The Pen Drive: Pandering To Memory Needs

Pen drives or USB drives are small and light devices for memory storage. Coupled with the universal serial bus connector, they are removable and rewritable. Compared with other storage devices like the floppy disk, the pen drive also offers several advantages. First, they store more data and are faster and more compact. Second, they are more reliable, as they involve no mobile parts. Third, their design provides durability.

Usually, computers come with no floppy drives, while pen drives are available at all PC and laptop dealers. Supported by the latest operating systems like Windows, Mac, Linux, the pen drive uses the USM mass storage standard. The pen drive or flash drive consists of a small plastic or metallic circuit board housed in casings, so that it can be carried around like a key chain, while a cap protects it.

In addition, the pen drive can be connected directly to the computer, and plugging it into a built-in USB host controller or a USB Hub gives access to stored data.


The pen drive integrates old technologies with new features like mini size, low cost and minimum power consumption. The memory is based on previous EPROM expertise. Contents are erased completely and electrically without using UV light. But for the later models, partial erasing is possible. As such, the latest pen drives are miniature version of the microprocessor system.

The new model of pen drives enables serial access to memory storage. They come with the development of small but high-speed (using low power) systems. Many MP3 players can be used as a pen drive.

Trek first marketed its pen drives in 2000, and the next generation of flash or pen drives have USB 2.0 connectivity.

The shapes and sizes of pen drives vary. One even looks like a delectable piece of sushi, but over-designing may lead to bulkiness. Nowadays, pen drives have also been integrated to portable items like watches, pens and a penknife. Some even look like bricks and toys.

The wide use of pen drives has led to issues regarding data security, so biometrics and encryption are becoming common. Pen drives are popular with those who deal with system and network administration for configuration, system maintenance. Naturally, the pen drive has become indispensable in the field of PC repair.

Immune to scratches and dust problems, pen drives are ideal for transferring data from one location to another. The object is almost ubiquitous, as it works with any computer. Its storage capacity is dense and its power consumption is low. No additional device is required to read from and write on pen drives. Pen drives can even withstand chewing from puppies and soaking in the washing machine. No one should forget to use the pen drive to satisfy their memory needs!