Some time ago we wrote about the advent of a new standard for USB flash drives, USB 3.0. At the time, the standard was just beginning to be formulated and wasn’t out on the market. But now that the issues have been worked out with the standard, you can look forward to seeing a lot of 3.0 USB flash drives coming onto the market in the near future.

The reason is simple. The new USB flash drives read and write at 10 times the speed of USB 2.0 drives. Not only can they transfer data faster, but they can send and receive data at the same time, something USB 2.0 couldn’t do.

Fortunately, 3.0 USB drives are still backwards compatible, so you can still use them with older equipment that has USB 2.0 and even USB 1.1 ports. You won’t experience the speed increases, but at least you can still use the drives without having to fork out a lot of dough for a new computer.

If you move lots of data, you’ll love the new USB 3.0 specifications. USB 2.0 flash drives could only transfer data at about 480 megabytes a second. In contrast, the new 3.0 USB drives can transfer at 4.8 gigabytes a second. This makes them ideal for handling large files such as videos, music and digital photos.

The USB 3.0 standard was originated by Intel and began to appear on new computers earlier this year. Engineers at Intel believe they can achieve even higher speeds in the future using the same standard. There is additional connectivity built in to the USB 3.0 drive hardware.

If you’re a bit of a techno-geek, the secret is the additional “bus” that has been layered on top of the current USB 2.0 bus. Where the USB 2.0 bus had four wires, USB 3.0 flash drives have four additional wires, which allow them to send and receive data at the same time. Combined with a retooled data interface, the change in hardware provides the added speed of the new USB 3.0 flash drives.

This is pretty amazing, considering that the USB 3.0 standard requires the same power as its USB 2.0 cousin, just 500mA. This lets companies continue to create devices that use less power, something that is not only eco-friendly, but allows yields smaller devices that can work on a wider range of systems.

While there was originally a question as to whether USB 3.0 would catch on, the question is moot now. The drives are being added to all new computers. If you’re still hanging onto your old Compaq Luggable, not to worry. As noted earlier, the new flash drives are backwards compatible with USB 2.0 and USB 1.1.

It will be interesting to see if Intel can achieve the added performance they seek in the new USB 3.0 standard. Time will tell!

One only has to look at the dearth of gadgets coming on the market today to see that we can now all have a bit of 007 in us, from home security systems that look like motion detectors to eavesdropping devices masked as a cell phone.

Is that Timex really a watch? Or is it a USB flash drive holding your sensitive data? The answer these days is that it can be both.

While Timex isn’t the maker, you can get a USB flash drive watch that also tells time. Hidden in the band is a USB connector. When you want to steal a little data (or back up your own), you can just unhook the connector and transfer up to 8 gigs of data. Best of all, it’s right there with you all the time. No more fumbling around in your pocket to find a handy USB flash drive, it’s right there on your wrist along with the current time and date.

Ordinary pens aren’t so ordinary either these days. Uncap the end and instead of ink you’ll find a USB flash drive. One second you could be writing an innocent note to someone and the next you can be docking the pen into a computer and backing up data. Not only are these great pens, but great USB flash drives as well. Sure, you could go with a standard USB flash drive, but why not get one that can also serve as a writing instrument, always at the ready to be analog or digital at a moment’s notice.

Even traditional USB flash drives can be pretty stealthy. There are drives on the market that contain their own ID scanner that can read fingerprints. Once you’re ready to lock down the data, you simply scan your own fingerprint once and the drive will use it to identify you and lock out intruders. Unless they have a duplicate set of your fingerprints, but that’s another story all together. You can be confident that no one else can access your data with these amazing drives. And if you want others to access it, it can handle up to 10 unique fingerprint IDs, so everyone that is supposed to access the data can.

These are just a few of the many USB sticks on the market today that aren’t what they appear to be. Because the actual drives are so small, they lend themselves well to becoming anything a savvy designer can think of. So, the next time you’re using an innocent looking lighter, perhaps you should wonder if it too leads a secret life as a USB flash drive

It is a lesson learned for all companies that give out USB drives with preloaded content – check your drives on your own systems first before handing them out. You want to make sure they are malware free while also making sure that the preloaded content is yours and not someone else’s.

Of course, choosing a reputable promotional company is the smartest way to prevent such a PR nightmare. IBM had to apologize in a letter sent to delegates, along with instructions for removing the malware, which was set up to run using setup.exe and autorun.ini files. Once the drive was inserted, the malware was automatically loaded onto the unsuspecting delegate’s computer. Unfortunately, the final instruction in the letter recommended reloading all the core operating system software, which, as everyone knows, is a nightmare.

If you’re contemplating the use of preloaded content on your USB flash drives, there’s no need to shy away from your plan. This is a great way to share sales materials, brochures, video demos, PowerPoints and other information with your prospects and clients.
With just a few precautions, you can confidently go with your original plan and preload content with confidence and success.

Double Check Your Source Files
As you prepare your marketing materials, make sure the computer you’re using isn’t already infected. Even if the factory checks the drives, you can accidentally transfer a virus through your own files. So double check them before sending them to the promotional company for integration and production into hundreds or thousands of USB flash drives.

Reconsider AutoRun
A file that automatically loads and runs may sound like a great idea from a marketing standpoint. The prospect or client automatically sees your marketing messages – very cool! But, there is a small risk that you can introduce malware. No matter how unlikely, you don’t want to have an IBM on your hands, sending out letters of apology for giving your contacts malware.

Choose a Reliable Supplier
The best way to prevent a problem is to hire a reputable supplier for your USB flash drives. They will be able to ensure that your disks aren’t infected at the manufacturer level so that you’re not stuck with a couple hundred or thousand branded USB flash drives that are infected and virtually useless.

Do Some Spot Checks
Once you receive your shipment of promotional USB flash drives, pick a couple out at random and run them on your own computer. Of course, you want to make sure you have the most up-to-date virus checker installed on your computer so that any of the latest incarnations of malware out there can’t slip through. You also want to make sure that the content that’s preloaded is yours and there wasn’t a mix up with another order.

With these simple precautions you should be able to continue to enjoy the power of preloaded content without the slightest fear of it backfiring on you. The real secret, of course, is to partner with a vendor who also has your best interests at heart. They may not be the lowest cost provider, but at least the low cost doesn’t include the cost of infecting your prospects and customers with malware.

The reason USB flash drives have become so popular in the marketplace today is their large storage capacity combined with their small size. Unfortunately, their small size means they can be easily misplaced or lost. In the case of the policeman, he had left the drive on the top of his car as he prepared to start his shift and drove off with it still there. 

While you may not be carrying around the identities of informants, you may want to still protect your data, particularly if your drive contains passwords, backups of your bank records or any other sensitive information.  
Many USB drives these days come with some measure of password and encryption built in. But if yours doesn’t have these features, here are some things you can do to keep your data from being viewed by others. 
If you just want to keep individual files inaccessible, you can usually do that in the program you used to create it. For example, in programs such as Word and Excel you simply need to go to the Tools menu. Click on Options and then the Security tab. It will then give you the option to enter a password and then confirm it. That’s it. Just be sure you remember your password or you’ll have to get another program to recover it. 
If you partition your USB flash drive into partitioned volumes, you can some password protect some files and not others using Cypherix LE. It can create its own vaults containing up to 25 MB each. Pretty handy, as long as you’re not trying to protect an Access database or other large file with it. It is free, however, something the products below can’t claim. 

Folder Lock allows you to password protect your USB flash drive, external drives or memory cards. A benefit of this program is you can open the files without installing the program on the computer you’re using. This can be a real bonus if you’re using the flash drive to move files between your home computer and the one at work. A lot of companies don’t let you install software on their computers. 
Folder Lock gives you a lot of choices. You can lock individual files, folders or the entire drive and you can use its encrypt feature to protect your USB drives, CDs and notebook too. 
When you need to access your drive data, you simply plug in your USB flash drive into any computer where Folder Lock is already installed or use the AutoPlay feature. Double click on the Locker you want to access and enter the password. 

The best program out there for locking down your USB drive data is Securestix. It runs on all versions of Windows and you can easily set up the security system for your USB flash drives.  
It uses AES-128 encryption technology, which is pretty high-powered encryption. If you do lose your flash drive, at least you know that no one is going to gain access to the files on it. 
In fact, the program not only locks your files, but also hides them from view. Anyone looking at the drive wouldn’t even see them, unless they had the software installed. Even then, they would need the password. And if you’ve forgotten your password, you can always use the Hint feature to remember it. 
If you’re not sure which product you like best, you can usually download a lite version that either offers a limited time trial period or has certain features disabled. This lets you work with the password protection schemes and features until you find the product that works best for you. 

Several of the products noted work on USB flash drives as well as computer hard drives and peripherals. If you need to protect your data all the way around, these may be the best option for you since you don’t have to learn different password protection and encryption protocols for every system you work with. 
The important thing to remember is that you want to protect your data. While you may think the day will never come when you leave your USB flash drive at Starbucks or lose it through a whole in your pocket, that day can come… often sooner than you think. At least if it goes missing, password protection of the data will give you some peace of mind that the drive is virtually useless to anyone who happens upon it.

A sneak peek at the next-generation Chromium OS from Google

Chromium OS isn’t supposed to be released by Google to the public until late next year, but the early betas are already showing promise. If Chromium OS lives up to its initial hype you can count on having an open source operating system that is fast, simple and more secure than any existing OS on the market today, including Windows 7, Mac OS X and Linux.

We’ve had the chance to test the new operating system on a netbook. Specifically, this is the Hexxeh USB build, which allows the Chromium OS to be booted from a USB flash drive or stick. Within 7 to 8 seconds after hitting the power button, the fully loaded Google Chrome browser has you ready for work. It’s lightning fast and could become the future of mobile computing.

One reason it shows potential is that the Chromium OS is designed for today’s computers. No matter how much Microsoft or Apple operating systems are updated they are still based on a computer framework that is more than 30 years old; a framework that dictates that the OS is the center of a computing universe.
But these operating systems were developed long before the Internet and web-based computing. As such, they’re akin to using a Betamax VCR with a high definition television – the technologies can’t make the best use of each other.

Access to the Internet is just a small part of a computer’s capabilities even though the Internet has become central to the user’s experience as they increasingly access files, games, multimedia, social networks and online applications.
Of course, Google isn’t ready to tout Chromium OS as the be-all do-all in their formal communications just yet. They still need access to Windows, Mac and Linux code to make their browsers work with existing platforms. But we believe they see the writing is on the wall and that Internet-based applications are the wave of the
future.

If this is the case, then Chromium is spot-on in its objectives. It is open source, promoting innovation and ready access to the development community. It is designed to be fast, simple and secure. And it is designed specifically to give you plug and play access to the Web for true mobile computing, taking advantage of applications that live within the browser, not the computer itself. Since there’s no central collection point of processing, security is simplified because each application has its own security sandbox, which makes it much harder to infect your computer. If there is a virus, it will stay isolated in the application, at least that is the theory.

But the commitment to security runs much deeper than that, according to Google. Every time you start your computer up, it verifies the code. If something is wrong, the operating system is designed to fix itself during a reboot. Even if a malicious code is added, the system will delete it.

The real beauty is its speed. So far, Chromium OS is proving to be extremely fast and responsive and the company says this is going to remain a high priority, to the point where developers are receiving specifications to ensure that the system doesn’t become bogged down with extraneous code and bloatware.

In our own tests we’ve been booting up our netbook with Chromium OS, setting the preferences so the computer boots off the USB as priority 1, with the hard drive #2. It has proven to be extremely faithful and consistent in booting up. And best of all, all of our settings, preferences and passwords go right along with us, regardless of the computer we’re using.

That’s true mobile computing and hopefully, Chromium OS will only get better as it undergoes more thorough testing and additional builds, along with the addition of new developer apps to enhance its capabilities.
We’ll have more on Chromium OS as it goes through its beta testing.

The built-in digital amplifier has mega bass and there is a power on/off switch and volume up/down control so you can manage the speaker sound levels in addition to those on your computer.
The construction is superb. The housings are brushed black aluminium. Your logo can be imprinted on the top of each speaker, giving your brand a lot of visibility. Each set of speakers comes boxed with a clear window that displays your logo, another strong branding opportunity.

The USB mini speakers are USB powered if you want to use these speakers on your computer system. Just plug them into an available USB port and viola! – booming stereo. If you want to connect it to a Zune, iPod or similar mp3 or mp4 device, you’ll need an external power supply.

The minimum order is usually 200 sets of speakers. Not bad, since you can use these as special premium giveaways with solid prospects or your best customers.

Believe us, you’ll want to get more than 200. These speakers will become extremely popular with your target audience and they will be clamouring to get them from you.

Those of you that regularly purchase USB Memory sticks should be familiar with fluctuating prices. During 2007 and 2008 the prices for USB’s was relatively cheap due to a good exchange rate for the dollars and oversupply of flash memory. Today the prices are going up due to a weak pound and undersupply of flash memory in the market.

The main reasons is that Flash Producers invested heavily in production facilities  during 2006-07 which resulted in overcapacity and forced them to sell flash memory at prices below production cost to pay off their investment in production facilities.
This has scared them to invest in more equipment and now with increased demand the prices has escalated as the supply is lower than demand. This year alone the industry has grown by 100%, even in recession due to increased demand for flash in devices such as SSD (solid state hard drives) and mobile phones.

Its expected that the price will stabilise during 2010 and we also have new technology such as TLC – triple level cell and 4LC which is aimed at the more low tech devices so hopefully the manufacturers will be able to offer this for the promotional market at a more attractive price. There is no word on when these might be available as yet.

 Also we see that the higher capacity drives are not as affected by the price raise as the low capacity ones but of course in the promotional market is very cost conscious. On the other hand we see that higher capacity becomes more mainstream and that clients are willing to pay more for 2GB and upwards.

So to those of you in the market for Branded USB Memory sticks it might be wise to get your orders in sooner rather than later.
For the resellers its important to warn clients of price fluctuations so they are prepared.

On the upside this is something that affects everyone and this will affect everyone in the market so the competition will struggle with the same problems of rising purchase costs.

I hope this helps explain some of the story behind the price fluctuations in the market..

Johan Ellingsen
USB Company

Boasting 10 times the speed of the USB 2.0 ports that have become the standard in connectivity, USB 3.0 ports and cabling should begin to make their way onto the market sometime in early 2010.

Offering transfer rates of up to 4.8Gbit/second compared to the USB 2.0’s rate of 480MBit/second, the 3.0 standard will eventually revolutionize the transfer of large files, such as video, raw digital photos and music mixes.

But don’t worry too much if you’re still using USB 2.0 or even first generation USB 1.1 ports and connections. The new standard is fully backwards compatible. You won’t get the blazing speeds, but you can still use the new cords and connectors in the old ports. They will just transfer at the slower speeds of these older standards.

According to Intel, one of the companies leading the effort to bring USB 3.0 to market, the new ports and cabling will be optimized for low power consumption and improved efficiency. The actual ports and cables will be designed with both copper and optical capabilities. This could mean even faster speeds in the future.

Says Jeff Ravencraft, Intel’s technology strategist, “The digital era requires high-speed performance and reliable connectivity to move the enormous amounts of digital content now present in everyday life. USB 3.0 will meet this challenge while maintaining USB 2.0’s ease-of-use experience.”

The new USB 3.0 ports should begin to appear in late 2009 or more likely early 2010. It’s anticipated that the new technology will be quickly added to computers at a premium price, since manufacturers will be anxious to differentiate themselves from their competitors.

USB 3.0’s arrival wasn’t without problems. Both AMD and NVIDIA challenged Intel, claiming the company was withholding the new standard’s draft certification. This could put Intel at an advantage in the market, since USB 3.0 supports a more flexible power scheme. Even with the new scheme, the sockets still are limited to providing just 500mA of power, which is the same as USB 2.0.

Whether USB 3.0 catches on remains to be seen. Even though FireWire 800 ports have been around for quite a while, its less capable sibling, FireWire 400, is still the standard. Outside of MacPros from Apple, it’s hard to find FireWire 800 support in the marketplace. Consumers just aren’t demanding it. Whether they will want USB 3.0 remains to be seen.

As soon as devices and cabling support for USB 3.0 arrive on the market, you can expect the makers of promotional USB flash drives to quickly get on board. Since the drives are backward compatible, it will be easy for manufacturers to make the switch, knowing that their customers can easily upgrade without fears of incompatibility. Look for USB 3.0 flash drives to arrive in the first half of 2010.

Preloading marketing messages onto a USB flash drive that’s being given away as a promotional gift has been standard practice for many years. Unfortunately, the AutoRun feature found in Windows causes the message to load and run every time the drive is inserted.

That’s pretty annoying and has caused marketers to second guess their desire to add promotional messaging to their promo drives.

Thankfully, Microsoft is about to sound the death knell of the AutoRun feature, primarily because malicious programmers have been using it to spread malware and viruses. To stop this practice, Window 7 will stop any AutoRun tasks, so users won’t be tricked into launching apps that could have infectious code.

That means that your USB flash drive recipients won’t have your message load every time they insert the USB drive into their computers and flash drives will be less of a threat for system administrators. Instead, the drive will simply show up as removable drive, without running first.

This is great news for everyone involved. First, recipients will be more likely to use promotional USB flash drives since they don’t have to worry about their computers being tricked into uploading malicious code automatically. Second, your drive will become an invaluable part of the recipient’s daily computer use, since it is such a convenient way to store and share files. Of course we can still pre load your marketing message which can be opened by the receiver as normal, this data can either be erasable or locked.

For those early adopters, the new feature is already available in the RC build of Windows 7. Microsoft is planning to make the chance available on Windows Vista and Windows XP as well, so all of their customers can benefit from the new capabilities that make USB flash drives more useful than ever.

Deleting the files will work well up to a point. But eventually, the drive will not be as efficient as it should be because little bits of data will still exist on the drive – remnants of your past activity.

Reformatting the drive is usually the best solution for restoring your drive to its full potential and here’s how to do it quickly and easily.

Before you do anything, back up the data onto another drive, just in case you left a critical file on it that you don’t have elsewhere. Better safe than forever sorry. A reformat permanently erases everything on the drive

Reformatting in Windows

Start by opening up “My Computer” or “Computer” in the “Start” menu and locate the drive that has the “removable disk” icon. Right click on the drive and select “Format”.

When you do, a dialog box will open up showing several options. You don’t need to fool with any off them unless you want to change the name of the volume. Leave the “quick format” option unchecked so the drive will reformat fully. Click the “Start” button and you’re good to go. The disk will be reformatted and everything will be wiped clean in just a minute or two.

Reformatting in Mac OSX

To reformat, open your “Disk Utility” program. It’s in the Utilities folder inside the Applications folder. The flash drive will show up as a white drive icon in the utility. Click on that icon and select “Erase” from the menu. If you want the drive to work well on a Windows machine as well as yours, choose the MS-DOS (Fat) option. Click the “Erase” button at the bottom and you’re all set.

Just remember that once you erase a drive, there’s no way to recover the data. And always be sure to double check that you’re about to reformat the flash drive and not another drive on your system. Nothing’s worse than reformatting the wrong drive and losing all that hard data.