External Storage Options - By: Steve Mc Karmik

External storage offers a lot of benefits for companies and individuals. It means they can back up data and prevent catastrophically losing important or personal files; it means they can transport their data to other locations or systems and use them on the go; it means they can easily transfer files between gadgets and devices; it means they can keep data safe by encrypting it and hiding the storage device; it means they can share them with others or borrow files from other places; and it means they can save space on their computers’ hard drives. Everyone should have at least one form of external storage and would probably benefit from having several. Bellow are a list of the various options and their strengths and weaknesses.

Memory Cards – Sd memory cards (a popular make being SanDisk who make the SanDisk Ultra and SanDisk Extreme line) have the great advantages of being highly portable and compatible with a very large range of devices. Not only will memory cards work with most computers (those that don’t have in built memory card readers can use external memory card readers via the USB ports), but also with PDAs, phones, MP3 players and cameras – enabling users to quickly transfer files to their PC without needing wires. At the same time memory cards are cheap and reliable and will fit into any wallet or shirt pocket. SanDisk SD offer a range of memory cards, including the SanDisk Extreme range that allows up to 32GB of storage.

Online Storage – Online storage requires the user to set up their own domain name and from here they can then upload and download files as they wish (though some e-mail services offer quite a large amount of storage which can make a good alternative). Most web hosting providers will give the user unlimited storage meaning that there’s literally no limit to how much data they can store and retrieve online. At the same time however the transfer will be far slower with large files making it a fairly poor choice for video files and programmes etc. Online storage also needs updating once a year or once a month, and will leave the user unable to access their data where there is no internet connection.

Memory Pens – Memory pens such as SanDisk compact flash memory pens offer up to 256gb of storage in a portable and durable casing. This enables them to fit in pockets and on keyrings meaning you can keep a copy of your data with you at all times. While almost all computers can use memory pens (they simply plug in and play using the USB ports), unlike memory cards they cannot be used with smaller devices such as cameras. Look for SanDisk compact flash.

External Hard Drives – External hard drives offer the most space for storage and are the most secure making them perhaps the best option for straight forwards back up. However they are also more expensive and more difficult to transport making them not great as a method for transporting data.

About the Author

Don't forget to consider Memory cards as a viable and portable storage option. Sd memory cards are already used by many cameras.

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