SanDisk Cruzer with 64 MB Secure Digital Card

Rating:
Summary: More than a neat little toy
Review: First, a note of explanation -- the Cruzer comes in different "sizes", which really only amount to the capacity of the flash memory card inside the little box. I bought one with the 64MB SD card; you can also look at the reviews for the 128MB module ... most of the insights will probably be the same.

It took a little doing in getting it to work on my Win98SE machine. After futzing around for a while, I found a set of instructions on SanDisk's website that basically says: "follow these 5 steps, ignore the error messages, and everything will be fine". Since then, sure enough, it's been cool.

You plug the thing into a USB port on your computer, and a pseudo disk drive appears (in Explorer; I do not have a Mac to test it on). On Win98, I had to go thru the aforementioned shenanigans to get it to work the first time; however, on a Win2k machine, it plugged and played immediately.

Once it's plugged in, you use it just like a disk drive. Move files between computers, store backups, have files to carry around with you all the time, to use on whatever computer computer you're at (instead of emailing them to yourself or whatever).

Only a few cons: 1) You pretty much have to carry the 3 inch pigtail cord around all the time, since few computers have flush-mounted USB ports. 2) The "carrying case" is useless; I never could get the Cruzer into the thing -- the fit was just too tight. However, the carrying case is only a thin bit of cloth, primarily designed to prevent scratches, I guess. (But the Cruzer itself is pretty sturdy; a light dense plastic that I could probably break with a hammer if I really wanted to, but it would take some effort. If you drop it on the floor, and I have, it is no worse for the wear.) 3) Moving the one big button, which changes the Cruzer from "plug it into the computer" mode to "take out the memory card" state, I found to be rather difficult. It takes some effort. But unless you're popping SD cards in and out all the time, this won't be a problem.

So (among other things), I now have a new way of backing up my Quicken data -- copy the files to this gizmo, and put the little gizmo in my little home fireproof safe. A lot faster and more reliable than a fistful of floppies.

Rating:
Summary: Powerpoint savior
Review: First, a note of explanation -- the Cruzer comes in different "sizes", which really only amount to the capacity of the flash memory card inside the little box. I bought one with the 64MB SD card; you can also look at the reviews for the 128MB module ... most of the insights will probably be the same.

It took a little doing in getting it to work on my Win98SE machine. After futzing around for a while, I found a set of instructions on SanDisk's website that basically says: "follow these 5 steps, ignore the error messages, and everything will be fine". Since then, sure enough, it's been cool.

You plug the thing into a USB port on your computer, and a pseudo disk drive appears (in Explorer; I do not have a Mac to test it on). On Win98, I had to go thru the aforementioned shenanigans to get it to work the first time; however, on a Win2k machine, it plugged and played immediately.

Once it's plugged in, you use it just like a disk drive. Move files between computers, store backups, have files to carry around with you all the time, to use on whatever computer computer you're at (instead of emailing them to yourself or whatever).

Only a few cons: 1) You pretty much have to carry the 3 inch pigtail cord around all the time, since few computers have flush-mounted USB ports. 2) The "carrying case" is useless; I never could get the Cruzer into the thing -- the fit was just too tight. However, the carrying case is only a thin bit of cloth, primarily designed to prevent scratches, I guess. (But the Cruzer itself is pretty sturdy; a light dense plastic that I could probably break with a hammer if I really wanted to, but it would take some effort. If you drop it on the floor, and I have, it is no worse for the wear.) 3) Moving the one big button, which changes the Cruzer from "plug it into the computer" mode to "take out the memory card" state, I found to be rather difficult. It takes some effort. But unless you're popping SD cards in and out all the time, this won't be a problem.

So (among other things), I now have a new way of backing up my Quicken data -- copy the files to this gizmo, and put the little gizmo in my little home fireproof safe. A lot faster and more reliable than a fistful of floppies.

Rating:
Summary: More than a neat little toy
Review: First, a note of explanation -- the Cruzer comes in different "sizes", which really only amount to the capacity of the flash memory card inside the little box. I bought one with the 64MB SD card; you can also look at the reviews for the 128MB module ... most of the insights will probably be the same.

It took a little doing in getting it to work on my Win98SE machine. After futzing around for a while, I found a set of instructions on SanDisk's website that basically says: "follow these 5 steps, ignore the error messages, and everything will be fine". Since then, sure enough, it's been cool.

You plug the thing into a USB port on your computer, and a pseudo disk drive appears (in Explorer; I do not have a Mac to test it on). On Win98, I had to go thru the aforementioned shenanigans to get it to work the first time; however, on a Win2k machine, it plugged and played immediately.

Once it's plugged in, you use it just like a disk drive. Move files between computers, store backups, have files to carry around with you all the time, to use on whatever computer computer you're at (instead of emailing them to yourself or whatever).

Only a few cons: 1) You pretty much have to carry the 3 inch pigtail cord around all the time, since few computers have flush-mounted USB ports. 2) The "carrying case" is useless; I never could get the Cruzer into the thing -- the fit was just too tight. However, the carrying case is only a thin bit of cloth, primarily designed to prevent scratches, I guess. (But the Cruzer itself is pretty sturdy; a light dense plastic that I could probably break with a hammer if I really wanted to, but it would take some effort. If you drop it on the floor, and I have, it is no worse for the wear.) 3) Moving the one big button, which changes the Cruzer from "plug it into the computer" mode to "take out the memory card" state, I found to be rather difficult. It takes some effort. But unless you're popping SD cards in and out all the time, this won't be a problem.

So (among other things), I now have a new way of backing up my Quicken data -- copy the files to this gizmo, and put the little gizmo in my little home fireproof safe. A lot faster and more reliable than a fistful of floppies.

Rating:
Summary: How many pictures will it store?
Review: How many pictures will it store? It is the most commonly asked question from digital camera enthusiast but usually the question that is the most difficult to get a straight answer about. Well, considering I worked in the memory industry for over 7 years I can help clarify this perplexing question and do so unbiased as I have since changed industries.

The SanDisk Cruzer with 64MB Secure Digital Card, like most 64MB cards, will store on average 71 pictures when used with a 2 megapixel camera, 53 images when used with a 3 megapixel camera, 32 pictures when used with a 4 megapixel camera, 25 images when used with a 5 megapixel camera, and 20 pictures when used with a 6 megapixel camera. These numbers are based off the assumption that you are going to shoot your images at the highest quality JPEG setting available for the camera and understand that they are estimates and may be off by as much as 10 percent due to numerous factors including the complexity of the scene being shot and the compression algorithm used by your specific camera.

I truly hope this review was helpful to you in determining whether this card is the right capacity for your specific needs.

Rating:
Summary: Powerpoint savior
Review: I give a lot of public presentations using powerpoint. In most cases, I have to send the presentation days before I am really happy so that the conference organizers can load it on the conference system, or we have to do an awkward swap and connect my laptop to the conference projector. Floppies can't hold a ppt of any decent length. No one has zip drives. I don't have time to burn my presentations on CD's or DVD's. So I bought the Sandisk Cruzer.

I can load 5-10 different presentations on the 64 mb card, and as long as the OS is windows 2000 or above, it is plug and play. It is great for swapping files between unnetworked systems (sneaker net). I love the fact that I can upgrade the memory with a simple, affordable SD flash memory purchase.

If you give speeches or presentations at conferences, the Cruzer is a must.