They have a finite number of “saves” onto each bit of memory I believe

Can I test mine somehow to see if it’s close to death ?

Don’t think thats true, they are solid state i.e. no moving parts.

Just make sure you never unplug it without ejecting it from start bar/menu first.

solid state do have a finite number of writes, however an SSD for the PC will last about 10-12 years with normal usage, so I highly doubt it will fail due to normal end of life, more likely something else.

Uh, spooky, a little light reading for you, you might find it enlightening:
http://www.bitmicro.com/press_resources_flash_ssd.php
http://4sysops.com/archives/usb-memory-stick-lifespan-the-different-service-lives-of-slc-and-mlc-flash-drives/
http://www.worldstart.com/flash-drive-lifespan/

If you keep the only copy of a really important file on one, that should do it.

If you keep the only copy of a really important file on one, that should do it.

That’s true but the USBstick won’t break until you really really need the file.

There’s nothing to beat that smug feeling when you remember you have a back up copy.

I’m not aware of any lifespan testing routines (other than writing continually till it fails, which will give you your answer but won’t really help in any practical way), but I’d say that it’s not worth worrying about. The drive will probably be obsolete before it fails. I’ve still got a working 16Mb (sic) USB drive somewhere.

Just make sure you never unplug it without ejecting it from start bar/menu first.

That’s not right either; USB is electrically hot-pluggable by design (it’s why the pins are different lengths), you’ll not damage it by failing to ‘eject’ the device within the OS.

What you might do is corrupt the data. The ejection procedure flushes the write cache out to the device, so failing to do so (or ripping it out in the middle of a write) can cause data loss. But that’s not the same as physical damage.

Ah, yes, good point about really important stuff

So if I keep a picture of me in speedos or something as 1st file in the list, it’ll NEVER fail – that also right ?

For optimal results, set it to autoplay.

animated gifs – dancing ?