When you work in the labs at WCC, you'll want to save your work in the best possible way that allows you access to the work wherever you are. There are several options:
| What | Advantages | Disadvantages | Average Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| USB Flash Memory (also known as Jump Drive, Thumb Drive, USB Drive, Cruzer, Traveldrive, etc.) |
Small, fast, high capacity available; can be erased and re-written indefinitely no drive needed if computer has USB ports |
Cost, easy to lose, requires USB port (older computers may not have enough) |
128 MB: $20 256 MB: $30 512 MB: $40 1 GB: $70 2 GB: $130 |
| CD-R Compact Disc Recordable |
Individually cheap; can be read on almost all computers high capacity: 650-700 MB |
Can only be written once,
even if only a very small amount is used; saving is slower and more complicated than USB Flash |
Pack of 5: $6.50 Pack of 10: $7.50 Pack of 50: $14.00 Drive: $20.00 |
| CD-RW Compact Disc Re-Writable |
Individually cheap; high capacity: 650-700 MB can be re-written many times (but not indefinitely) |
Saving is slower and more complicated than USB Flash; Not necessarily compatible with all CD drives |
Pack of 5: $7.50 Pack of 10: $10.00 Pack of 50: $20.00 Drive: $30.00 |
| Email You can email files to yourself as attachments, in effect storing them on an Internet server |
Inexpensive or free | Slower and more complicated than saving to USB flash May run out of space on server (limited quotas) May run into size limit for email attachments |
Usually free |
| Diskettes (also known as "floppies" or "floppy disks") |
Individually cheap; can be re-written indefinitely |
Very limited storage space: 1.44 MB; drives not available on most WCC computers |
Pack of 10: $2.50 Pack of 50: $16.00 Portable USB diskette drive: $60.00 |