Thursday , 10 October 2024

DIY Thumb Drives Projects To Repurpose Your Old Technology Gadgets

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Thumb drives, also known as USB drives or flash drives, are data storage devices designed to be removable, rewritable and easily portable. Although their primary use is data storage, thumb drives can be used for a variety of fun and creative purposes. They can even be used to store some of the best apps for pharmacists on-the-go. If you want to have fun with your thumb drive use check out the ideas below.

Mix Tape

Since CDs gave way to MP3s there has been a serious decline in the creation of mix tapes. Although these musical gifts have given way to the digital age, you can help bring them back by re-purposing your old thumb drives. If you are making a playlist for a friend, a significant other or even yourself, it is nice to have a physical keepsake to go along with it. Create a mix tape on your thumb drive by saving the MP3 files of the playlist’s songs. You can even jazz up the thumb drive by adding decorations on the outside or including fun pictures on the inside. Depending on how much storage space your thumb drive has, there are endless possibilities. Re-purpose your old thumb drive into a gift or portable copy of some of your favorite music files. It may not be a skill you can put on your IT resume, but it will definitely make your significant other’s day.

Computer Key

Thumb drives come with a lot of useful secret uses. If you want to feel like a high-tech spy next time you log onto your computer, you can use your thumb drive as a key! The app Predator is security software made for removable media, particularly USBs, that is designed to act as a key for your laptop or computer. By downloading Predator onto your thumb drive, you create a key that makes your computer inaccessible unless the thumb drive is attached. Give it a shot and have some fun with your thumb drive while experiencing the advantage of Predator’s added security.

Time Capsule

If you have extra thumb drives and nothing to store on them, take on the project of creating a digital time capsule. Save old photos, favorite songs, word documents and other files onto your thumb drives. This way you can look back on them fondly at a later date. You can even use these time capsules as a method for kid tracking to look back on your child’s progress year by year. Once you have compiled a sufficient collection of memories, keep them safe in an airtight container and bury the thumb drive somewhere. Then, in the future, you can dig them up and reminisce. This is a great project to do with friends or family, especially if you have children. Why not give it a try?

Travel Kit

Thumb drives are made to store lots of information and there are plenty of apps that you can download to help encrypt important data. With that in mind, consider making a travel kit of important documents you may need on the go. Whether you are going on vacation or moving to a new place, it will be good to have a copy of everything you need available right in your pocket. Just be sure to encrypt or otherwise protect your most sensitive information. A travel kit is a great way to re-purpose thumb drives into a data storage device you will always want to keep handy, unlike other, more far-fetched digital dreams.

Corporate Gift

Many corporations are now using portable flash drives as useful gifts for professionals to remember their brand, as the recently languishing iPad sales indicate. This is an excellent idea if you are a business owner. Flash drives allow you take your favorite photos and music with you, so who would not want one? Especially if you are a professional, you can use your portable flash drive to carry important documents from your office to the conference room and back again. The thumb drives fit into any device’s USB port and making sharing files fast and easy. Consider buying a case of the top selling flash drives like Lexar JumpDrive TwistTurn USB 2.0 Flash drive with 8GB of storage to give as corporate gifts for any occasion.

Thumb Drive Sizes

There are many flash drive sizes to choose from, just as there are many variations of RAID storage. Of course, this can impact the project you can do on certain left over thumb drives. Flash drives have storage capacities that range from 8GB up to over 64GB. You can even find some newer thumb drives that have up to 1TB of storage. Make sure to consider the size of your leftover USB drives before deciding on the perfect DIY project.

A Word On Security

While you are thinking of new uses for old thumb drives you have laying around the house, you should also take the time to realize the security implications that come along with these media storage devices. Recent IT security research has indicated that USB firmware can be easily compromised by virtually invisible malware. These discoveries have other implications for USB drive security in terms of using the devices to share files with friends, family or colleagues. To be safe, you should probably not share thumb drives with anyone for any reason, even after repurposing them.

Thumb drives are a great way to make your data portable, but they also have tons of other unique uses. Perhaps you want to use your thumb drive before you start cleaning up your Mac. But we suggest you ditch the boring PowerPoint files and save some fun memories, essential documents and good music onto your thumb drive. With a little creative thinking, thumb drives can be transformed into a great gift or a fun adventure!

Image from http://www.tested.com/tech/smartphones/456845-testing-sandisk-connect-wireless-flash-drive/

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