The floppy disk may at long last be dead. even though the advent of the CD-ROM allowed PC users to rapidly view large portions of data in a portable package, the inability to rewrite typical CDs meant that computer users who wanted to transfer their files and info were stuck utilizing the unreliable floppy disk, which all too often broke down or attempted to reformat itself. CD-R and CD-RW drives came along to solve part of the challenge, but they weren't the answers the majority of of us were planning for. CD-R disks are only writeable, and although their more pricey cousins the CD-RWs are reconfigurable, not enough pcs are equipped with the drives to handle them to make them worthwhile.
Luckily, someone clever came along and realized that since various computers have at least one USB (universal serial bus) port, why not make some sort of memory device which attaches to pcs through an USB port? The memory stick was born.
Also called flash drives, flash sticks allow PC users to rapidly and easily plug in the flash stick to a PC and have it recognized as yet another drive. Once it's plugged in, users need only to drag and drop the files they want to transfer onto the flash stick and they can transfer the files to an additional computer. The flash drives aren't easily corrupted by magnets or interference, resulting in trouble-free use. They also don't need any sort of power supply in order to retain data, so they can be used when needed.
Sony patented the term "memory stick" when they introduced a new memory device for their computer cameras and digital files. The Sony memory stick is a flash drive which fits in all Sony cameras. Sony computers, along with laptops, feature a memory stick drive as well, enabling Sony users to slide the flash stick directly from their cameras to their computers, effortlessly transferring their photos. In fact, almost all digital cameras utilize flash systems in one form or another, either in Secure online, flash Stick, or Compact Flash formats. These philosophies of flash storage allow users to save their photos and files onto safe, secure, reliable, and portable hard drives which can be carried in a shirt pocket. With sizes ranging up to three or even five gigabytes, users can store hundreds of times the information they could store on ubiquitous floppy disks. It's about time, the dear old floppy disk's time may have past.
