There are many forms of external memory storage. Technology has developed the SD cards, the USB sticks, the CDs and DVDs, the external hard disks, the zip drives, and even at the beginning, the floppy disks. Among all of them, it is the branded USB that has survived the longest, even coexisting peacefully with cloud-based storage. All external devices fall short against the might of the the USB device, against even the promotional USB sticks, because external storage requires more than what the other devices can give to the end user, and that is reliability and immediate access.

 

The Reliability of External Storage Devices

 

Personalised USB sticks have 100,000 writes and rewrites built in the device. On this qualification alone of rewritability, many of the devices fail in comparison.

 

Some CDs and DVDs are rewritable. Unfortunately, the disks are also very sensitive. Too much UV light, which is something a user will never know, can destroy the disk, rendering it useless. The smallest scratch can ruin the entire disk, and while at the beginning, CDs and DVDs could outdo promotional USB drives with regards to capacity, the needed time to burn the data onto a CD or DVD was even then already too much time. And this was if the data was burned correctly in the first place.

 

The ZIP disk had a good run while it lasted. It was the equivalent of the USB device in all respects, and was very convenient in transporting large files that would not fit into stacks of floppy disks. The main drawback for ZIP disk was that the recipient of the data also had to have the physical reader for the disk – the ZIP drive, which made it necessary to bring the Zip drive along with the ZIP disk to the destination.

 

Having Access to Your Data Immediately

 

There is nothing like having your data in your hands, no matter what the cloud says. The physical reassurance of feeling the data beside you is one less thing to worry about, and if you consider Murphy's Law, that is already one less thing that can go wrong.

 

Transporting your data through the cloud means that you are immediately dependent on an Internet connection, and a fast Internet connection at that. While in Hong Kong, the Internet speed being marketed for the end consumer is already in the gigabit range, this is not true for all other places in the world. What this means is that if you transport your data through online storage, you will first need to upload the files onto an online data storage service, move to the destination, and download it again. The data is secure and unlimited in terms of distance, but the download and upload times can be annoying.

 

The Lifespan of the USB Device

 

Just look at the demand for external storage, and you will see what kind of external storage the market demands. The USB stick has already outlived the floppy disk, the ZIP drive, the CDs and DVDs, and even while the popularity of online storage is still on the rise, the demand for USB devices is still there, especially with USB 3.0. All these factors point to the conclusion that the humble USB device will still be good for at least a couple more years.