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Posts Tagged ‘data’

The Risks of Putting an Auto-Run File on Your USB Sticks

Friday, October 14th, 2011

If you’re planning to hand out USB memory sticks branded with your logo printed on them then one of the things you might need to consider is whether to pre-load any files onto the USB sticks before you hand them out. If you do decide to pre-load files then should you make these run (start-up) automatically as soon as the USB stick is connected to a PC?

Loading files (sales brochures, photos, prices lists, press releases, presentation slides etc.) is growing in popularity, which is hardly surprising given the money that can be saved, compared to printing the brochures etc. but should you “auto-run” this content:

The advantages of setting up your files to auto-run are:

  • The recipient will see your content as soon as they plug in the USB stick – typically the first item they are
    USB Data Load

    USB Data Load

    presented with is a “landing” page which then directs them to other content of the USB stick – a bit like a web page.

  • Using a USB stick with an autorun file on is easy and very intuitive (providing you spend some time on the file formats(s), the structure and you develop a navigation page)
  • You can be sure that the information you pre-load on the USB stick is seen (even if it is only the initial landing page)

But, there are some things that need careful consideration before you decide you want to install auto-run files on your USB sticks:

  • Nuisance factor. If one of your objectives is to ensure that your USB Memory Sticks are kept and used on a regular basis then bear in mind that every time the user wants to access or save a document they will have to wait for your auto-run to run. This is typically fine the first few times they use the stick, but pretty soon it’s going to get irritating and they’ll relegate the memory stick to a draw – bang goes any on-going brand exposure!
  • They don’t work on old Operating Systems - Autoruns will not work on Win 98 or Win 2000 operating systems and you need to adapt any autorun if you want it to work on Macs.
  • Corporate Firewalls – Some corporate firewalls and IT policies restrict autoruns because of worries about viruses. So, if you are targeting companies with your files lots of them might not be able to use the sticks if they have an auto-run on them.

There are alternatives to autoruns that are less intrusive but achieve the same sort of result without being a nuisance and these are:

  • Click Here to Start – load your data onto the USB Stick with an icon labelled ‘Click Here To Start’ and allow the user to access the data when they want.  This data can be protected so it would not be deleted, but overcomes may of the issues detailed above.
  • Print a QR Code (Quick Response) on the USB stick that takes the user directly to your web page (or landing page) when scanned – all new Smart phones, iPhones and iPads can scan QR codes and then dynamically open up a web page.

Our advice based on many years of selling millions of promotional USB sticks is to avoid autoruns if you can because people don’t like them, they get in the way of how they want to use the USB stick(s) and if you put them on the sticks will have a short life and you’re brand won’t get the exposure you’re paying for.

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The Risks of Putting an Auto-Run File on Your USB Sticks

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Playboy Collection Released on USB Hard Drive

Wednesday, December 1st, 2010

Playboy have just released a neat portable USB Drive that comes with an electronic copy of every edition of the Playboy magazine since it was launched in 1953! That’s 56 years of Playboy magazines totalling 650 issues and well over 100,000 pages – enough to keep even the most ardent of fans happy.

Payboy USB Drive

Playboy USB Drive

Now whilst the Playboy magazine might not be everyone’s cup of tea it does illustrate yet another way in which USB storage devices are being used to give access to vast amounts of information in a simple, portable and easy to use format. Whilst much of this information is no doubt already available on the web the sheer scale of the information put on these disks makes them a great alternative. Not everyone has access to fast download speeds or has good connectivity so expect more companies to release large collections of this type on portable USB flash drives or disks.

Another collection of popular material that spanned several decades is the Beatles Collection that was released last year by Apple Records on a very attractive “apple shaped” custom USB flash drive. Not only did this flash drive hold 14 albums but it also contained 13 documentary films and rare photographs of the band.

Apple USB Drive

Apple USB Drive

Its not just publishing houses and record labels that are catching onto the benefits of distributing customised USB flash drives pre-loaded with data. USB flash drives and increasingly disks have always been popular giveaways because they are a great way of getting a company brand exposure and garnering loyalty from the user. But, its fair to say that historically companies that distribute Flash Drives have neglected to use the storage space inherent in the drive but as prices fall for larger capacity drives more and more are realising this is a missed opportunity.

If you’re given a USB flash drive at a show, conference, seminar or press event then these days its likely the USB drive is going to be stuffed full of information about the company who paid for them and gave them away. The type of information pre-loaded onto these USB sticks typically includes sales brochures, product sheets, press releases, links to web sites, and occasionally media files such as movies or audio files.

Intel USB Hard Drive

Intel UBS Hard Drive

Undoubtedly the content, as compelling as it might be, won’t have quite the same appeal to some as the entire collection of the Playboy magazine.

If you are a company looking to buy or use promotional USB memory sticks then as peculiar as it might seem you should take a lead from Hugh Hefner and the Beatles and pre-load your USB drives with information about your company.

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Playboy Collection Released on USB Hard Drive

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Understand Them And Take Care of Your USB Flash Drives

Tuesday, September 14th, 2010

USB Flash drives are incredibly popular and consequently we’re all using them more and more to store and carry our personal and work data and files around with us. But, just like any data that is stored digitally data saved onto a flash drives is susceptible to corruption and if this happens you could potentially lose your files or incur hefty fees to data recovery specialist to try and recover your files.

If you use USB flash drives then there are a few things you can do to reduce the risk of data corruption and loss and this starts with understanding exactly what a USB flash drive is and how it works. Once you have a grasp of the basics its then much easier to understand the “do’s and don’ts” of how you use them which in turn will hopefully reduce any failures.

Twister USB

Twister USB

What is flash memory

Flash memory is probably the most commonly used digital storage in use in the world today. Flash is “solid state” memory with no moving parts and data is written to it and erased from it electronically over and over again. If you own a mobile phone, digital camera, MP3, iPod, or USB flash drive then you’ll have a product, which uses flash memory, but as you might expect there are differences in terms of quality and performance between the different types of flash memory flash available in the market.

The different types of flash memory typically used are:

Single Layer Cell Flash Modules (SLC) – This is the most expensive of all the flash modules you can buy because it uses less power (which in turn gives better battery life), it has excellent read/write speeds and because the data is written into a single cell (one bit of data is stored in a single cell) it is less susceptible to corruption. The vast majority of branded USB flash drives supplied by USB2U use SLC flash modules.

Multi Layer Cell Flash Modules (MLC) – As the name implies these flash modules store two bits of data per cell and hence can store twice the amount of information but with this improved data storage comes slight higher power consumption and a lower expected life. Because it’s cheaper than SLC flash modules MLC is commonly found in everyday consumer products.

Triple Layer Cell Flash Modules (TLC) – TLC flash modules are the cheapest type of flash available today. They allow you to write three bits of data to each data cells but the trade off is slower read/write speeds and a much lower life expectancy coupled with a greater propensity to fail. As such TLC flash modules tend to be used in “low end” consumer products where data storage is not “critical”.

Understanding how flash memory works:

Flash memory is a solid state “chip” that has no moving parts – it looks like a small printed circuit board encased in rubber so its not particularly exciting to look at but more importantly it is small, quiet, uses little power and generates hardly any heat. Data is “written” to the flash electronically as a series of “bits” and is erased in the same way.

Typical reasons for data corruption:

Life expectancy reached – Flash modules have a life expectancy and when reached they can lose their ability to retain data. Typically this is several thousand read/write cycles but the life expectancy will vary depending on the quality of chip used.

Condensation – If the products the flash modules are used are subjected to extremes of temperatures or humidity this can cause the flash module to short circuit or for corrosion of the contacts to build up.

Premature Removal – the most common reason for data loss when using a USB flash drive is removing the USB flash drive whilst it is still in use and without going through the “stop” and “safely remove” process. Doing this typically won’t damage your flash drive it will commonly lead to the loss of some/all of the data.

Branded USB Flash Drives

Branded USB Flash Drives

If you use USB flash drives to store critical data on then its worth ensuring you buy flash drives that use top grade flash chips (SLC chips) and you should make sure when you use the flash drive that you “stop” the drive using the “safely remove hardware” option before you physically remove it from the PC. Also bear in mind that flash memory degrades over time and has a life expectancy which when reached will mean permanent failure. So, if you’ve got a USB flash drive that’s been used regularly over a number of years its probably not a good idea to rely on it for the storage of critical data or precious photo’s!

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Understand Them And Take Care of Your USB Flash Drives

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On the Grid We Have Maserati, Mercedes, Porsche Branded Memory Sticks

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

Gentlemen start your engines. Not only are some of the worlds most advanced motor manufactures constantly challenging the boundaries of what makes a great motor car but they are now looking at how they use the latest USB memory stick products within their marketing plans, their trade shows and during their driving day experiences.

Promotional Flash Drives

For an industry that is renowned for its technological innovation, its cutting edge design and impressive marketing it’s perhaps no surprise that the leading manufactures have embraced the humble USB Memory Stick. After all, there are significantly more things you can do with a memory stick than you can do with a CD or DVD and they’re far more popular with customers, dealers, showroom staff and the motoring press.

Branded Memory Sticks

Branded flash drives are popular because done well can look absolutely stunning, they are an excellent and relatively cheap way to distribute large amounts of sales and technical data, advertising movie clips, road tests reports and links to web sites. They’re also excellent for use at trade shows to draw prospective customers to your stand (albeit the cars normally do a pretty good job of this anyway) and they are a great idea to hand out to journalists and members of the motoring press at Press Events.

Some of the more innovative uses include capturing driver data (and car performance data) during race days and driving days. At the end of the race/driving experience the data can be uploaded from the memory stick onto a PC for review and analysis. This is something that was simply not possible with CD/DVD technology but now, providing memory sticks with the right performance specification are used, it’s easily achieved.

Branded USB

At the moment the motoring industry is only scratching at the surface of what’s doable with a USB memory stick and understanding where they can add value but given their constant competition between the brands both on and off the track its going to be an interesting space to keep an eye on!

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On the Grid We Have Maserati, Mercedes, Porsche Branded Memory Sticks

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