[This article originally appeared in Law Office Computing.]

NO MORE FILE SWAPPING -- CARRY A HARD DRIVE ON YOUR KEY CHAIN

by

Aaron P. Morris, Esq.

    For years, one problem has dogged my otherwise perfect techno-geek nirvana. I always have a number of writing projects in the works, along with an assortment of pending appeal briefs and motions. When my muse makes an appearance, I may be sitting at any one of four computers, spread between home, the office, and whatever location I happen to be at with my notebook. I have long sought a way to have all of the files I am working on present on all of the computers. If I make a change to a file while sitting in Starbucks, I want the revisions to appear on the other computers as well. 

    Yes, I am aware of services such as www.FusionOne.com, which endeavor to keep multiple computers synchronized, and I have used them with some limited success. Also, I can reach my office network via the Internet and retrieve files or even edit them remotely. However, both of these approaches require an Internet connection. Even with my wireless modem, I do not always have Internet access. If I make a change on the notebook computer, I have to make a mental note to synchronize the computers the next chance I get. Then I have to remember to synchronize each of the other computers before I use any files. More than once, that approach has resulted in revisions being overwritten by files subsequently edited on other computers. 

    You might be thinking, “just put it on a floppy,” but in addition to being so last millennium, and the fact that there are too many files, if you use a floppy you are forced to endure the tedious process of working off of the floppy or get back into transferring the files back and forth from the hard drive. Worst of all, that approach requires you to carry around a floppy disk all the time. 

    But what is the one thing that you always have with you, more so than even your wallet? Your keys. That is the brilliance behind what Agate Technologies calls the “Q”. It is a small USB drive, designed to go on your key chain, available in sizes ranging from 16 to 64 MB. Whichever computer you are using, you just stick the Q into a USB port, and it is instantly recognized as an additional hard drive (after you install the driver). 

    I tested the 64 MB Q on four computers and it performed flawlessly on each of them. Windows recognized the drive as soon as it was inserted, and requested the driver, which is provided on a floppy disk or can be downloaded from a web site that is printed right on the drive. The driver installed in seconds and the Q then appeared as an additional drive. No formatting or configuration of any kind was necessary. 

    The Q is powered by the USB port, so there are no batteries or adapters. Since the “drive” is really just flash memory running through a fast USB port, it is as quick as a hard drive (another improvement over using a floppy). You can run programs from it, if you have such a need. Like any drive, you can drag and drop files to it from within Windows Explorer. 

    A 16 MB version costs just $69.95; the 64 MB drive is $199.95. You can get more information at www.usbmedia.com. You may also want to look at the drives offered at www.diskonkey.com. These drives are not as compact as the Q drive, and the largest size is currently 32 MB, but they do not require a driver on some operating systems.

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Aaron P. Morris is an attorney with The Morris Law Firm, located in Costa Mesa, California. He can be reached at (714) 546-2388.