I don't care what anybody says--I'm not that
demanding. I just want what I want, where I want it, the way I want
it. C'mon, don't you?
For example, wouldn't you like to have all your files and
favorite programs with you all the time so you could work anywhere?
That's been a near-universal ambition of computer users since
PCs were born. (Last millennium, I paid $1,795 to achieve it.
Unfortunately, my DOS-based Osborne portable weighed 25 pounds and
held only 91KB of data per floppy--not exactly the ultimate
work-anywhere solution.)
Over the years, we've tried lighter portables,
higher-capacity media, cable transfers, remote-control programs and
websites. They get the job done, yet we can still forget or
accidentally overwrite files when moving between desktops. But a
consortium of flash storage and software companies has come up with
an approach that might finally make moving your workspace a real
no-brainer.
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U3 is a Windows software layer/environment that turns
tiny-but-spacious USB flash sticks into "smart" drives
capable of holding programs and data. Instead of hauling a portable
around or having to think when syncing, you store all your
most-used files and programs on one of these key chain hangers-on.
That includes the latest versions of macros, bookmarks, e-mail and
other changing elements of your desktop.
"You don't need to take a computer with you because
there are computers with USB ports everywhere you go now,"
reasons Ed Cuellar, director of marketing for SanDisk.
His company and fellow flash manufacturer M-Systems put the U3
Alliance together 18 months ago. In October, U3 Alliance members
began shipping smart versions of their 256MB to 2GB flash drives
(see "Stick of the Litter" on page 70). So far, 512MB
drives sell best--primarily because most are under $50, explains
Cuellar.
Expect 1GB versions to take over that price point early next
year, says Allen Gharapetian, vice president of marketing at
Memorex. At the same time, you'll also find U3 versions of
external hard drives using those teeny, tiny platters. In addition
to its U3 flash drives, Memorex will launch a U3 version of its
Mega TravelDrive next quarter, a 4GB hard drive the size of a thick
match-book. Says Gharapetian, "We plan to convert everything
we can to U3."
Why Not DIY?
I know what you're thinking: Why not just copy your PC programs
to a USB flash or hard drive?
Because it's illegal. Adobe, Microsoft and other members of
the Business Software Alliance get medieval on any business they
find without a separate license for every program on disk.
The U3 environment puts you on the right side of licensing and
digital rights agreements, and many smart drives are already
populated with U3-compliant programs like Mozilla Firefox and
Thunderbird, Skype and Trillian communications programs, or file
managers like PowerHouse Technologies' Migo . This tiny utility
easily synchronizes your workspace between a smart drive and a host
PC, a popular theme among U3 programs. For example, BeInSync Pro will
synchronize several PCs over the internet, and for backup, Kadena Systems'
PocketCache+ takes a snapshot of a drive's contents with a
mouse click.
U3 is still just getting off the ground, though, and noticeably
absent from its program directory is Microsoft. Several programs
like Imagine
LAN's P.I. Protector try to fill that vacuum by making it
easy to use Microsoft Outlook components with U3 drives, since any
Windows application on a PC host is able to access files on a smart
drive.
The really important piece on all U3 drives is a Windows Start
Menu-like environment called Launchpad. It's very slick and
very quick. Launchpad requires only 6MB of space, and not one more
brain synapse than Windows does. It lets you use the resources of a
host PC without changing them; when you unplug your smart drive,
you take all traces of yourself--settings, cookies, bookmarks--with
you.
Speaking of Security
That characteristic suggests smart drives might also be a solution
to our growing security problems--which mobility only complicates.
Portables get lost and stolen at an alarming rate, and we're
fast approaching the day when software-only security solutions
won't be enough, even for office desktops.
Smart drives let you maintain your own super-secure space inside
whatever PC or network you join. They are just the kind of hardware
tokens increasingly required for access to banks, networks and
other protected systems. It's not U3-compatible, but FingerGear's Bio
Computer-on-a-Stick, with its fingerprint scanner and AES data
encryption, might be the biometric role model of the future.
Smart drives may not be the ultimate answer, but they get us
closer to it than we've ever been. They're cheap, easy to
use, and make great stocking stuffers, too.
Stick of the Litter
All smart drives include the U3 Launchpad; some include additional
programs. Drives and software are found on the U3 website.
Mike Hogan is Entrepreneur's
technology editor.