Usb wi-fi flash drive connector really works. Impressive

Well.....

to all who care...here I am in Maui on Super Tuesday....heading home in 2 days.........I have not thought about work a lot but I did come across a great new USB tool. Netgears USB 2.0 wifi connector WG111........we did not have a line into our Hawaii hotel room so we went to Radio Shack and they had this very cool device.....plug it in and voila...!! a wireless connection from my laptop. As is sip very strong Kona coffee and wonder if I tan or snorkel today...I find I can surf the net and check mail easily with this device.......When I get back to the office I am going to research this as an additon to our Flash Drive Direct collection.........really great stuff.....

John

Free 4 GB Flash Drive. A promotional industry first.

This month at Flash Drive Direct, everyone who orders a 100 piece minimum order of at least 1 Gb or more gets a FREE 4 GB Windows Vista Flash Drive.

There will be a skill testing question like....."4 plus 2 ='s" but for the most part if you call in and order you will get the free 4 GB.

Why are we doing this...? Just because we can......plus I went to Geico and saved a ton on my auto insurance ........also I lost weight at Jenny Craig......so basically we are in a really generous mood...

As well we want you to discover the wonders of a Large Drive.......yes bigger is better.......(what are you thinking...tsk, tsk....)

Aloha.....still packing

Windows Vista Ready Boost explained to a normal human

Dear All,

Not quite yet on the plane and thought I'd tell you about our line of Vista Ready Boost Flash Drives...

Point 1 is the simple explanation of what is is and what it does.......Point 2 is for the technogeek who really wants to know about this stuff and is often seen lurking in the memory and hardware section of your local Web Geek store and works on the weekend for The Geek squad...pick your poison.

1) Windows ready boost simplified....There are certain flash drives that have the ability to increase your computers Memory (RAM Random Access Memory) by the size of their memory. Ie if you have a ready boost flash drive such as those pictured here, simply by plugging them into a PC (not Mac) that has Vista as an O/S (operating system) it will increase your computers speed allowing for complex memory hungry tasks (photoshop, spamming, surfing porn and wiping your tracks so the boss doesn't catch you) by the amount of the memory of your flash drive.

Really simple: If you have 2 GB of RAM (memory used to perform immediate tasks) on your laptop and it has Windows Vista on it, if you plug in your 4 GB ready boost Flash Drive then you will have 6 GB of RAM (memory)......simple...and how cool is that...?

Well I am off for one last Fabutan before I go to Hawaii..........I wonder if its too late to get liposuction...?

PS.....This month get a FREE 4 GB windows ready boost flash drive just for selling some Flash Drive Direct drives.

anyways...what follows is the Geek explanation......go for it..

Using ReadyBoost-capable flash memory (NAND memory devices) for caching allows Windows Vista to service random disk reads with performance that is typically 80-100 times faster than random reads from traditional hard drives. This caching is applied to all disk content, not just the page file or system DLLs. Flash devices are typically slower than the hard drive for sequential I/O, so to maximize performance, ReadyBoost includes logic to recognize large, sequential read requests and then allows these requests to be serviced by the hard drive.[2]
When a compatible device is plugged in, the Windows AutoPlay dialog offers an additional option to use the flash drive to speed up the system; an additional "ReadyBoost" tab is added to the drive's properties dialog where the amount of space to be used can be configured.[3] 250 MB to 4 GB of flash memory can be assigned. ReadyBoost encrypts, with AES-128, and compresses all data that is placed on the flash device; Microsoft has stated that a 2:1 compression ratio is typical, so that a 4 GB cache could contain upwards of 8 GB of data.[1]
According to Jim Allchin, for future releases of Windows, ReadyBoost will be able to use spare RAM on other networked Windows Vista PCs.[4]
For a device to be compatible and useful it must conform to the following requirements:
The capacity of the removable media must be at least 256 MB (250 after formatting)
Devices larger than 4 GB will have only 4 GB used for ReadyBoost
The device should have an access time of 1ms or less
The device must be capable of 2.5 MB/s read speeds for 4 KB random reads spread uniformly across the entire device and 1.75 MB/s write speeds for 512 KB random writes spread uniformly across the device
The device must have at least 235 MB of free space
NTFS, FAT16 and FAT32 are supported
The initial release of ReadyBoost supports one device
The recommended amount of memory to use for Windows ReadyBoost acceleration is one to three times the amount of random access memory (RAM) installed in your computer

[edit] Performance
[1]. A system with 512 MB of RAM (the minimum for Windows Vista) can see significant gains from ReadyBoost. In one test case speeding up an operation from 11.7 seconds to 2 seconds (increasing physical memory from 512 MB to 1GB reduced it to 0.8 seconds). [2]. Systems with 1 GB or more do not show a significant effect on tests to date.
The core idea of ReadyBoost is that a flash drive has a much faster seek time (less than 1 millisecond), allowing it to satisfy the requests fairly quickly compared to a hard drive when booting or reading certain system files. It also leverages the inherent parallelism of having two sources from which to read data. Unfortunately, low-cost flash drives are slow in terms of sequential reads and writes, compared to modern desktop hard drives -- 7200 rpm hard drives can sustain 60-80 MB/s, which is 6 to 8 times faster than the 10 MB/s sustained by the fastest low-cost flash drives [3]. The only advantages these flash drives have are a seek time of around 1ms, compared to the 8-12ms typical on modern SATA drives.High-cost ($1,000-$50,000) solid state memories currently have random sustained external throughput up to 3 GB/s (TMS RamSan) and latency as low as 0.003 ms (Violin 1010) [4].
On laptop computers the performance shifts more in the favor of flash memory, laptop memory being priced relatively higher than that for desktop systems, and with many laptops using relatively slow 4200 rpm and 5400 rpm hard drives. Additionally, on a laptop, the ReadyBoost caching can reduce hard drive access, allowing the hard drive to spin down for increased battery life [5]. Additionally, because of the nature of the power management typically enabled during mobile use of a laptop it is a more power efficient way of increasing equipment productivity.
The performance of NAND flash caching (in the form of Intel's Turbo Memory technology) has also been called into question by some computer manufacturers [6].

[edit] Note

News: SD Card doubles as Flash Drive eliminates card reader

USB manufacturer Flash Drive Direct has released the first SD card that doubles as a USB flash drive, or vice versa. One end of the card has the connectors of a regular USB 2.0 interface while the other end has the same interface of a regular Secure Digital, making it compatible with many digital cameras and PDAs.

The Double Card is touted as the perfect storage for eliminating the need to bring along a SD card reader. Initially, the 1 GB version will wholesale for around 14$

Samsung unveils 32GB Flash-based 'HDD killer' for Flash Drives

For those who still don't get the idea that Samsung is THE ONLY flash chip manufacturer to consider for their flash drives....have a gander at this

Samsung unveils 32GB Flash-based 'HDD killer'

Samsung has launched what it reckons its the world's first 32GB NAND Flash-based hard disk drive replacement unit. The company claimed the so-called "solid state disk" can access data three times faster than an HDD can and write files one-and-a-half times more quickly - though we don't know what HDD spec it was comparing its product to.
The SSD is a 2.5in form-factor product that operates at 5V and connects across a 66MHz Ultra DMA parallel ATA bus. Samsung said the unit consumes just five per cent of the energy it takes to run a hard drive.

Samsung launched the product in Taiwan, the better to attract the islands' numerous notebook manufacturers, who produce almost all of the world's mobile computers. Samsung is particularly keen to get its drive into laptops, which it believes will benefit most from the SSD's lower power consumption.

As the world's largest manufacturer of NAND Flash, Samsung wants to broaden the memory technology's appeal beyond MP3 players and memory cards. It has been working with Microsoft on the idea, and Windows Vista will support the use of NAND Flash caches to speed boot times. Intel recently unveiled 'Robson', an add-in card that uses a NAND Flash bank to cache operating system components to reduce start-up times and help cut battery consumption.

Samsung's SSD is seen more as an alternative to an HDD than something that operates alongside one, it seems. Samsung believes the SSD market will be worth $4.5bn by 2010, up from $540m this year.

Flash Drives advantages over other memory devices.

Advantages of a Flash Drive.....

Flash drives are nearly impervious to the scratches and dust that were problematic for previous forms of portable storage, such as compact discs and floppy disks, and their durable solid-state design means they often survive casual abuse. This makes them ideal for transporting personal data or work files from one location to another, such as from home to school or office or for carrying around personal data that the user typically wants to access in a variety of places. The near-ubiquity of USB support on modern computers means that such a drive will work in most places.

Flash drives are also a relatively dense form of storage, where even the cheapest will store dozens of floppy disks worth of data. Many can hold more data than a CD (703[12] MB). Top of the line flash drives can store more data than a DVD.

The power consumption of a typical flash drive is very low, much lower than that of the common alternative, the portable hard disk, due to there being no moving parts inside a flash drive.

Portable hard disks, on the other hand, require several motors or actuators to rotate the disk platter, and move the read / write head. Consequently, the USB flash drive need not be as big, or heavy, allowing greater portability.

Flash drives implement the USB mass storage device class, meaning that most modern operating systems can read and write to flash drives without any additional device drivers. The flash drives present a simple block-structured logical unit to the host operating system, hiding the individual complex implementation details of the various underlying flash memory devices. The operating system can use whatever type of file system or block addressing scheme it wants. Some computers have the ability to boot up from flash drives.

Flash drives are much more tolerant of abuse than mechanical drives, but can still be damaged or have data corrupted by severe physical impacts. Improperly wired USB ports can also destroy the circuitry of a flash drive, a danger in home-built desktop PCs.

Some flash drives can retain their memory after being submerged in water even through a machine wash. Leaving the flash drive out to dry completely before allowing current to run through it has been known to result in a working drive with no future problems.

So there you have it..........keep on learning.......:)

How to Sell Flash Drives to the Promotional Marketplace.

How to Sell Flash Drives to the Promotional Marketplace.



Please don’t take this as an insult to your sales skills or a reflection of my ability to be right 98% of the time. Its just that I have worked both sides of the business and with so many things to sell, it always took me while to learn how to sell something new.



I remember when Pima cotton first came out, I described it as a fabrication designed by Puma and this was the wicking version. Doh!So I figured a sharing a few basics bits of knowledge about selling any Flash Drive (especially our Flash Drive Direct drives) wouldn’t hurt.......



1) What is a flash drive: A flash drive is a memory device for storing data. This includes, files, word docs, pictures, video. ANYTHING that can go on a computer can go on a flash drive.



2) It has NO MOVING parts: Beauty eh? No moving parts means no break downs.....no blue screen of death. Your PC and Mac has a Hard Drive which spins around at about a jillion revolutions per minute and has an arm (just like a turntable arm) that retrieves the data. Compare the 2....1) never breaks down......The other) will break down...it just depends on when.



3) A flash drive has NAND Flash memory? Who cares! To sell it you don’t need to know this....what you need to know is that there are 2 chips in each drive.....a)the memory chip and b) controller chip. What is important to know is that the chips are THE BEST. The only reliable mass produced chips are made by SAMSUNG and HYNIX. All of our drives are made from these chips. If you buy a drive that is not made with Samsung or Hynix you are buying crap. Simple!



4) Tier 1, USB 2.0, recycled memory, Tier 1, Windows Vista and MAC ready....what does this mean and why you should care?Simply put....a reliable quality flash drive MUST have USB 2.0 (this is a faster speedier chip) Tier 1 (means it is professional grade) Windows Vista and Mac ready...(This means the drive will run with these operating systems.....if it doesn’t have this designation you may have problems) Recycled/re-used/Tier 2 Memory: Personally I don’t know ( or want to know) any supplier who will tell you they sell this. Why? Because it is crap.....It will fail and no one will tell you....”Buy mine...its junk”.



So why do you need to worry about this? Call it what you will.... recycled memory, whatever.... it is basically “factory seconds” that didn’t make the Quality Control standards. They are often sold on a “Gray Market”. So how do you know? 1) Ask...2) The Price....Chip prices are commodity driven and prices go up and down....all reputable flash drive makers (such as us) price the wholesale according to the chip prices that day. If you are buying a 100 pieces of a 1GB for $10-12 dollars (as I write this) then it is likely you have Tier 1 USB 2.0 Samsung/Hynix chips......If someone says you can have it for $5 ......walk away, it is probably junk.



The emotional sell, the reasons why your clients should buy Flash Drives?



Now that we have all of the geeky techy junk out of the way...trust me I could have gone on and on...and on.......you don’t sell on technical issues do you...(its just a good thing to know)?.....you sell on emotion...you must present a good reason for someone to buy what you have to sell.........fortunately Flash Drives actually have some great legit reasons for corporations to buy them.....here are just a few



.1) They can be reused up to a million times: (yes someone actually counted it) this means that their logo will be seen forever! You can’t say that about Bang Sticks.



2) They are VERY USEFUL: They can hold 1000’s of files so they can be transferred to another computer, act as a back-up for safety, put their powerpoints and other presentations on it, put pictures, music files and just about anything else from your computer on it.



3) They are an EXCELLENT business tool: Not only can they do what’s descrived above, they can do a number of other things. PRELOADS, this is when files, presentations and more can be loaded onto the drive by the supplier. This way when the drives are given away/sold the recipient will have a fully loaded presentation. These are perfect for tradeshows, corporate identity building, fund raising, team building and more....MANUALS, BUSINESS REPORTS and more........forget about the expense, time and ecological bad karma when a corporation prints a 100 page report on business. Face facts:......With a business report, the summary gets skimmed over and then....into the circular file it goes. Flash drives help save the ecology.........when their initial use is no longer valid the user just erases the files and uses it to store their Captain and Tenille MP 3’s. Simple.



4) Bigger is Better: DO NOT SELL 64 MB, 128 MB or 256 MB Flash drives.....they are too small. They are not proportionately cheaper by a long shot and the people who recieve them have no use for them. They will chuck them in a drawer. If you want to give your client something they will be happy with and that you can be proud to sell......sell them a 1 GB or higher.....they are a great deal....big enough to hold lots of information and most importantly....people will use them. That’s the basics......there are always lots of new twists and turns with this technology....new uses and new venues for sales....but I hope the above gives you a small bit of knowledge to help you feel more comfortable about selling flash drives.ThanksIf we can be of help in any way...visit us at http://www.flashdrivedirect.com/ or email me at jg@flashdrivedirect.com