Introduction

With the advent and spread of computer networks some could argue that portable storage has taken a back seat in terms of importance. Seeing as how many people who work for corporations can now use VPN to "tunnel" into their company's network to transfer files and work from home, the need for using mediums such as zip disks to transfer data from one place to another has diminished. However, not all of us enjoy such versatile access which enables us to move data with such ease, and as such, still require some form of portable/removable storage. Zip Disks are usually out the question; while zip drives are fairly common, they are not likely to be in every terminal. Floppy Disks will have no problem finding a home, but they suffer from an extremely low capacity and slow transfer rates. In recent years, USB Flash drives have entered the market, and they seem to be the answer to the removable storage question. Working with most operating systems, these drives offer capacities of up to several hundred megabytes or more, and with almost all computers having USB ports, compatibility won't be a problem. Plus, they are small enough to be part of a keychain. Today, I'll be looking at K&C Technologies' Univeral Smart Drive, their USB Flash drive offering.

Specifications

The unit I'll be looking at is K&C's "Standard" USD; it comes in non-upgradable capacities ranging from 16MB to 1GB. It is USB 1.1 compliant, so at best it can utilize a theoretical 12Mbps of bandwidth.

• OS Support: Win98/SE, WinME, Win2000, WinXP, Mac 8.6 & higher, Linux 2.4.x
• (Need driver installation CD for Win98/SE)
• Capacities: 16/32/64/128/256/512/1000MB
• Data Retention: 10 years
• LED Green: Device Connected / LED Red Flashing: Data Transferring
• Weight: 16g
• Additional Specs available here

Besides the drive itself, a 1m USB extension cable, a neckstrap, a manual and a driver CD were included. A pretty complete package, in my opinion.

The USD came packaged in a box with a clear plastic film window that demonstrated its size relative to the human hand. The unit was surrounded by foam to ensure it wasn't jarred during shipping, preventing the plastic shell from being cracked or damaged. A number of accessories were included. The neckstrap allows you to have the USD in a handy position and would be ideal for a technician who had to carry around a set of troubleshooting tools or drivers. The 1m USB extension cable is very nice as well. If your computer only has USB ports at the back, the extension cable will save some time if you use the flash drive with your computer a lot.

Bright Packaging.

What's included.

Neckstrap, USB extension cable, and the USD with cover.

If you're wondering why a driver CD is included, it's because of Windows 98. This issue isn't unique to K&C's USD; for all other USB flash drive's I've seen, a driver has always been required for Win98. For all of the other OS's listed above, the USD will work as a true plug-n-play device; just plug the drive into a USB port and it should be detected by the OS. As with most flash drives, its size is small enough so that it can be put in your shirt pocket. There's nothing really fancy about the design; just a black outer shell with some groove marks. The cap protecting the USB interface is removed simply by pulling on it.

Manual and driver CD.

About the length of a playing card.

1-m USB extension cable is nice.

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