flash memory

Should I Back Up to an SD Card, USB Stick, or SSD?

I see the appeal of slipping a little SD card into your computer for backups, but the safety of your data on that card has me worried.

What’s the Difference Between Memory and Disk Space?

Let me clear up a common mix-up between RAM, hard drives, SSDs, and flash drives, what each does, how they differ, and why knowing matters when buying or troubleshooting your computer.

Is It OK to Leave a Thumb Drive Inserted All the Time?

Leaving a flash drive or USB thumb drive plugged in all the time runs a small risk of prematurely wearing it out. We’ll look at why, and what to do.

Can a USB Flash Drive Wear Out?

While the technology continues to improve, flash memory has a limited number of times it can be written to and can, in fact, wear out.

Does downloading a lot on my smartphone shorten its life?

Constantly writing to an SD card will shorten its life. The question is how much? That’s going to depend on several factors.