Items can be moved on and off of them, unlike a CD, when you burn an item, it burns it and no items can be put back onto it. Plus, they are small and portable, unlike a CD. They also come in 16 gigabyte forms, with DVDs only going up to 4.7 gigabytes, and CDs going up to only 750 megabytes.
USB Flash drives are readily affordable and cost less per megabyte than the previously ubiquitous floppy disk. They are also more reliable than floppy disks, and can be easily carried in a pocket or around one's neck. They offer a large storage capacity without the inconvenience of transporting an external hard drive. All modern operating systems (Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7, Linux 2.4+, and Mac OS X) support USB Flash drives, and virtually all modern computers are equipped with a USB port.
Due to their small size, they can easily be misplaced or lost. Without the aid of additional software, data on the drive can be easily read by anyone who finds it. While much longer lasting than floppy disks, they are vulnerable to wearing out from the process of writing / erasure of the disk. Occasionally the file system can become corrupted in such a way that it becomes difficult or impossible to reformat the drive.
ADVANTAGES.
DISADVANTAGES.
This text has already been used in an OCR piece of coursework and so if you use this in any GCSE coursework you will need to credit the author (me, kittsville) or face disqualification:
NOTE: This was used in a larger essay on computer hardware so there may be some references to a section on hard drives which isn't included.
USB flash drive
A modern equivalent to the floppy disk, a flash drive (also called USB stick, USBy pen*, pen drive, USB or memory stick) can store thousands times more data and is much more durable (no moving parts). Modern flash drives can store as much data as some old hard drives (back when hard drives had 20GB capacities). A USB flash drive is a mix of old and new. Older data storage technology, combined with modern microprocessor advancements has lead to a cheap, low power data storage medium. Because of its low cost and convenience (just plug in) it has become a very lucrative market. For transferring data between computers that don't have a LAN network (like with many multiple computer owners) a USB is a cheap and effective solution. In school networks where pupils can't send documents to each other (because of administrative rules) a USB is once again the solution. This very essay was done entirely on a USB because it makes it easier to work at home and school. Just as Amazon gained popularity for its convenience so did the flash drive.
The only problem with a USB is its lifespan; flash drives have write cycles which means once the end of a write cycle is reached the USB will stop allowing writing. This means that the USB's owner will not lose all their data but merely not be able to write any more data to it.
The length of time before this happens varies based on how often a memory stick is used. One used to store an operating system to run a computer off would be constantly written and read making its lifespan considerably less than that of someone who occasionally used their memory stick to transfer a few word documents.
*Pronounced 'Uzbe pen
A disadvantage of a flash drive is that it can not be locked. If you lose it, anyone can see what is on it. An advantage would be the ability to carry portable data. You can always have your documents and whatnot with you.
The key advantage of a flash disk is that it is small and does not take up much storage space. A key disadvantage is that they are so small that they are easy to lose.
advantages are they are really light
disadvantages it thet runs out quikly
Advantage : lightweight and small enough (1/8" thick) to fit into shirt pocket
Disadvantage: only holds 1.44 MB
USB drives can be slow and unreliable. Both the USB interface and the underlying technology is slow. The flash chips are only good for a finite number of writes.
the creator of the usb flash drive is Dov Moran
there really isn't one besides you might loose it easily.
a flash drive or pen drive, or possibly a USB key
The advantages of a USB SD are that you can store information. The disadvantages of USB SD card reader is that it can be lost easy.
A USB flash memory drive is a removable hardware device
usb drive
Go on My Computer.. And its shown.
Flash Drive USB - 2014 was released on: USA: 18 May 2014
Yes, USB key and flash are just different words for it
The USB Flash drive was not invented for a particular computer.
A flash device is a USB flash drive etc.