U3 USB Flash Disk - Smarter USB Key, Smarter User
October 11th, 2007
U3 USB Flash Disk technology is warming up to users. U3 USB Flash devices are said to be like having a laptop without a computer.
U3 is like any ordinary USB flash drive except that additional software and some special hardware provide the following benefits:
- Device level password
- Secure, encrypted channel from the PC to the smart USB device
- Unique ID assigned to each U3 drive
- U3 is a standard, so all U3 drives can run all U3 software
With U3, you can load your favorite applications like Firefox (complete with bookmarks & passwords), email client (like Thunderbird) with your emails and contacts, and Skype with your own user configuration.
So with a U3 flash disk, you can borrow anyones Windows PC, pop in your U3 device, and a U3 LaunchPad will offer a menu of the installed applications. And it’s password protected. The password can be used to protect data on the drive too, even if you don’t need applications on the drive.
As more users become aware of the risks of carrying unsecured data around on USB flash devices, these devices will become more popular.
AS more users decide not to tote the laptop when they only need email and maybe some data, these devices will become more popular yet.
Can you do a lot of this without the extra expense of U3? Yes, you sure can. But U3 makes it easier and more convenient. And if an extra $20 or so saves you an hour or more of hassle, it’s worth it for most of us.
If you decide you don’t want the U3 launchpad software taking up space on the USB flash disk, here’s a removal utility. If you decide you want the launchpad installed again, here’s a utility to reinstall it.
U3 devices are available everywhere.
Shop Buy.com or Amazon.com
