I just bought a new MacBook Air which, of course doesn't have a built-in optical drive. It is compatible withe USB flash drives, which is really all I need for data storage, I think. How's the longevity of the new potable flash drives? I recall hearing all sorts of horror stories of corrupted files, lost data, and the flash drive suddenly becoming unreadable. Are the newer ones (from reputable manufacturers, like San Disk or example? Or should I buy a portable optical drive? Any advice from you digital nerds out there?

 

How about an external hard drive? More capacity and great reliability for not a lot of money.

http://www.amazon.co...TF8&node=595048

 

with some poking around it seems there are some issues but....
i wonder how many are related to stupid people doing stupid things.
such as pulling the drive without properly closing the volume, i.e. "eject"
the bigger devices do cross the magic 32 bit boundary which has files bigger than 4 gigabytes and than can result in weird things.

personally, i wouldn't be afraid of usb 3.0. there's nothing magic about it other than running faster.
does apple support eSata? faster and better for drives and media.

 

I have an external HD, but it kind of defeats the purpose of me having bought the MBA. I've been told to reduce the amount of weight I carry around at work. So, my MacBook Pro is going to my oldest daughter.
I see that Apple offers a "SuperDrive", which is a portable CD & DVD reader/writer for the MBA, but it would just be more crap and more weight to carry around. So I thought those little USB flash (AKA thumb) drives might be a good option for storing lecture notes, presentations, tests, grades, etc.. But I've heard some horror stories about their longevity and reliability.

 

Thanks for looking into it for me. I have a few of the USB flash drives around the house with various files stored on them. I tried to retrieve some files off one the other day and got a "unable to read this device" error message. I've always been careful about ejecting and installing them properly. The 32 GB flash drive that went bad was a well regarded brand, so I'm a bit worried about relying too heavily on the things for storing important files.

 

You could keep a backup of your files on the external HD in case the thumb drive fails. The WD "My Passport" drives weigh about 1/2 lb. They do require reformatting for the MAC OS but then again most flash drives will as well.

 

Any thoughts about Apple's "Time Machine"? Their combination WiFi router - hard drive backup? I know the thing, like all of Apple's stuff, is pricey, but if it works well as sort of my own personal "cloud", I wouldn't mind spending the money. I'd have data backup and the latest and fastest WiFi standard (ac?)

 

If you meant the Airport Time Capsule that thing looks slick as snot. And not outrageously priced either.

 

That's what I meant. Not enough coffee this morning, and I still haven't become acclimated to my new meds.
Between the two of us, Rori and I may become the Sid and Nancy of The Villages.

 

USB 3.0 has more to do with the connection speed of the accessory device to the host device than with anything else. Whether it's 1.0, 2.0, or 3.0 doesn't really impact integrity or longevity of life of the device.

I have had flash drives fail, but not at an alarming rate. I've also managed to put one through an entire wash and dry cycle, and it still worked after (although I admit I did NOT expect it to). I have had flash drives work on one machine and then not on another. I have no explanation for the latter scenario. I use them frequently and I currently have 4 of them in my purse which I use for various purposes, mostly for work.

The most important aspect is to remember you should never have just one copy of your data on any single device. Hard drive, flash drive, CD, DVD, whatever... the data you put on those should never be your only copy.

PS Don't waste your money on an optical drive. The number of times you will need one will not make having the extra hardware and media worth it to you. I have several clients using netbook style devices and I've only needed an optical drive to work on one of them once in 4 years time. *I* have one because I need it for business (I have to have all of the gear I might possibly ever need to fix a client's problem), but I don't see any great need for an end user to get one. Go flash (multiples) or external portable non-solid state drives (also multiple). Seriously, flash is most portable and the best bang for the buck.