Flash Memory By now, you’ve heard about “flash” memory. It’s the kind of memory commonly used in smaller mp3 players, like the iPod Nano and Shuffle, as well as those thumb-sized USB drives that you might even have on your keychain. Flash memory stores the things you want to save – your files, your music – on a computer chip, and not on a spinning hard drive. The upside is: there’s no moving parts, so flash memory can be lighter, thinner and more energy efficient. The down side? Well, right now, it’s capacity and cost per MB is significantly more than portable and exernal hard drives. But that’s changing. SanDisk recently announced a flash-based drive that can store 32 gigabytes of information. That could make for a really thin, light laptop, don’t you think? Expect such flash-based laptop computers as early as this year. First-generation machines will probably have a few bugs to work out, but since the memory format is already well-established, count on both a quick learning curve and adoption rate. Please note, Helpful.com, Helpfulboard, and Helpful Computer Consulting do not assume any responsibility or liability to any party who wishes to follow these tech tips. |