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170

Built in USB Flash Drive

170 points posted to Laptops by gradinw 06/27/08

Laptops should have a built in USB flash drive that can be ejected and used whenever and then put back into the laptop. This should not be some storage spot but a live USB port that is inside the machine so that the flashdrive is always available.

undead999
06/27/08		 why not use an express card ssd drive?
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/products/System_Drives/productdetail.aspx?...
aikiwolfie
06/27/08		 I'll promote this because it feeds into some other ideas about internal on-board storage for restore media.
kenjennings
06/27/08		 Is the$79 price on that express card SSD correct???
Lexar lists it for $209 on their web site. It's $179 at NewEgg.
(Sandisk has what looks like a similar product listed at $899)

Later. . .
I figure that $79 price must be correct -- I found the next closest price at Amazon for $85.
Another price comparison site showed 5 prices, the lowest at $88, and the other 4 from $108 to $197.
So, Dell seems to have the lowest price at the moment.

They're small, so I just ordered 2. Free shipping from Dell, too.

Later. . .
The cards arrived BEFORE Dell's projected "production" date. I plugged them into my m90 (running Linux), saw they were pre-formatted with one of those Microsoft file systems, so I reformatted them with ext3. They work like a charm.
james-94
06/27/08		 You can use the memory card reader for flash memory which comes on most computers. Just stick an SD card into it and you have a flash drive
gradinw
06/27/08		 the problem is "most". I want something that every computer can use and every modern laptop I know of has USB. I have a Macbook and it does not have an SD card reader.
james-94
06/27/08		 Well I was talking about Dell computers not macbooks
jdelidc
06/27/08		 i'd go with the internal USB and leave it at that. there's grandma's out there scared to death of opening the machine for fear of breaking it
undead999
06/28/08		 Dell could use some type of micro sized USB drive, i want a small laptop, anything that increases the size, footprint or weight will not appeal to customers like me.

http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2006/06/sony_micro_vault_mini_usb_drives...
aikiwolfie
06/28/08		 So what you're saying is, because you're Macbook doesn't meet your needs you want Dell to fix it? Well they have fixed it. They're perfectly willing to sell you a laptop that does meet your needs.
james-94
06/28/08		 SD cards still would work better. They have a higher capacity and are smaller than those micro vault drives.
dawn4598
06/29/08		 I like the idea of an internal drive. Vista would use this to speed up its operating system. It could be used for storage. It could be used to boot the OS faster. I do not want it sticking out of my computer, so USB sounds dumb to me.
aikiwolfie
06/29/08		 The whole point of this idea is to get Dell to develop something that makes using a Mac easier. That's the dumb part. Why would Dell do such a thing?
james-94
06/29/08		 lol
aniket
07/08/08		 just buy a memory stick pro duo and put it in ur lappy's card reader
u can use memory stick as a USB flash drive or use above mentioned micro sized usb flash drives
 
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