USB memory sticks
Also known as thumb, flash or pen drives, USB memory sticks represent
the most popular form of removable media for personal computers.
We recommend their use on both Mac & PCs
in shared learning spaces. They are compatible with all installed
computers in shared learning spaces. They are an easy to use,
high capacity, reliable and fast means of transporting files
between computers.
Read this user guide [PDF
471kb 4 pages] for instructions on how to use your USB memory
stick with PCs & Macs
in shared learning spaces.
The table below gives a brief outline of the pros & cons of the most
commonly used forms of removable/reusable media.
|
Device |
Pros |
Cons |
| Floppy disc |
- Easy to carry
- Reusable
- Cheap
|
- Floppy drives no longer supported on all computers in
University of Melbourne learning environments
- Slooooow data
transfer time
- Small amount of space (1.44MB)
- Easily damaged
- Outdated technology that is being slowly phased out
|
| Zip disc |
- Easy to carry
- Relatively large amount of space (up to 250MB)
- Reusable
|
- Zip drives no longer supported on computers in University
of Melbourne learning environments
- Expensive ($18 per 250MB disc)
- Outdated technology that is being slowly phased out
|
| CD-R |
- CD drives available on all computers in shared teaching
spaces
- Large amount of space (up to 800MB)
- Fast data transfer time
- Cheap
|
- Data can only be written to disc once
- Easily scratched
- Can be confusing for novice computer users
|
| CD-RW |
- CD drives available on all computers in shared teaching
spaces
- Large amount of space (up to 800MB)
- Fast data transfer time
- Reusable
- Cheap
|
- Easily scratched
- Can be confusing for novice computer users
|
| USB memory stick |
- Easy to carry
- Many storage sizes (from 128MB to 16GB+)
- Fast data transfer time
- Reusable
- Compatible with all computers in shared learning spaces
|
|
