USB flash drives are getting cooler all the time. Not just in design (though there’s definitely cool stuff happening there as well), but in what they can do for everyday business users. To that end, I’ve compiled three new and interesting ways you can use a flash drive:
- Sync your files Remember Dropbox? It’s a Web service that lets you share and archive files and sync them between PCs. The new DropboxPortable utility syncs your “file bucket” with your flash drive as well, thus making your stuff even more mobile. [via Lifehacker]
- Quick-search any PC Remember Everything, the lightning-fast file-search utility? Well, now there’s a portable version of Everything (look for the second Zip file), which quickly indexes whatever PC your flash drive is plugged into. Like the regular version, it’s a freebie. [via MakeUseOf]
- Turn your drive into a bootable OS Why schlep a notebook (or even a netbook) when you can fit everything you need — an operating system, apps, and data — in your pocket? PC Magazine shows you how to put your entire computing life onto a flash drive.
While we’re on the subject, don’t miss our previous posts on flash-drive goodness, including 24 Programs You Should Carry on Your Flash Drive and Turn Your USB Drive Into a System-Recovery Tool.
One final note: Remember the LaCie itsaKey flash drive (pictured) from a couple weeks ago? Best… USB drive… ever. Seriously, I love this thing. It’s surprisingly thin, insanely cool-looking, and ridiculously practical (because it goes where I go). I’ve given it a permanent home on my keychain.
