Familiar Looking Data Storage Device

[KJbushway]

I assume by USB drive, you mean a USB magnetic media based drive, rather than just the flash memory kind. Because flash drives can be tiny, and the capacities are rising quickly, while the prices drop equally quick.

I actually meant flash memory. I know those devices can be tiny, and they are great things. But if we're to look to the future, we have to be willing to criticize the present, so we can improve upon it.

So in that regard, I feel that the USB plug itself is an unpleasant thing to have protruding out of portable media. It's also notoriously fragile when plugged in: Accidently knock it, and you can snap the plug off.

I'd rather have a palm sized rectangular card, than a legobrick with plug. That is the future to me

I had a password protected 8GB USB. IT was never fragile(easy as hell to lose though). I put that thing through hell it didn't fail. Of course I lost it. But besides that, I can stay with USB.
I had a 500MB one before. That was a tough little thing, but it go washed and didn't survive the washer war of 2002.

 

[publiusr]

It looks to be more easily handled than DVDs. Careful, don't pull it too hard out of the case...too late, broken.

 

[Wanderlust]

I use to loose my USBs alot. I finally started keeping it attached with my keys.

 

[Tiberius]

I don't really enjoy the circular tray based medias (compact disc, etc). Nor am I keen on the bulkiness of USB drives. While SD cards are too small and fiddly, and easy to misplace.

I'd prefer something palm sized, 2-3mm thin, rectangular, and slot based, reminiscent of floppy disks, but offering several gigabytes capacity.

I don't get this. You say you don't like the bulk of a USB drive and yet you want something palm sized? A USB drive the size of my thumb is a lot less bulky. And as for capacity, I have 32 gig sitting on my keyring now. More than the several gig you suggest.

 

[sojourner]

^The key thing is Jadzia wants media that is thin and stacks easily.

 

[Jadzia]

sojourner is right.

If I can find my ruler I'll happily tell you preferred dimensions, but it seems to have gone missing.

 

[BlobVanDam]

I assume by USB drive, you mean a USB magnetic media based drive, rather than just the flash memory kind. Because flash drives can be tiny, and the capacities are rising quickly, while the prices drop equally quick.

I actually meant flash memory. I know those devices can be tiny, and they are great things. But if we're to look to the future, we have to be willing to criticize the present, so we can improve upon it.

So in that regard, I feel that the USB plug itself is an unpleasant thing to have protruding out of portable media. It's also notoriously fragile when plugged in: Accidently knock it, and you can snap the plug off.

I'd rather have a palm sized rectangular card, than a legobrick with plug. That is the future to me

You think that tiny little USB plug is a problem? I've never, or known anyone else to have any problems with damaging them, and I've knocked and pulled them plenty, and I've even had friends accidentally put them through the wash without any problems (after they dry out of course!). Not exactly fragile.

I'd rather a small solid piece of media than a larger fragile flat card, personally. You can't really break a USB drive, but it doesn't take so much to snap a thinner card (depending on the dimensions). And it already uses a universal plug that can be found anywhere, rather than requiring a separate slot that will only ever likely be used for removable storage, such as what SD cards require.
To me that's the more wise future-proof idea than this. Not that I have an issue with either technology, but I'm not going to get wowed just because it reminds me of Star Trek and thus looks futuristic.

 

[Jadzia]

I've heard other people say about snapping usb plugs, and while I've never done it myself, I did have a near miss once. A cheap plastic card could be fragile, but a card made of aluminium would not be. Fragility is a minor issue really, so maybe I shouldn't have brought that up at all back in post #20.

I'm not going to get wowed just because it reminds me of Star Trek and thus looks futuristic.

That's not a motivation for me at all. If you read back you'll see I'm drawing inspiration from floppy disks, not from star trek.

It's nice to touch and handle things, and putting rectangles into slots just feels the most ergonomic to me. As for optimal sizes, I'm unsure: Floppy disks are 90mm wide x 93mm long. I'd say the ideal size is no bigger than that, and no smaller than 60mm long.

 

[BlobVanDam]

How do you mean ergonomic? It sounds like you're referring to the way the card interfaces with the computer, but ergonomics is about how it fits with the human body.

Because I much prefer to hold a USB stick than something like a floppy disc, or even an SD card. A square doesn't feel at all ergonomic considering the human hand shape, but since USB sticks are more....... stick like, they're very natural to hold. There's no way to hold a disk that doesn't feel awkward and unnatural to me. It's not quite as bad as you decrease the size, but it's still a flat rectangle that isn't designed for the hand.
Now, if you're referring to the way the card interfaces with the computer, in that case I can see your point. It's nice knowing that the storage medium is firmly inside a slot rather than protruding from the case attached by just the plug. I really see that as a non issue considering how much abuse my USB stick takes, but I guess for others it might matter.

 

[trekkiedane]

Don't all modern µSD-cards come with an USB-adapter in the package?

I love my USB-memory thingies; small, but not small enough to disappear in a pocket/backpack (I suppose *anything* could disappear in a purse; The depths of a purse will still be a mystery to man long after we've invented the Heisenberg-compensators), but for use in portable devices I have a few µSD-cards and occasionally use the adaptor (like the one in the image) when needed.

 

[KJbushway]

I assume by USB drive, you mean a USB magnetic media based drive, rather than just the flash memory kind. Because flash drives can be tiny, and the capacities are rising quickly, while the prices drop equally quick.

I actually meant flash memory. I know those devices can be tiny, and they are great things. But if we're to look to the future, we have to be willing to criticize the present, so we can improve upon it.

So in that regard, I feel that the USB plug itself is an unpleasant thing to have protruding out of portable media. It's also notoriously fragile when plugged in: Accidently knock it, and you can snap the plug off.

I'd rather have a palm sized rectangular card, than a legobrick with plug. That is the future to me

You think that tiny little USB plug is a problem? I've never, or known anyone else to have any problems with damaging them, and I've knocked and pulled them plenty, and I've even had friends accidentally put them through the wash without any problems (after they dry out of course!). Not exactly fragile.

I'd rather a small solid piece of media than a larger fragile flat card, personally. You can't really break a USB drive, but it doesn't take so much to snap a thinner card (depending on the dimensions). And it already uses a universal plug that can be found anywhere, rather than requiring a separate slot that will only ever likely be used for removable storage, such as what SD cards require.
To me that's the more wise future-proof idea than this. Not that I have an issue with either technology, but I'm not going to get wowed just because it reminds me of Star Trek and thus looks futuristic.

Yeah I agree USB is great. The ones I have owned haven't been big memory wise. But I will probably stick with those even if they come out with some star trek like card.

 

[shivkala]

I've yet to find a USB flash drive that hasn't eventually snapped off my keychain. The drive itself remains intact (and as one poster mentioned, one even survived a trip through the washer), but most of my drives end up in a drawer until I need them, now. Of course, with Dropbox, I haven't really had a need for a flash drive, aside from sharing something large, which I don't tend to do (and I could use Dropbox, especially if I paid to increase my storage limit).

 

[KJbushway]

Yeah I lost a few of keychains

 

[Jadzia]

How do you mean ergonomic? It sounds like you're referring to the way the card interfaces with the computer, but ergonomics is about how it fits with the human body.

That's physical ergonomics. There's also mental ergonomics, and combinations of the two, which is what was intended when I said "it's nice to touch and handle things, and putting rectangles into slots just feels the most ergonomic to me."

To some extent it is subjective, but to some extent you may be seeing the values of what is more than the values of what could be, which I have experience with:

I come up with an idea that I think is good, yet most think it's bad. Then somebody else independently comes up with the same idea, but brings it into existence, and most now think it's good.

I think I'll just make one of my disk drives.

 

[BlobVanDam]

How do you mean ergonomic? It sounds like you're referring to the way the card interfaces with the computer, but ergonomics is about how it fits with the human body.

That's physical ergonomics. There's also mental ergonomics, and combinations of the two, which is what was intended when I said "it's nice to touch and handle things, and putting rectangles into slots just feels the most ergonomic to me."

To some extent it is subjective, but to some extent you may be seeing the values of what is more than the values of what could be, which I have experience with:

I come up with an idea that I think is good, yet most think it's bad. Then somebody else independently comes up with the same idea, but brings it into existence, and most now think it's good.

I think I'll just make one of my disk drives.

Well I know "what could be' in this case, because it's an old familiar concept that has been around for as long as floppy discs have existed. And it's entirely subjective.
And speaking mentally ergonomically (yes, I just made that up), discs/cards in slots don't feel ergonomic to me. It feels entirely like a computer process, and not something I connect with. A USB stick into a plug feels like a more ergonomic process imo. Again, entirely subjective.

But really I consider all of this a distant secondary objective of assessing technology. I judge technology on the technology itself, not about how it makes me feel, and I think that's a huge problem with technology today.

Luckily this technology is good, so I don't care either way. As long as it has the capacity to back up my brain on it for when I die, and need to copy myself into my new cyborg body.