USB Devices

In the 1990s when personal computers were just starting to integrate into the average American household, the only way to transfer data between two different machines was through floppy discs.  As technology advanced, these floppy discs turned into hard discs, and eventually compact discs, or CDs.  This method was still quite inconvenient as the relative amount of storage was small, and with CDs, it was necessary to burn the data onto the CD beforehand.  The amount of storage provided by computer hard drives continued to advance, and eventually, the flash drive was invented.  The flash drive was designed to plug into the USB port standard on all computers, and functioned much like a smaller version of a hard drive.  USB flash drives became the common tools used to store documents, files, and even music and video.  The modern USB flash drives can store several gigabytes of memory; with even a 1 gigabyte flash drive equal to the storage on about 800 hard discs or 1.5 CDs. 

You can find flash drives capable of storing several gigabytes of data which fit in shirt or pants pocket with ease.  Most flash drives are about the size of keychain, and some are even designed to fit on key chains.  These USB flash drives have revolutionized technology and the manner in which data is transferred and stored.