cap or slider?

ordering a USB flash. i notice most all of them come with a "cap". a FEW (notably sandisk) have a "slider", and fewer still, some sort of foldout/switchblade action.

any preferences? i am sure i will lose the cap if i get it. is it really a big deal? is DUST on the terminals a major priority?

seems to me the slider and switchblade models are generally more expensive.

 

I'm like you, I'll lose that cap. The fold out kind seem to me like they might break a little easier. So I'd opt for a slider myself. I haven't had any issues that I've known of with dust, and my place is not dust free. Ultimately though I'd likely go by price over anything else. That and wether or not you could use it for ReadyBoost (Win7/Vista).

 

"ReadyBoost"? ooh, ooh, do tell.

i'm having every problem known to mankind with my w7...i don't wanna accidentally buy one that's not even compatible!

cap or no cap i was leaning toward the absolute cheapest of the 8Gs. just trying to xfer my XP files over to the w7 machine.

when prices come down i'll get a 128G or something. for now small and cheap seems right.

 

Readyboost has no concern for your intending purpose. Readyboost can add the flash's space as extra ram for the computer if needed. But as far as just transfering stuff, a flash drive is a flash drive is a flash drive.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ReadyBoost

It helps improve performance a bit. It's not like adding more RAM though. It does require that you need fast read/write speeds. Basically it acts as a faster cache system than writing to the hard drive. As Colemanguy states though for the purposes of transferring files it will be the same.

I already had high speed memory cards for my camera that were fast enough for Readyboost otherwise I would likely have never tried to find anything fast enough for that.

 

ok, i think i got it. one question, tho: if flash is so efficient that windows is improved every time one of these external devices is available, why isn't the HDD made out of flash IN THE FIRST PLACE?!

a year ago techies were telling me this was imminent, but, having scoped a bunch of laptops the last two weeks, i didn't see a SINGLE ONE claiming to have "solid-state HDD". a few netbooks did, i believe, but no laptops.

 

SSDs are still expensive, and it's proven that the FIRST thing people look at when considering something for purchase is the price. You can easily replace the HDD in a laptop for a SSD. SSDs will get cheaper and become more commonplace in pre-built computers in the future, I believe.

EDIT: To comment on the original question, I keep my flash drives in a drawer, so dust isn't an issue anyway. I have a few sliders, a few with caps, and a few with lost caps. The only thing I can tell you is, I did get one sport edition one (big rubber case on the outside). It's so fat, that it's easy to bump it and bend the USB connector when it's plugged in. Other than that, they all work just fine.

Suggestion: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211456

 

I am like mcsmc and have a variety, personally i prefer my Sandisk (with the slider) even though they are a bit more expensive but that is not to say the others are less reliable.

 

I have all three. In most cases, the cap snaps on to the other end. I do this so I don't lose the cap.

 

I recently bought a Corsair 16GB for 14.99 (after rebate) from Newegg. It has the cap and also has a rubber casing around it. While the rubber casing might help protect it, it can "bind" against other USB plugs in a system. And the cap doesn't clip onto the other end.
So, long and short... Don't like the cap... Don't like the "fatness"
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