I was about ready to pull the trigger, but there seems to be too many reliability issues with this brand. And the data rate is extremely slow which tells me that this drive is on the lower end of the scale as far as thumb drives go.

The specs seem to check out at the manufacturer...

They claim up to 3MBs as the write speed... real-world conditions can expect 2/3 of the claimed speed, or about 2MBs...

IT WILL TAKE ALMOST NINE HOURS (9) TO WRITE 64GB TO THIS DRIVE...

Any flash drive this large is USELESS, if it is also this SLOW...

I'm test benchmarking some new flash drives right now... and most are almost 10 time faster than this drive...

tatttoochick wrote:This same memory stick is sold at Walmart for 55.00. There is a little savings, but it looks like it's not one of the higher end brand names. good deal, but after tax and shipping I think it would just be easier to drive to Walmart and buy one...

Walmart takes returns too, especially if you find this is not fast enough for you.

I have an old 20 MG hard drive and its as big as a CD Rom. just cannot trash it.

toddinfl wrote:Waterproof up to 1.8M.

I guess we just don't have the technology to get to 2 meters!

LOL!!

If I'm just using this for easy access and storage for my writing and want portability, (don't want to haul my external hard drive around when traveling,) this should be fine at this price, right?

I must be the only one, but I really like the one I got the last time it was on here. Got another tonight because of it.

I get a sustained transfer speed of between 15-18MB every time I use it through the Renesas USB 3.0 controller in my machine, and can provide proof if you don't believe it's possible.

I like it, am getting another, and that's all I have to say about that.

bigmurali wrote:I remember back in 1996 buying a 250MB hard-drive for $175 and was happy I got an "awesome deal"

That's pretty crazy how far technology has come. My first Pentium-based computer was the first model they produced in 1994. 60Mhz, 400mb hard drive, 14.4k modem, 8mb ram. I purchased a 2.5gb hard drive for $250 in 1996 and I thought that was SO huge!

TheMrBillShow wrote:The specs seem to check out at the manufacturer...

They claim up to 3MBs as the write speed... real-world conditions can expect 2/3 of the claimed speed, or about 2MBs...

IT WILL TAKE ALMOST NINE HOURS (9) TO WRITE 64GB TO THIS DRIVE...

Any flash drive this large is USELESS, if it is also this SLOW...

I'm test benchmarking some new flash drives right now... and most are almost 10 time faster than this drive...

What are the stated speeds of the flash drives you're testing?

While it wouldn't be quite as portable, twice the money can get you a 2.5" portable hard drive with 7 times the storage space. The hard drive's read/write speeds would probably be better, too, though it likely wouldn't survive a trip through the washing machine like this thing would.

smtrader wrote:My thoughts exactly!! I've lost caps many times before and want something that's attached.

If you've lost caps because they come off in your pocket somehow, don't worry this cap stays on very well.

If you've lost caps because you put the drive in your pocket without putting the cap on, well...

I've had around 30 different flash drives over the years (1st one was 56MB I think) only one had an attached cap, I've never lost a cap, so I don't understand why people have a problem with cap loss.

My first true blue IBM PC had a 5 megabyte (with an M) drive. In the 80s hard drives usually cost about 10 bucks per megabyte. Now we are talking terabytes. This is a good deal for relatively small files.

TheMrBillShow wrote:The specs seem to check out at the manufacturer...

They claim up to 3MBs as the write speed... real-world conditions can expect 2/3 of the claimed speed, or about 2MBs...

IT WILL TAKE ALMOST NINE HOURS (9) TO WRITE 64GB TO THIS DRIVE...

Any flash drive this large is USELESS, if it is also this SLOW...

I'm test benchmarking some new flash drives right now... and most are almost 10 time faster than this drive...

It may be "useless" to you but it is far from useless.

I use mine as an off site backup for my music. Since I sleep every day, I can fill it up while I do that, no problem.

But yeah, if you move a lot of data, and like to sit and watch your drive fill up, this may not be the drive you're looking for.

For the price it's perfect for me (I bought one a while ago).

Mixed reviews on Amazon. Imagine that if you were destroying an out of control food machine that was dropping meatballs on your town you wouldn't want to use this one because of the speed..but for archiving...why not.

Wow that's a great price. Too bad it's a crap brand, or I'd be all over that shizzy.

I have never use a Centon's product, so maybe I can have a try.

tapps wrote:hey.. remember when whole computer hard drives were much, MUCH less than that?

I STILL have a laptop with 60 GB... it doesn't do much, but I have it.

@martmann4 "I've had around 30 different flash drives over the years (1st one was 56MB I think) only one had an attached cap, I've never lost a cap, so I don't understand why people have a problem with cap loss"
You are way too organized,I on the other hand have multi caps in my desk but no idea where the darn flash drives are !

I bought 2 last time they were here, and I am very happy with mine. I don't move a lot of files back and forth every time I use it, but rather use it as my portable file cabinet and transfer just what I'm working on/with. I love it. I never worry about running out of space, and this sucker is very durable!

I will see your IBM 360 with a IBM 7090. Drop off a bunch of punch cards and pick up the output next day, if you were lucky. Just don't drop the box of cards.

Cheers

cerberusctd wrote:I remwmber our first computer was like a 16MB hdd and i want to say around 25mhz... oh 5-1/4 floppys... i dont miss you...

Youngster! My first real PC did not have a hard drive. It had one 5 1/4" for the program and another 5 1/4" for data. And the one before that.. was basically a keyboard attached to a box that had an 8" floppy!! Comstor was the name, still out in the shed somewhere. Now 64gig the size of a couple pieces of gum..wow!!

This looks like a tactical data stick but it says sport, will this work with my tactical data?


aha,"I'm so old..." stories. Anyone ever have to check the vacuum tubes in the morning before you start your days calculations?

Buy this thing (or anything through Woot) in Texas, and you're paying 8% sales tax. No escaping this fact, unfortunately for residents such as I.

Damn! I'm beginning to be sorry I bought one. Will know better when it arrives.

Will this be shipped by Pony express? (molasses post aka SmartPost)

buckdavet wrote:Youngster! My first real PC did not have a hard drive. It had one 5 1/4" for the program and another 5 1/4" for data. And the one before that.. was basically a keyboard attached to a box that had an 8" floppy!! Comstor was the name, still out in the shed somewhere. Now 64gig the size of a couple pieces of gum..wow!!

I remember, back during the 70's, using mag tape--little cassette drives with 500-2,000 bit/s transfer rates and capacities of maybe 1,000 KB per 90-minute tape

No problemo. Just stick those cards into an IBM 083 Card Reader/Sorter and pick up some overtime pay while you're at it. ;)

atequila wrote:I STILL have a laptop with 60 GB... it doesn't do much, but I have it.

Hey, the original (~1995?) MacBook Titanium models had/have only 10GB's of hard drive. Similar to your laptop, mine has long retired to the garage, tho it still "works"

bartsimpson wrote:Woot’s product description states that Centon offers a lifetime warranty for this product..

What it should say is "lifetime or until it's obsolete whichever comes first". At this point I don't think a lifetime warranty over the two year is much of a benefit.

And it would still be just as fast (slow) as this flash drive.

clumpymold wrote:That's pretty crazy how far technology has come. My first Pentium-based computer was the first model they produced in 1994. 60Mhz, 400mb hard drive, 14.4k modem, 8mb ram. I purchased a 2.5gb hard drive for $250 in 1996 and I thought that was SO huge!

I bought a Micropolis SCSI 1.67GB drive in the late 80s for $1,050 and thought I would never need any more storage. Phewww, was I wrong! But, hey, I was working in those days and had some coin jingling around in my pocket.

I've had a regular 32GB Centon drive for some time and on at least two occassions left in my pants pocket only to find it later in the bottom of the washer. A day or two in a sealed container with some dry rice and it worked fine. No loss of any data and that one does not even claim to be water proof.

apctek1998 wrote:I have an old 20 MG hard drive and its as big as a CD Rom. just cannot trash it.

As big as a CD-ROM drive, right? My first hard drive was a Seagate ST225. It was great having a hard drive.

Amazon averages 1 star:
http://www.amazon.com/Centon-DataStick-Flash-Drive-DSP64GB-001/dp/B002Q8HO9Y

harddavid wrote:Hate to admit it, but I DID use punch cards - FORTRAN and COBOL. On an IBM System/360.

LOL harddavid, the IBM System/360 -- don't forget Basic Assembly Language (BAL).

The 360, wasn't that the new fangled machine that replaced the EAM equipment, 403/407 (Electronic Accounting Machine), 023 sorter 514 interpreter and punched card merger/collator back in the sixties?

Oh no, that was the 1401, programming language: Autocoder :-)

Geeze, you old guys.

You were lucky to have a hard drive. I used to save my computer programs to audio cassette tapes.

uberporsche wrote:Too bad not 3.0

People seem hung up on the 3.O usb thing, but as I have found, plug a 2.0 in a 3.0 slot and it's faster. Plug a 3.0 in a 2.0 slot and it's faster then 2.0 in a 2.0. Trade offs. If I was gonna get a good deal on a car but didn't like the tires, kinda ignorant to pass. Just saying.

mjritter wrote:My brother once sold a monochrome computer with two 5.25 floppy's and 8mb hard drive for almost 5 grand! And the OS was TRSDOS (Tandy radio shack). Now 64GB flash drive CHEAP!

That was the rockin' TRS-80 Model III. The Model II had a single 8" vertical floppy drive, and the original didn't come with a drive at all.

RedDawg wrote:Hell, I see your punch cards and raise you piano rolls!

Pthhh... Raise you Paper Tape and toggle switches to write the IPL and bootstrap loader to read the Paper Tape. ;)

Yes, it's true. I have... Used..... punch cards. There, I said it...