Memory Capacity in USB Sticks

It's hard to think that ten years or so ago the floppy disk was still the most often used transportable storage process for computer knowledge, but then today's USB sticks have also come a long way since they first began to replace them.

As the Millennium began, the development of the computer was outgrowing the traditional floppy disk as a process of transportable knowledge storage. What was time at the forefront of computer expertise was beginning to be seen as outdated on fronts. For a start, floppy disks were slow in terms of read & write speeds & secondly they were small in respect of memory capacity given the advances & capabilities of the newer modern machines.

Although arguments still anger about the identity of the inventor of the USB flash drive, it was first made commercially available in 2000 when IBM, together with Trek Expertise, introduced products named DiskOnKey & ThumbDrive respectively. These early USB memory sticks had a storage capacity of 8MB, which may appear small by today's standards, but at the time was a massive improvement on the.44MB available on the ageing & soon to be redundant floppy disk.

The 8MB versions were quickly followed up with a 16MB model & by 2003 IBM was selling an M-Systems manufactured unit able to 64MB. It wasn't long before a substantial number of different versions from a host of different manufacturers became available, & by the time the memory stick began to catch on with users, an impressive 128MB capacity memory stick was in common use, giving ample storage space for most users in a light & compact package.

These days USB sticks with 32 & 64GB storage capacity are common & a mighty 128 & 256GB are also available giving some serious backup capability for users constantly on the move.

Expertise moves on & the development of the USB memory stick is no exception. In addition, as is often the case, prices fall as improvements & advancements are made. Over the period that USB sticks have been available, users have had access to ever-increasing transportable storage capacity with a corresponding & welcome reduction in what they actually pay for it. Moreover, given the pace of alter these days, this trend is likely to continue for some time meaning the floppy disk will sink further back in the memory of capacity hungry computer users.