spmug 572 Choosing a Backup Buddy By J. D. BIERSDORFER

Q. Which is better for backing up the computer on the road - a
flash-memory drive or a portable hard drive?

A. Finding the right type of drive for backups on the go depends on a
few factors, like how much data you intend to back up, how much gear you
want to haul and how much you want to spend. Flash-memory drives (those
handy lightweight devices about the size of a disposable lighter) have
no moving parts and plug right into the computer's U.S.B. drive. The
physical size and durability of the average flash drive makes it a good
choice for travel if you don't need to run a full backup of your system
on the road. Although they currently don't hold as much data as the
average hard drive, 4-, 8-, and even 16-gigabyte flash drives are now
available, which may be more than enough for backing up recent files and
other data. Flash memory prices have come down in recent years, and you
can find four-gigabyte flash drives from a variety of makers for $180 or
less. External hard drives have gotten much smaller themselves in recent
years and provide much more storage space for the price; Maxtor's
OneTouch III Mini Edition drive, for example, weighs less than eight
ounces, stores 100 gigabytes of data and costs less than $160.
Traditional hard drives contain moving parts that eventually wear out
and may suffer more than flash drives if dropped onto an unforgiving
surface, but most of these hard drives designed for travel and
portability come in sleek, sturdy cases to help withstand the stress of
life on the road.