If you have not already done so, computer USB flash memory sticks may be worth your time to consider. My wife and I just started using them and are glad we did.
They are about the size of a key chain ornament and can hold up to 1 Gig of data. Smaller, less expensive sizes are available. You simply plug a stick into your USB port and presto! you have a whole new drive on your computer. There are no moving parts. You can carry them in your pocket with your keys and change. They weigh next to nothing. You can drop them on the floor and they'll still work. When I set one on my keyboard, it is just big enough to cover five keys in one row.
We bought two 512 MB sticks at CompUSA for less than $100 each. We copied our important files onto one and sent it home for backup purposes. We use the other for backup in the truck and carry it in our pocket in when out of the truck.
The sticks can also be used to move files from one computer to another in the same way people do (did) with A-drive floppy disks. A floppy disk holds a little more than 1 Megabyte (MB) of data. The sticks we bought hold 500 times that much (512 MB). Sticks that hold 1,000 times as much (1 Gigabyte) are also available.
If the truck burns or our computer is stolen, we can be back up computing almost as fast as we can buy a replacement computer. If we lose both the computer and the stick we have on the road, the one at home can be FedEx'ed to us overnight to get us back up and running.
Note that the sticks come in different shapes. On some computers the USB slots are vertical. Others are horizontal. If you buy a round or oblong-shaped USB stick, that will work fine on a desktop computer, but you may not be able to set your laptop computer on a flat surface and plug it in. For that reason, rectangular sticks are best.
We bought the ScanDisk Crizer Mini model. Here's the link for more info:
http://www.sandisk.com/retail/cruzer-mini.asp
They are about the size of a key chain ornament and can hold up to 1 Gig of data. Smaller, less expensive sizes are available. You simply plug a stick into your USB port and presto! you have a whole new drive on your computer. There are no moving parts. You can carry them in your pocket with your keys and change. They weigh next to nothing. You can drop them on the floor and they'll still work. When I set one on my keyboard, it is just big enough to cover five keys in one row.
We bought two 512 MB sticks at CompUSA for less than $100 each. We copied our important files onto one and sent it home for backup purposes. We use the other for backup in the truck and carry it in our pocket in when out of the truck.
The sticks can also be used to move files from one computer to another in the same way people do (did) with A-drive floppy disks. A floppy disk holds a little more than 1 Megabyte (MB) of data. The sticks we bought hold 500 times that much (512 MB). Sticks that hold 1,000 times as much (1 Gigabyte) are also available.
If the truck burns or our computer is stolen, we can be back up computing almost as fast as we can buy a replacement computer. If we lose both the computer and the stick we have on the road, the one at home can be FedEx'ed to us overnight to get us back up and running.
Note that the sticks come in different shapes. On some computers the USB slots are vertical. Others are horizontal. If you buy a round or oblong-shaped USB stick, that will work fine on a desktop computer, but you may not be able to set your laptop computer on a flat surface and plug it in. For that reason, rectangular sticks are best.
We bought the ScanDisk Crizer Mini model. Here's the link for more info:
http://www.sandisk.com/retail/cruzer-mini.asp
