What's the best way to save data? DVD, CD, External Hard Drive, or Memory Stick?
Having a readily accessible copy of your data is a vital part of working with computers. The floppy disks of old
(some of which, ironically, had a hard plastic exterior), are long gone. A thirst for more space, and faster speed
has driven a need for a replacement. This leaves us with a bevy of choices, each with their own niche at which they
are ideal:
- CD : While their capacity is minimal (700 MB) a CD is nevertheless well supported. Almost any drive can read from
them, and most will write to them. They come in two flavors CD-Rs which you can never erase and CD-RWs which can be
wiped clean. Neither format allows you to selectively delete files, and both require extra steps to save data to them.
The convenience of just saving directly is gone, though the Microsoft Windows (c) utility for doing so is excellent.
CDs offer one unparalleled advantage. They are very inexpensive, but the hastle is probably not worth it.
- DVD : DVDs crank the capacity up much higher (4.5 GB) but start to lose on the compatibility path. Fewer computers
can write to them, and with two common formats (DVD-R & DVD-RW vs DVD+R & DVD+RW) you potentially can find yourself
working on a computer you can not write to. Recording information is not nearly as easy with CDs, and while costs are
still relatively low their application is better limited to making home movies than recording data.
- External Hard Drive : Excellent for backups but these can be bulky for just toting around
personal files. Definitely get an external laptop hard drive if you intend to travel with it. They can't be
beat for capacity, ease of use, and compatibility.
- USB Memory Stick : Frequently called flash drives, these have many of the advantages of hard drives, but are
much smaller. Their capacity is lower, but if you're not porting around music and video files you're likely
to find them quite adequate.
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Last updated: 2/6/2012
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