Where's best to buy a new USB stick from? I'm only after a 1-2gb one, with some kind of folding protector (previously had a PNY Attaché which was good). I'd prefer to pay something like the going rate, either high street or online with free and fast delivery…

TBH, they're so cheap now that pretty much anywhere is good enough. Last one I bought was from ASDA.

Argos have some cheap decent ones – got my last one there.

Half price on a number of branded ones at my local WHSmiths, which worked out cheaper than Argos if you are going High Street hunting 😉

i have one of these and its great even survived an accidental clean in the washing machine

i've just ditched my USB stick for dropbox, great for working on stuff at work and home, 2GB account is free, files are stored locally on each computer you use it with but sync up every time you connect to the net, very cool.

http://www.euroffice.co.uk/i/t5f2/Integral-Courier-Flash-Drive-with-LED-Light-USB-20-Read-12MBs-Write-3MBs-2GB-Ref-INFD2GBCOU

Tell me more! The reason I'm after a USB stick is to do backups with Synctoy, but it's a bit clunky, and I'm a terror for losing things…

just go to dropbox.com, and install it on all the machines you use, it appears on your desktop as a regular folder, stuff is stored locally but also online, so if i save a file in my dropbox folder on work computer, it saves locally and online, when i stick my computer on at home it will sync up with the online version and the files is there, very cool.

Genius, loads of hassle saved there!

I've been using Microsoft's Live Mesh in a similar capacity to Dropbox. One nice thing is you can sync fairly readily with friends who use it. Drop a file in the "Ian" folder on my deskop and it appears on Ian's PC automagically.

Also use it to sync application data between two PCs, just share the working directory and any changes on my home PC get picked up at work, etc.

Can't beat having a pendrive in your pocket for emergencies though.

I don't want to appear to be a big old policeman or anything but can I advise a bit of control when placing files on dropbox.

The main risks come from public folders. It's entirely possible for someone you've not invited to guess your public folder address, especially if they script something up. Also, if you're sharing folders with your mates, it's like sharing the same sexual partner, if they get a virus, so do you.

There are other issues too around the eternal life of shares, even if you delete or replace them on dropbox, particularly if you replace.

The risks are small (at the moment) but I wouldn't drop anything you care about or consider private on there.

To get USB sticks, cut some year old shoots from a USB tree – nice straight ones, preferably from low down. Trim them up, dry them out for a few weeks, and they'll be ready to go.

I'm not using public folders, I'm using private ones which are presumably accessible only to me.

Unless there's some kind of Flickr "All your base are belong to us" clause in the EULA?

no, technically private means just that. I've not seen any succesful attempts to get into private folders yet.

Lol at molgrips. Would it was that easy.

Backups with SyncToy would be better with an external hard drive (last I saw was about 1.5 terabytes for not a lot of dosh), but I shall be using my 'phone in future for carrying around files that I need on a regular basis (mostly my CV!).

SyncToy and any external device run into problems for most people with stuff that "really" needs to be backed up. In the event of a fire or similar, my PC and external storage, be it USB or hard drive, would almost certainly be in the same place.

tron – Member
SyncToy and any external device run into problems for most people with stuff that "really" needs to be backed up. In the event of a fire or similar, my PC and external storage, be it USB or hard drive, would almost certainly be in the same place.

MrsJulianA's external hard drive is small enough to fit into her handbag… (It's an old laptop hard drive in a caddy from Maplins or PC World)

If you have stuff that's really important could you not back it up to DVD and get family or a good friend to look after it for you?

You've got me thinking about our backups now!

I use synctoy (to both a work server & USB HD) for my work laptop and drop box to sync all my various PCs / iPads/Pods at home..