Still Using a FlashDrive?

With a new school year upon us, we are seeing dated tech gear drop down further and further in pricing as a way to compensate for the decreasing need/ practicality of owning out-dated gadgets. The once-sought-after USB Flash Drive is one such artifact that is decreasing in price and popularity. Since internet access is everywhere nowadays it is much easier to logon and pull up a word document than it is connecting a flash drive and sifting through a tree of unorganized folders; not to mention the hurtle of remembering the flash drive in the first place. It was not even a few years ago that you could walk onto a high school or college campus and find a flash drive in the backpack of each student, and probably teacher. Though if there is anything that technological advancements within the last decade have taught us, it’s that users will use whatever requires the least amount of work and puts the smallest dent in their wallet. If the annoyance of keeping track of the USB isn’t enough to dissuade you, take into consideration how vulnerable y2u are to security breaches (in other words, if the drive is found by anyone they will have complete access to your stored information). This is insanely dangerous whether you are a university student or the CFO of a fortune 500 company.

If I were forced to choose a main cause to the downfall of the flash drive, it would have to be the increased use of mobile phones to access and edit information. Who doesn’t love the ability to take out their phone and kill some time by getting a little work done? Unfortunately this is an utter impossibility in the case of flash drives; and as mobile devices become a primary-use device, people are finding more excuses to trash their USB.

Just in case the absurdity associated with purchasing a flash drive at this day in age is unclear, allow me to set up a scenario:
Finals week is quickly approaching, and you have spent the last few nights slaving over an array of essays, study guides and homework assignments all conveniently stored on your trusty flash drive. The day before all work is to be submitted, you are in the computer lab making final revisions and leaving with your head held high. As morning rolls around, you saunter over to the library to print all of your hard work. This is when the thought strikes; you didn't remove your flash drive from the USB port after saving the night before. As that familiar Goosebump sensation jolts down your spine, you dash to the computer lab with the hope that your flash drive is waiting for you where you left it; to no avail. Of course nothing has been turned in to the lost and found of the college, and so your academic standing will now be dependent on the courtesy of your instructors (an idea that would make any current college student shiver).

As if you haven’t already guessed it, the above tale is indeed a first-hand account to one of our DHQ tech engineers. It is experiences like this that urge us to scream a bit of sense into children standing in line at Target with their new flash drives gliding down the item belt (though common decency reminds us of our place). The point is; even if you don’t go with the superior Clout IT service of DriveHQ, at least get rid of the flash drive. It’s your funeral.