Memory Cards

Flash memory is all-electronic and has no moving parts. Your computer's BIOS chip is the most common form of flash memory but removable flash devices are becoming very popular. Digital camera cards, SmartMedia and CompactFlash cards, Sony's Memory Stick and PCMCIA memory cards are some examples. Proprietary and permanent flash memory devices include memory cards for video game systems.

The Benefits of Flash Memory

Flash memory is silent, faster than a hard disk, smaller, lighter, and has no moving parts, unlike hard drives. However, hard disks can hold considerably more data and its cost per megabyte is much cheaper. Yet flash memory is quite reliable and allows you to specify which data you want to keep. Flash devices are more delicate than other forms of removable storage, however, so they require careful handling.

USB flash drives are known as the floppy disks of the 21st century. You can see people walking around with them dangling from key chains, backpacks, and even around their necks. These are more resistant to physical abuse than the media cards used in digital cameras.

They're also an improvement over optical storage like CDs and DVDs, which are easily scratched. Prices of the drives have come down so much that many companies give them to clients instead of printing reports and wasting paper and ink. In some schools, students are required to have them.