The joys of technology
Lets talk about those inventions that impact our lives in a significant manner. Some are so common that we don't even notice them: glass drinking vessels, electric light bulbs, paved roads. Can you imagine slicing your own bread? Well, not all that long ago everyone sliced their own bread, chopped wood, and there weren't any dry cleaners. However, I want to discuss a different invention today, what I believe to be the greatest invention of modern times: the USB flash drive.
According to Wikipedia (I know, bad place to get info but hey - this is a blog post, not my thesis) Trek and IMB began selling USB flash drives commercially in 2000. It had a storage capacity of 8 MB, way more than floppy disks. Who remembers floppy disks? I sure do, and I remember all the bad jokes that went with them.
Why am I so enamored with the USB drive, you ask? Of course, my faithful readers will recall the Great Laptop Fire of 2010. My screen never fully recovered, and I was plagued with threadlike black vertical lines. The screen finally gave up the ghost this past weekend and was rushed to the computer hospital. After a quick triage, it was deemed salvagable. And, my four years worth of writing stored within said laptop has emerged unscathed.
Not that I'm the untrusting type (and where we brought the laptop - Computers & More in Amherst, MA - does excellent work) but I wanted all my precious files backed up before we dropped it off. I was scouring the house for blank discs when I recalled my USB flash drive, faithful compantion of my college days. On my lone flash drive I have now stored the full five book series of the Chronicles of Parthalan, my in-progress urban fantasy, various art projects, and a short story about fire faries. Oh, and Zombie Love Song, since everything's better with zombies.
According to Wikipedia (I know, bad place to get info but hey - this is a blog post, not my thesis) Trek and IMB began selling USB flash drives commercially in 2000. It had a storage capacity of 8 MB, way more than floppy disks. Who remembers floppy disks? I sure do, and I remember all the bad jokes that went with them.
Why am I so enamored with the USB drive, you ask? Of course, my faithful readers will recall the Great Laptop Fire of 2010. My screen never fully recovered, and I was plagued with threadlike black vertical lines. The screen finally gave up the ghost this past weekend and was rushed to the computer hospital. After a quick triage, it was deemed salvagable. And, my four years worth of writing stored within said laptop has emerged unscathed.
Not that I'm the untrusting type (and where we brought the laptop - Computers & More in Amherst, MA - does excellent work) but I wanted all my precious files backed up before we dropped it off. I was scouring the house for blank discs when I recalled my USB flash drive, faithful compantion of my college days. On my lone flash drive I have now stored the full five book series of the Chronicles of Parthalan, my in-progress urban fantasy, various art projects, and a short story about fire faries. Oh, and Zombie Love Song, since everything's better with zombies.
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