Battle of the Hard Drives:
USB Flash Drive vs. the Google Gmail Drive, MSN SkyDrive, and Yahoo! Briefcase

The USB Flash Drive Challenge

USB flash drives have become such a popular and prevalent method of file storage and transport—whether for backup, file transferring, or for extra storage capacity, freeing up precious hard drive space—that it was only a matter of time before internet bigwigs Google, MSN, and Yahoo! attempted to get into the file storage game.

The results are three online services competing viciously with promotional memory sticks as well as with one another to serve your file storage needs.

In light of these innovations, we’ve decided to compare each of these new file storage methods – the Google Gmail Drive (aka GDrive), the MSN SkyDrive, and the Yahoo! Briefcase, against their common predecessor, the USB flash drive,  in order to help you decide which method would serve you best.

USB Flash Drives vs. MSN Windows Live SkyDrive

Formerly known as Windows Live Folders, the Windows Live SkyDrive enables users to upload their various files to a common web server known as a “cloud” which users can then access from any web browser.

Microsoft currently limits SkyDrive usage to 5 GB per customer, and restricts uploads to a maximum file size of 50 MB per file and five files per upload.

USB Flash Drives vs. Yahoo! Briefcase

Yahoo! Briefcase (aka Yahoo! Photos) lets you store most major file types (ie. JPEG, BMP, GIF, MP3, WAV, AIFF, Real Media, HTML, Microsoft Office file types, etc.).

The Yahoo! Briefcase capacity is limited to 30 MB of storage space, whereas you can purchase USB promotional memory sticks in all different storage capacities ranging from 64 MB and less to 8 GB and more. Yahoo! also restricts your storing capabilities to 5 MB per file, whereas there are no such restrictions on USB flash drives.

Also, Mac users of Yahoo! Briefcase must remember to include the file extension when entering in the file name whereas USB flash drives automatically recognize file types without requiring users (Mac or PC) to remember to enter them in each time.

USB Flash Drives vs. Google GDrive

The Google Gmail Drive (or GDrive) is similar to these other web-based services, except that – beyond the initial 5 GB free storage allotment – you must pay an annual fee that varies in increasing increments depending on how much file storage you think you’ll need. If you pay for more than you use, too bad.

Additionally, the Gmail Drive is currently in the Beta stages, which means that its procedures, terms, etc. could be changed (or suspended, even) at any moment. No such risk exists with promotional memory sticks.

The Winner: USB Flash Drive – Reigning Supreme

Users of these web-based alternatives to the USB flash drive require you to have a membership (albeit free) to their respective host providers (i.e. a Gmail account, a Windows Live ID, or a Yahoo account). Using promotional memory sticks has no such prerequisite.

A USB flash drive allows you to transport files from one computer to another without requiring an internet connection to do so, whereas all of the competitors – MSN Sky Drive, Gmail GDrive, and Yahoo! Briefcase – require an active internet connection in order to access the files you’ve stored. To boot, not all of these online services are compatible with all web browsers.

Files stored on Sky Drive, GDrive, and Yahoo! Briefcase must comply with certain specified community standards (for example: no adult content allowed) whereas there are no such restrictions on a USB promotional memory stick. Lack of adherence to MSN, Google, and Yahoo’s guidelines, in fact, could lead to your precious files being deleted.

Additionally, files saved using any of these cloud storage-type methods are stored on a public network, which means that even though they are purported to be private, it is entirely possible that other people – be they Google, MSN, and Yahoo! analysts and marketing affiliates or malevolent computer hackers – could gain access to them and use them for their own purposes. USB Flash Drives, by contrast, are the most secure method of file storage and transport, and therefore, the most protective of your personal privacy.

When you add it all up, clearly – for flexibility, freedom, capacity, transportability, and economy – the USB flash drive is the clear winner.