USB Flash Drives Going Extinct?

[taiwan_girl]

https://www.pcworld.com/article/2764557/usb-flash-drives-are-going-extinct-use-these-alternatives-instead.html

HOw often do you use one? I still use one somewhat frequently.

As compact and handy as they are, USB sticks have lost much of their relevance in recent years. One of the main reasons is their comparatively low storage capacity. Many commercially available models end at 256GB or 512GB, which means that large amounts of data such as 4K videos, complete photo archives, or system backups can only be transported to a limited extent.

Although there are also some high-end sticks with up to 2 terabytes of memory, such as the Seagate Ultra Compact SSD, many people prefer to use an SSD for such capacities. The reason: SSDs generally use more powerful flash chips, which ensure higher data transfer rates and a longer service life.

Another problem: The classic USB-A connection is hardly suitable for modern devices. Most laptops and tablets rely on USB-C, as do smartphones.

[89th]

I haven't used one in a long while, now that I think about it.

[Horace]

I'm glad I'll never have to say "thumb drive" again. Dumbest words ever.

[jon-nyc]

My current use case is to transfer recordings from my Clavinova to my Mac

[Copper]

The problem with thumb drives is that you can conveniently save your data without paying anyone, and without worrying about privacy.

There is a lot of money to be made buying and selling your data.

[LuFins Dad]

Yeah, the problem here is that SSD drives are very expensive and not practical for a large number of purposes. This is reminiscent of the early 2000s, when CDs had taken over as the primary digital storage medium. They weren’t very practical for the music industry as midi files weren’t easily editable in that medium. That’s why you had instruments being manufactured even up and until 2010 using Floppy Disk drives. Even then, they had started using USB A ports in the mid-2000s, but there was a reticence to switching entirely to USB since there was so much software out there, and a 1GB thumb drive really felt like overkill.

[Axtremus]

I have a few thumb drives that each has both a USB-A and a USB-C connectors. Very convenient for navigating the transition from USB-A to USB-C.

[jon-nyc]

That’s what I use to move files from the clav to my Mac.

[Klaus]

My main use case is large scan jobs from scanners in the office, or very large print jobs.

[LuFins Dad]

MIDI and Audio Files plus firmware updates.