Fred Derf Veteran Posted June 15, 2006 Veteran Share Posted June 15, 2006 What's the deal with U3 drives? http://www.u3.com/ What special features do they offer that you can't do on a normal USB drive? I mean, as long as you can install all of these portable applications on a regular USB stick, why do you need a U3 drive? Do they somehow make non-portable applications portable for you? I don't get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkbait88 Posted June 15, 2006 Share Posted June 15, 2006 basically, with u3, and when u put u3 software on them, u will be able to run the program FROM the usb drive itself. like i know openoffice has their own U3 capable version, and it is very small, and offers the basic word processing etc of its larger counterpart, but u can carry it around with u, just in case the comp u work on later doesnt have it. i think it is pretty useful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Derf Veteran Posted June 16, 2006 Author Veteran Share Posted June 16, 2006 I can run PortableOpenOffice on a regular USB drive though. So what is the point of U3 again? It is just marketing hype for people who can't find http://www.portableapps.com or http://portablefreeware.com on their own? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chconline Veteran Posted June 16, 2006 Veteran Share Posted June 16, 2006 U3 - for U3 certified apps -- wow. Marketing, woohoo. I'd stick with the 'normal' portable apps that runs off any drives, and all the latest OCZ drives arent U3 either... the only one Ive seen is the ones from the developers, eg. sandisk, memorex etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuBar. Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 I don't think you have to worry about purchasing a product like that in a long run. The storage that we have now is adequate enough to store our data mobily. I still use my USB flash drive and floppy disc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Derf Veteran Posted June 16, 2006 Author Veteran Share Posted June 16, 2006 So what is stopping you from running "U3 Certified" applications on a normal USB drive? Are U3 sticks special in any way? I'm trying to figure out if they have customized hardware or something beyond marketing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cody Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 its for deploying portable apps, when you plug it in, it mounts its self like a cd rom and auto runs, if you have auto run turned on so they are a big security concern in the corporate world Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strekship Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 I don't think there is anything special about them. I have a drive with PSTART and a bunch of portable apps that does the job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JodyWatts Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 The U3, when it autoruns, installs some files to the locak HDD of the computer you put the memory stick into. I removed it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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