On Sat, 2007-09-15 at 12:08 -0500, Thomas Cameron wrote: > On Sat, 2007-09-15 at 08:35 -0500, Aaron Konstam wrote: > > I have obviously unleashed a pack of hostility. > > Nah, there's always someone who is gonna bitch about something. Don't > worry about it - I think your heart was in the right place and I'm not > burned up about it. I wouldn't post something like that again, but > that's just me. > > I actually do have a real question about USB thumb drives and the like, > though, if anyone who knows more about the actual electronics can > answer. > > I see these 8GB and even 16GB thumb drives on eBay for really cheap > prices (a quick search finds a 16GB thumb drive for about $75 shipped) > and I wonder "what is the difference between a no-name from China and a > brand name from the US?" I mean, really, aren't the "brand name" ones > really just using the same components as the cheap ones? > > Seems to me that as solid state electronics, the USB drive is either > going to work or it's not, and if it works it's probably going to work > for a long time. > > So my question is, why would I spend a boatload more money on a supposed > name-brand US made USB drive when I can buy them out of China for a > fraction of the cost? > Sometimes they are using counterfeit components. The laws and enforcement there are changing, but up to the last couple of months, it was pretty much anything goes. I don't know what the effect is on reliability, but I would expect it to be less than ideal, although for non-vital stuff it would probably be OK, if you could suffer an occasional loss of data. I try to stick to name brands that I know or that others have recommended for all things. It is a choice, though. Regards, Les H
