Flash Drive

USB flash drives are NAND-type flash memory data storage devices integrated with a USB interface. They are typically small, lightweight, removable and rewritable. Memory capacity typically ranges from 128 megabytes up to 64 gigabytes [1], limited only by current flash memory densities, although cost per megabyte increases rapidly at higher capacities due to the expensive components. For example, as of October 2006, flash drives were available in retail stores at US$25 for 512MiB, US$35 for 1GiB, US$60 for 2GiB, US$100 for 4GiB, and US$160 for 8GiB. [citation needed]USB flash drives have several advantages over other portable storage devices, particularly the floppy disk. They are more compact, generally faster, hold more data, and are considered more reliable (due to their lack of moving parts) than floppy disks. These types of drives use the USB mass storage standard, supported natively by modern operating systems such as Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows. A flash drive consists of a small printed circuit board encased in a robust plastic or metal casing, making the drive sturdy enough to be carried about in a pocket, as a keyfob, or on a lanyard. Only the USB connector protrudes from this protection, and is usually covered by a removable cap. Most flash drives use a standard type-A USB connection allowing them to be connected directly to a port on a personal computer. Most flash drives are active only when powered by a USB computer connection, and require no other external power source or battery power source; they are powered using the limited supply afforded by the USB connection. To access the data stored in a flash drive, the flash drive must be connected to a computer, either by direct connection to the computer's USB port or via a USB hub.