It was only a few years ago that flash keys (sometimes called thumb drives or jump drives) were considered cutting edge technology. They were featured as futuristic gizmos in spy movies and espionage thrillers. Various companies competed to make them smaller and smaller. Small Dog used to offer 512MB and 1GB flash drives that were mere slivers of metal, and barely protruded from their host USB port. They were popular, though expensive and easily lost.
These days standard flash keys are mostly pretty boring. They tend to vary little in appearance or performance. They’re basically the modern version of a floppy disk, though more expensive with much higher capacity.
I recently needed a 4GB flash key to format as a bootable Linux disk. While Small Dog offers several different flash drives, the LaCie itsaKey caught my eye. It’s available in 4GB and 8GB capacities, and basically looks like a futuristic car key (and even incorporates a sturdy hole to go on a keychain). However, the design is not simple whimsy — the drive is made out of tough metal, not plastic. Also, the fact that the drive is the size of a car key is very appealing to me. It’s not a microscopic device that will get lost in my computer bag.
So far, I’ve been very happy with the itsaKey. It has a fast USB 2.0 connection, and is rated to read data up to 30 MB/s, and write data up to 10MB/s. The Itsakey is hot-pluggable and compatible with Mac and PC. It was fast enough to serve as a bootable Linux disk, and now I use it for transferring and transporting data. With its metal case, it should last a very long time.
I mean, a flash key is a flash key—don’t get me wrong. While the itsaKey a usable, functional tool, it also happens to have a fun appearance. It would make an excellent gift.