Sift and Sort

Introduction

This page explains USB Flash Drive terms such as USB, Flash memory, Memory stick, UFD and USB 2.0. It also describes U3 Smart Drives and their associated terms like U3 Launchpad.

Admin Rights

On some versions of Windows - especially XP Professional - you have to be special to install applications on your computer. In a corporate or school environment, the IT department will want to ensure that you can only run the applications which they approve. Only if you have "local admin rights", will you be able to install applications. The IT department, of course, gives themselves local admin rights on your work/school computer. See U3 Smart Drive as a way of bypassing this.

CD-R

Short for Compact Disc-Recordable. This is getting a bit long in the tooth now. You can only write once to a CD-R disk, though you can then read that data many times. Stores around 0.7Gb. Disks cost about £0.10 each.

CD-RW

Short for Compact Disc-ReWritable. Similar to CD-R, though you can write about a thousand times to one disk. Disks cost about £1 each.

Drive

A drive is the name for a computer's mass-storage device, like a floppy disk or hard disk. A USB Flash Drive is an easily-removable device which can be attached to a computer.

DVD-RAM

Your computer is more likely to have a DVD drive than a CD drive these days. You can erase the contents and rewrite onto the disk - up to 100,000 times. Designed primarily for computer use - their internal format is much like a hard disk drive. Disks cost about £1 each. A single disk stores around 4.7Gb.

Flash Memory

This is a form of computer memory. The contents can be erased and re-written hundreds of thousands of times. It is non-volatile, which means that the contents don't get lost when power is turned off - so it is ideal for battery-powered devices like cameras and USB Flash Drives.

Full Speed

1.5 megabytes per second (nearly ten times faster than Low Speed).. One of the data rates supported by USB devices. It was designed for electronic devices. This was the fastest speed supported prior to USB 2.0.

Hi-Speed

60 megabytes per second ( forty times faster than Full Speed).. One of the data rates supported by USB 2.0. Note that very few devices can go as fast as this at the moment.

Low Speed

187.5 kilobytes per second. One of the data rates supported by USB devices. It was designed for devices which interact with humans (keyboards, mice, ...).

Memory Stick

An alternative name for a USB Flash Drive. The term memory stick is also used to describe a form of flash memory card used to enhance cameras and MP3s - see photo.

Port

This is just another name for a connection on your computer.

Registry

A database containing profiles for each user and information about your installed applications. It is a key part of your Windows system, and resides on your computer's hard disk. When you install a normal Windows application, the install process puts many of the details that the application needs to run into the Registry.

 

UFD

Short for USB Flash Drive.

USB

USB stands for "Universal Serial Bus". The key word here is "universal", as many different devices can be attached to your computer via its USB ports. On your computer, look for this "USB trident", which will be marked on the USB ports.

USB 2.0

This is the current USB version, supporting Hi-Speed as well as the slower Low Speed and Full Speed.

USB Flash Drive

The subject of this section of Sift and Sort! A removable and transportable data storage device for your computer - see photo.

U3 Launchpad

When you insert the U3 Smart Drive into your computer, the U3 Launchpad automatically executes. It looks and feels just like the Windows Program Manager - what you see if you press the "Start" button now.

U3 Smart Drive

A version of USB Flash Drive which contains an extra component - the U3 Launchpad. This allows applications to be installed on, and run from, the drive. To Windows, the U3 Smart Drive appears as two drives: one "CD-ROM" from which the U3 Launchpad executes; and the normal USB drive.

Summary

We've shown you USB Flash Drive terms such as USB, Flash memory, Memory stick, UFD and USB 2.0. We've also described U3 Smart Drives and their associated terms like U3 Launchpad.