 122 MP. Now we get to the big boys; 1GB equals 486 photos and 243 photos. These keep doubling up as you go to 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB until you reach the mighty 128GB pen drive, which can store 62259 photographs, 31130 MP3 files and 249 video minutes.

As they now come in all shapes and colors so there`s one to suite everyone, the pen drive has created a little niche for itself in the gadget market. No doubt in years to come it will be further improved, but there`s no doubt that the pen drive is here to stay.