I need a usb thumb drive that has a memory section and a microprocessor. This is basically what is on a smart card. Does anyone know if these exist?
2007-01-21 13:41:52 · 2 answers · asked by Andrew 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Other - Hardware
They all have microprocessors on them , that's what controls the read/write tasks of the memory.
2007-01-21 15:27:00 · answer #1 · answered by Venom 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The answer by Venom is incorrect. For one, flash drives are storage devices, not computer memory. You can't use a flash drive as memory for your computer can you? NO. It stores files, not helps the main processor of your computer with random access memory (RAM). Secondly, they don't contain microprocessors. A typical flash drive is made up of a USB connector, mass storage controller chip, flash memory chip, crystal oscillator, LED, switch for write protection and other small onboard components not worth mentioning.
These drives are all powered by your USB port. You can gain faster speeds by purchasing a USB 2.0 thumb drive w/ the corrisponding port on your computer. On newer models you can install a bootablel OS on the thumbdrive allowing you to use your own system and preferences from a computer that allows USB booting as an option.
Just about all the flash drives microchips come from 2 manufactures in japan or china, i can't remember. So buy the cheapest one and one that looks the most appealing to you since they are mainly all made by the same manufacture. Microcenter.com has 2G flash drives on sale right now for $15! I have one and love it.
Hope this helps!
2007-01-26 16:10:52 · answer #2 · answered by locochristopher 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋