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Friday March 17, 2006
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 Hold on to your hats, folks, this might be the real deal. That's right, the era of carting around floppy disks may finally be at an end.
"Wait, Gearlog, you can't possibly be serious!"
Well, we'll let you figure that out on your own. But apparently Memorex is serious. Its just-announced FlashDisc boasts a staggering 16MB of portable storage on a USB flash disk that looks like a donut.
Memorex says that the FlashDisc fills a niche between the traditional 1.44MB floppy disk and the portable USB flash drive, and is "affordable enough to share." Well, maybe. You don't really need half a gig of storage to carry around a PowerPoint or a few Word docs for school, and if little Tommy loses one of these it's not the end of the world.
Memorex may be right in assuming that most people view jump drives as too expensive and personal to give away; I know I wouldn't hand mine over to someone without keeping an eye on them until they gave it back.
But $19.99 for a 3-pack (48MB total) is just not a good deal. $20 these days can get you a decent 512MB jump disk, or two 265MB ones. At the very least, it should get you a smaller form factor than these beasts, which at 2.3" diameter by just over 1/4" thick are larger than many multi-gigabyte jump drives on the market these days.
In short, I can't recommend these for many people over the age of 12, or (obviously) anyone with serious data-storage needs. It goes without saying that there's no disk encryption, sync software, or U3 support.
But if you have (a small number of) files to share with family or friends and can't send them via e-mail, a few of these wouldn't break the bank.
Get 'em at Best Buy, $19.99 for a 3-pack.
Posted By:
Gearlog
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March 17, 2006 1:38 PM
I can see this possibly being used to leave data with a prospective client by salespeople. Print up labels with the company logo and put a personalized sales pitch or sales info on it. It would be reusable by the client and keep your company name in front of them.
March 18, 2006 2:24 PM
I can buy cheaper key fob memory that that so why bother? Have they lost it entirely?
March 21, 2006 1:48 PM
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March 21, 2006 2:38 PM
I got a bunch of Lexar 256 M purple sticks for $9.99 each. They are smaller form factor and fit in the coin pocket of my jeans. I don't know anyone that would want these now. I guess if you had a lot of 3 1/2 inch floppy holders and a seller cleared them out for a buck or two a disc. Iomega blew it on Zip disks because of price and this is no different.
March 21, 2006 3:06 PM
Drat! What I was hoping to see was a flash drive that actually fit into a 3.5 floppy drive! Now that would be something to cheer about. Yep, I've got an older Sony Mavica camera the eats diskettes and my newest computer doesn't have a 3.5 drive. Such is life.
March 21, 2006 5:02 PM
This is great for students, size is good for not losing when they hand their homework in also.
March 21, 2006 5:59 PM
I have something new and inovative! I can store up to 700MB, costs only about 25 cents and has plenty of room to write on. It's called a CD-R. If you want to reuse it use a CD-RW.
March 21, 2006 7:46 PM
Why did they made them so huge? Miricle...:-)
March 21, 2006 8:39 PM
I guess if Ford can come up with the Edsel several years back, Memorex can follow suit with the Flash Disk!
March 21, 2006 9:40 PM
When the price drops or the MB's rise, then they will be more appealing. Floppies have lost their use to CD's, and Cd's take too long to burn. My USB Flash drive is still my best option.
March 22, 2006 8:17 AM
I have a notebook with a USP slot adjacent to the parallel port connector. Looks to me like I'll have to unplug the printer to plug in the Flash Disk. And no, I'm not going to spend 20 bucks to test my theory.
March 22, 2006 8:52 AM
Nice idea, for students, or first time users.. (just to get them started) or as a gift. But look at YOUR usb slot. You think this big honk'in donut would fit? NOT! Maybe with a small extension cable, but then you're missing the advantage! Make it smaller guys, it's only 16mb. If you're afraid of it getting lost, put a clip on it.
March 22, 2006 9:35 AM
This is a solution to a problem that has already been solved. Why develope a product that has no market?
March 22, 2006 9:43 AM
Well, it is not a bad idea to get one as a souvenir or collectors item. I think they won't be around for long.
March 22, 2006 10:09 AM
Maybe I should re-think using other Memorex products. I thought they were on top of things. Oh well, this disk will probably make perfect sense to Democrats and AOL subscribers.
March 22, 2006 10:33 AM
It won't work with the front USB ports on my Dell GX270. There isn't enough clearance (about 3/4") between the bottom of the PC and the top of the desk (USB slots are vertical, not horizontal).
March 22, 2006 11:48 AM
These things are useless to anyone who knows anything about computers. The thing is that the form factor is meant to make non-technical consumers understand the functionality of a flash drive. That does make it a good idea for the non-technical and young people out there. If they can drop the price of these things (or they just go on sale) then I can see them being worth a dollar or two. The label is a nice touch that nearly all flash drives are missing, too.
March 22, 2006 2:30 PM
I doubt that anyone who really knows anything about computers would buy something like this. There are a great many who could be easily fooled though, so I imagine that Memorex might end up selling a great many of these to those, like the Republicans, who would believe in almost anything that large corporations and leaders market to them... .
March 22, 2006 3:45 PM
Only $0.416 for 1Mb It's a big opportunity!
March 23, 2006 3:09 AM
This is just the worst product I've seen Memorex comeout with....with 19.90, I'd be able to go get myself a good 256mb thumbdrive....more than 10 times the storage and with mcuh better form factor too.... If they're thinking of killing floppy, just stop making em'.....let thumbdrives take over...
March 23, 2006 9:54 AM
One word: "stupid"
March 23, 2006 2:38 PM
Two words: "really stupid!"
March 25, 2006 6:53 AM
This is stupid and anyway there are a lot of times you still need a floppy if your a tech.
March 25, 2006 10:47 AM
Memorex had to use George Bush as a consultant to come up with such an incredibly stupid product
April 6, 2006 6:33 PM
handing in exams that you take on a computer. I have my own flash drive that of course holds more and is smaller physically, but I don't feel like turning it over to the clumsy administrators at my school. these are cheap (and useless) enough that I don't care if I get them back or not. and they have labels, so the marker can't smear off (which even permanent marker sometimes does).