Flash Drive Roundup

Braedley writes "When [Ars] last took an in-depth look at USB flash drives in 2005, the landscape was a bit different. A 2GB drive ran nearly $200, and speeds were quite a bit slower then. At the time, we noted that while the then-current crop of drives was pretty fast, they still were not close to saturating the bandwidth of USB2. To top it off, a good drive was still going to set you back $50 or $70--not exactly a cheap proposition. Since our first roundup, this picture has changed considerably, and it leads to a question: has the flash drive become an undifferentiated commodity, just like any other cheap plastic tsotschke that you might find at an office supply store checkout counter?"

Comments

Uh,

[Cornwallis]

yes.

Re:Uh,

[Anonymous Coward]

How the hell is that offtopic?

And... more abuse of moderation

[drinkypoo]

The above comment was on topic; the comment to which it was a reply was on-topic. If any further proof that the current system of allocating mod points is retarded was required, here it is.

Re:And... more abuse of moderation

[drinkypoo]

I'm sorry you had a frustrating experience with OCZ

It's not just me; if you go visit the OCZ forums you can find scores of people who have bought these ATV drives in differing capacities, had identical problems to mine, been jerked around by OCZ tech support with crappy support tools that usually don't fix the problem (and it's scary how little the techs actually KNOW... it's very much a "try this tool... no? try THIS tool!" process.

but complaining about Slashdot moderators isn't going to do any good anyways.

Actually, it often does. The problem with the abuse of moderation is that the abused articles tend to drop off the radar and help conceal the evidence. Posting additional comments to make them stand out ("what is he talking about!?") is literally the only weapon available unless you're sleeping with an editor or something. (*shudder*)

Chotchkie's?

[Sporkinum]

Want to go to Tsotchkie's? Get some coffee?

Re:Yes, pretty much,,,

[drinkypoo]

If there's no lifetime warranty against defect, I'm not interested. This current problem with OCZ proves the validity of the approach; if I never used it anyplace but as a readyboost drive for years and then went to use it in my stereo it would fail immediately. Also, the warranty must not require receipt or proof of purchase. PNY has a "lifetime" warranty but you have to prove purchase. I'm not saving a receipt eternally for something where the receipt is larger than the product...