Lexar Media 128 MB Portable USB Jumpdrive (JDS128-231)

Rating:
Summary: Okay I guess
Review: Well, I bought this little thing to replace my zip disk (which was just a headache). And instead of bargaining online, I went to a store and bought it at a steep markup price. That aside, this thing truly is a nifty little gadget, but it's not without its drawbacks. Because of the security capability I bought this model over its skinnier competition, but this feature isn't all it's cracked up to be. The security program is pretty simple but in order to setup or access the secured part of the drive you need to install the program onto whatever machine you are using. This can be a real problem if you want to access your secured files from a public machine with security restrictions that prevent user installations. Another big drawback is its relative bulkiness, users may have trouble fitting it in USB ports next to other used ports.

On the plus side, the "PUBLIC" half of the drive (which is my entire drive now)is always available and it has seamlessly worked in every XP machine I've put it in to. XP simply detects and install it as an additional drive without any requirement from the user. (Go XP!) 98 users will have to DL the drivers and install, but this seems to be the status quo with all flash drives. Additionally, I haven't put it through much yet but it seems pretty durable.

Bottom Line: It works great and everyone should have one but I can't say I'd buy this exact model again.