Flash Drive Vs. Jump Drives
As technology advances and computers become an integral part of more areas of life, the need to be able to transfer information easily and reliably grows. One of the most popular solutions to this need is a flash drive, also known as a jump drive, to store information.
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Flash Drive
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A flash drive--also called a memory stick--is a small, portable device that can be used to store data. A JumpDrive is a Lexar brand name for a flash drive. Many people use the term "jump drive" as a generic description for any flash drive. The drive consists of a solid card inside a plastic shell. It's called a flash drive because of its use of flash memory, which is a permanent computer memory that can be written on over and over again, like how a VHS tape can be used over and over again.
Size
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One of the biggest advantages of a jump drive is its size. Barely larger than a pack of gum, a flash drive can be easily hung on a key chain or carried in a pocket. This means that it's extremely easy for a person to keep all his important data with him wherever he goes.
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USB
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A flash drive plugs into a USB, or universal serial bus, port. All computers have at least one of these ports, and many have two or more. Since it plugs into the USB port, a flash drive can be easily transferred from one computer to another. This makes sharing files via a memory stick very easy, and often faster than setting up a direct file transfer between computers.
Storage
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The amount of data that can fit onto a flash drive is sometimes staggering. Some drives are as small as 2 gigabytes, while others may hold 10 or more gigabytes. Even the smallest flash drive holds hundreds of times more information than a floppy disc, and they're much more convenient than CD or DVD discs many times.
Price
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How expensive a flash drive is depends mostly on how much data it can hold. Obviously the more data it holds, the more it will cost. A 4 to 8 gigabyte flash drive can be bought for $20 or less, as of 2009. Larger ones are available, but they're not often sold in the average computer store. What's more, the average computer user will probably have no need for a data stick that large.
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