Some of the more “seasoned” tech users may remember floppy disks, cassette tapes and VHS tapes. All of which we could record and store data on in the form of files, voice recordings and video. I remember these took up a LOT of physical space too. Even when CD's came along we thought their storage capacity was amazing but it still required a suitcase to carry around your collection. As with all technology, portable memory has come a long way and Flash Memory has paved the way.
So what is Flash Memory? You may recognize it as a Thumb Drive, USB Drive, Jump Drive, Flash Drive, SD Card, Micro SD Card, Solid State, etc. These were mostly popular in cameras and were great for transporting data that was too large to send via email. However, now days they are much more useful due to their increased capacity. They started out low with high prices but recently the storage sizes have gotten amazingly high and the physical size is amazingly small with a price that is surprisingly affordable. The largest available now is 256 GB but they expect to have them in 1 TB sizes soon. I just bought a 64 GB Micro SD card for a video camera that was the size of my fingernail and only cost $30. To put it in perspective, this itty bitty spec of a flash card is equal to 4 six hour VHS tapes or 16 CD's or 6 DVD's or (believe it or not) 42,667 floppy disks.
How does this affect/help you? With this type of storage capacity, you could actually use them to back up your computer. And with the new USB 3.0 speeds, the transfer speeds are pretty fast. Or you can also use them to store thousands of pictures. A 10 megapixel picture usually takes up about 3 megabytes of space. So with a 64 gigabyte SD Card or USB Drive, you can save up to 21,334 pictures. If you like taking a lot of pictures. 🙂 It would be close to the same amount for songs as well.
So if you're running out space on your hard drive, would like a backup copy of your data, or just want to store files that you can take with you to any device with a USB port, grab a Thumb Drive. Or even a few.
History Tidbit: Flash Memory technology was actually introduced by Toshiba in 1984. It's an electronic non-volatile computer storage medium that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. According to Toshiba, the name “flash” was suggested by inventor Masuoka's colleague, Shōji Ariizumi, because the erasure process of the memory contents reminded him of the flash of a camera. Now days Flash Memory is in everything from computers to cameras, tablets and even your cell phone.
Get involved!
Comments