Ten USB Flash Drive Essentials

Most computer users nowadays have at least one USB flash drive or thumb drive, if not more. However, not everyone uses his or her flash drive to its full potential. Flash drives can carry much more than documents and presentations. They can also carry applications, music, movies, and more. In this article, I am going to describe ten things that everyone should consider having on his or her flash drive.

Before I begin to list things, I'd like to answer the question, "Who would be interested in putting this much time and effort into a flash drive?" Well, high school students that have study halls in which they can use a computer may want to edit pictures or videos. College students are often in computer labs and may want to have an instant messaging application at their disposal. Anyone with a flash drive might want to share some of his or her favorite music with others. Really, this article is about maximizing the utility of flash drives. If you own a flash drive, taking fifteen minutes to install the following applications can make it more useful right out of the box.

Flash Drive Essential #1 - Contact Information

Flash drives are easy to lose. They are small, they can fall off of keychains, and they can be forgotten in the USB ports of computers. Your best chance of getting a lost USB flash drive back is by putting your contact information somewhere where it will be easily found if someone plugs your flash drive into a computer. I have a text file entitled "CONTACT INFORMATION IF FOUND" in which I have my name, address, and phone number in case someone finds my flash drive and wants to return it. This is in the "highest" tier folder, if you will - the first one you see when you open the flash drive. It doesn't hurt to offer a reward either, especially if you have important documents, projects, or data on your flash drive. Of course, don't offer a reward that you can't afford or don't intend to give. You may also want to give the best hours to reach you, or suggest a form of contact such as email or text message.

Flash Drive Essential #2 - Organization

Unless you have very little on your flash drive, you may want to consider developing an organized system of folders and files. This can save a minute of awkward searching in front of a group when giving a Powerpoint presentation, or it can help you get in and out of a full-capacity computer lab a little faster when you have an essay due in five minutes three floors above you.

Flash Drive Essential #3 - Office Suite

Not everyone has a quality word processor on his or her computer. For example, Wordpad is still the most advanced word processor that many people have on their computers. A quality office suite such as OpenOffice can save you if you must resort to using a less-computer-savvy relative or friend's computer.

Flash Drive Essential #4 - Instant Messaging Application

Again, not everyone has an instant messaging application installed on his or her computer. Rather than overstep your bounds on a friend or family member's computer, or the computer at a library or computer lab, have the portable version of an IM client such as Pidgin or Miranda on your flash drive.

Flash Drive Essential #5 - Music

A lot of flash drives nowadays come in 8 GB and 16 GB models, which offer much more space than the average person needs. If you find that you have a few hundred extra megabytes of space on your flash drive, why not fill some of that space with a few of your favorite albums? You'll be prepared in case you have to work on a computer other than your own and you can share your favorite albums with other computer users that you meet.

Flash Drive Essential #6 - Movies

Again, many flash drives are very high capacity. If you are a movie buff, you may want to have several of your favorite movies on a flash drive to either watch or share with others.

Flash Drive Essential #7 - Media Player

If you are going to have music and movies on your flash drive, you should probably have a way to play them. I suggest VLC, as it is a relatively small program that can play just about any type of media. Basically, if VLC can't play it, nothing will.

Flash Drive Essential #8 - Web Browser

Sometimes you want a little bit of extra privacy when you're online. Maybe you're researching a surprise for a loved one or looking up information on an sensitive medical condition. Having a web browser such as Mozilla Firefox on your flash drive can give you this privacy and security. Likewise, if you are picky about the browsers you use, having Firefox on your flash drive can allow you to avoid using Internet Explorer, which is too often riddled with spyware and extra toolbars from third-party sites. Also having your own web browser allows you to keep your internet bookmarks with you, regardless of where you are, and without having to use a social bookmarking site.

Flash Drive Essential #9 - Linux (Optional)

Some people have an unnatural hatred for Windows and Microsoft in general. If you fall into this category, you might be interested in keeping an entirely different operating system on your flash drive for times when you have no choice of what computer to use. This is probably a very specific tip for a very specific group of people, but it's worth knowing that this is possible. Again, this can guarantee you a little bit more privacy when privacy is desirable.

Flash Drive Essential #10 - Media Editors (Optional)

There are portable versions of image editing, video editing, and audio editing software. If you do any of the corresponding tasks on a regular basis, you might want to consider having a portable editor on your flash drive. For example, an audio editor can be used to record personal messages to loved ones, which can be nice if you're away from home for any period of time. However, if you don't know how to use these programs, save the space on your flash drive and don't bother.

At this point, I'll stop. There are lots of portable applications for flash drives, and many of them are well-made and useful. There are email clients and calendar applications, antivirus software and games. What is necessary or essential to one person might be extraneous to another. However, it's nice to be aware of the full capabilities of a flash drive. Have any suggestions of your own for flash drive customization? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the form of a comment. Thank you for reading!