Comments on: USB drives are en vogue

By: Karen Triard

Karen Triard — Mon, 21 Mar 2005 23:27:03 +0000

They have more memory than a CD and hold more capacity than a floppy disc – so yes they very useful and handy at times.

By: Stacey Trish

Stacey Trish — Mon, 21 Mar 2005 23:21:23 +0000

I think they rock like madness dude!!!
You totally gotz ta get one man!
OK. They have a high speed memory and enough negative space to file a photo!

By: Om Malik

Om Malik — Thu, 17 Mar 2005 02:48:13 +0000

yes they are usable though since these are 16-32 megs little good they do but sometimes just good to carry a few documents here and there – yes they are usable

By: VXO

VXO — Thu, 17 Mar 2005 00:51:14 +0000

Just out of curiosity, once the advertising or company/product information is no longer useful, are the USB drives reusable?

By: Lloyd Alter

Lloyd Alter — Thu, 17 Mar 2005 00:40:31 +0000

In Canada, we are going through the “sponsorship scandal” where advertising companies are being pilloried for excessive markups and billings on government promotional business. If for every disbursement an ad company gets 10 to 20% then it is in thier interest to peddle a $10 USB hub rather than a $1 CD. I wrote this in http://www.treehugger.com:

Wow. To get your attention, marketers are now giving out product literature on USB drives, even though they hold a fraction of what a CD does and cost an order of magnitude more. Broadband Guru Om Malik thinks they are great and has dozens. Treehugger cannot be bought so cheap- if you want your product on our site, please deliver the files in a shiny new iPod.

By: Kevin Wang

Kevin Wang — Wed, 16 Mar 2005 23:41:51 +0000

Need an easily accessible desktop usb port for cheap? This is no more than a usb extension cable in a pretty non-slip package, and it’s cheap:

http://www.googlestore.com/product.asp?catid=4&code=GO0102

By: Dave McClure

Dave McClure — Sun, 13 Mar 2005 18:58:42 +0000

apologies if i’m clueless on this, but does anyone know if there are wireless thumb drive units around at a reasonable price?

i like the convenience of a USB drive, but unless you have the new monitors with the USB plugs on the side that you can just click in & out, it’s kind of a pain for most of the PCs i use (i have to reach under the desk).

a wireless-enhanced unit that i could just leave in the back would be cool, if i could just be somewhere nearby and the remote drive was available.

(i’ll buy anyone who shows me the light on this a beer ;)

- dmc

By: Om Malik

Om Malik — Sun, 13 Mar 2005 18:15:20 +0000

Good points Daryll, but I think we could see a lot of innovation around the whole USB drive space. I am amazed at how little has been done to enhance the whole experience. Look at what Apple done with Shuffle

By: Daryll Strauss

Daryll Strauss — Sun, 13 Mar 2005 18:12:12 +0000

I assume the companies are doing it for the impact. Getting your attention is worth the extra money. The nice thing is that you can flip the write protect switch and keep use them for something else.

I’ve got to wonder how much value there is to the company over handing out a CD. They can store a lot more. You have more area to put branding. They’re small and light and easy for people to carry. Most importantly, if you’re giving out a lot of them they cost less than $1 a piece.