I think that is what it is called. A small thing that plugs in to the USB. I just want to be able to pull a few jpgs off my computer and then use this to plug in to a small portable Epson color 4x6 printer I got. It takes USB as well as various cards. I only print occasionally and then only a few pix. I don't need anything big and I thought maybe someone has a small one sitting around that they no longer need because I know these now come in very big sizes. 256mb or 512 would be fine. I will be at the meeting this Sunday, if anyone has one they are no longer in need of. I know sometimes they were even give-aways at conventions.

You can get a 2 GB one for $15 anymore.

Why not just connect the printer to your computer. Then the sneaker net is not needed.

I'd like to have the option of picking a few pix off my sister's computer when I am visiting, without carrying the computer, printer, SD cards, or a card reader with me. I haven't tried connecting this little printer directly to the computer yet. Just plugging in the SD card seems very convenient, except it scans ALL the pix it finds in and then you have to select the ones you want to print. A tiny USB thumb drive would be nice. My rationale is that I could put only the pre-selected pix I wanted on there, plug it into the printer, walk away and let it cook all by itself, without having to babysit it.

I like the MicroCenter thumb drives (aka, flash drive, USB drive, "Jump" drive) that Terry gives as raffle prizes. They're well designed and manufactured, and come with a good guarantee (which I've had to use, but I know the problem didn't arise from faulty manufacturing).

They're from MicroCenter in Madison Heights, and they're MicroCenter's own internal brand (IPSG). I own a 2GB Kingston thumb drive. It's an awkward case design (big and "kludgey"), and it's power hungry. I can't run it off my Apple keyboard USB slot. My 2 Gig IPSG's work fine off that slot.

Go with a known-good brand. Lexar and SanDisk are good, but expensive.

Check out these personalized thumb drives. At least you might have some chance of getting it back if you lose it.

I still have yet to find an article about the security of thumb drives. Are they like hard disks? Can somebody recover data once it's "erased?"

quote:

Originally posted by Donna:
I know sometimes they were even give-aways at conventions.

Donna,

I am working in Madison Heights today. If you would like me to stop by Micro Center and pickup one of these for you I can. It's 5:15 PM and I think they close at 8:00 PM. I could bring it to the meeting on Sunday. Just tell me if you want a 1 or 2 gig size. You could go to Microcenter.com and figure out which one you want. I think the 1 gig was like 10.00 and the 2 gig was like 15.00

Calvin: If you can pick me up a 2GB I will make connections with you Sunday. Thanks. The price is right.

Let it be written ......Let it be done

Thanks. I'll see you Sunday.

There may be a problem in buying Micro Center thumb drives. I bought a 2GB light blue drive, with the "Micro Center" logo on it, about two weeks ago for about $14.95 and it proved to be incredibly slow at data transfer; over six minutes for 350MB. I don't know what the problem may be; maybe it's USB 1.1 instead of 2.0, but it's nearly unusable. I haven't been back to get the problem rectified, so I haven't heard any possible explanation from Micro Center, but I plan to return soon.

I have 2 light blue 2 GB IPSG drives; there's nothing wrong with them. The IPSG drives are USB 2.0.

There's a big difference between 12 Mbps and 480 Mbps. 40X.

Your computer port is more than likely USB 1.0. I've noticed a huge download difference between the two specs.

I should have mentioned that my computer is a G4 12" Powerbook with two USB 2.0 ports. I have four other USB thumb drives which I use often and all are much faster than the Micro Center unit. For example, I transferred the same amount of data to a Verbatim 2GB drive and it transferred in two minutes instead of over six minutes for the other unit. I suspect that the drive is one sub-par unit in 10,000 or so, which is to be expected occasionally.

Gordon,

Why not just return the "sub par unit" back to Micro Center for an exchange.

Bring it to the meeting with you today if you want and I will make the swap for you. I will be out that way on Monday.

Thanks for the offer, Calvin, but I didn't see your post til Tuesday. I'll try to exchange it soon.



"May the Schwartz be with you!!" - Mel Brooks