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Data Backup options for today's computer users.

Lately is seems that companies are releasing new computer data backup products every other day. It seems that only a decade ago the only option a user had for creating a backup of his personal data was to go purchase a large box of floppy disks, and spend an evening swapping disks.

Both floppy disks and Iomega Zip disks are useless backup tools because a user's data today far exceeds the limitations of these devices.

Today though there are several options a user can utilize in order to backup their data. While floppy disks are still used today, their capacity of 1.44 megabytes is not going to backup much. The same goes for the old famous Zip 100 disks made by Iomega. They may be able to store one hundred megabytes of data per disk, but the transfer speed is incredibly slow, not to mention that one hundred megabytes is considered peanuts to today's computer user.

CDs and DVDs are excellent choices for users wishing to create read only backups of their data.

Next we have optical media; CDs and DVDs. A CD can typically backup 700 megabytes of data, while a DVD can backup 4.7 gigabytes of data. Both of these options are perfect for the user who wants to make a read only backup of their data.

But what about the users who wish to make a backup copy of their data, and later on modify the same data made within the backup? Once CDs and DVDs are written, they must be completely erased and all data must be rewritten (only rewritable media) which isn't every computer user's cup of tea.

One solution are these neat little key chains which come embedded with flash memory. They plug into the USB port of any computer and require no drivers to be detected in an operating system. There small size isn't mated with a small size of memory; devices holding several gigabytes of data can be purchased.

These key chain devices are being manufactured by literally hundreds of companies under hundreds of different names. Each company has their own personal design, but all of the devices work in the same manner. The devices allow you to easily backup your data, and even make savable modifications with the data.

Not only are the key chains small, and big in memory size, but they are also very affordable. At the time of this writing, a 512 megabyte key chain could be purchased for $40. That two inch key chain does the same as 355 floppy disks. Which would you rather have?

Companies are creating devices with multiple flash chips to allow bigger and better personal backup devices for your data.

There are a lot of different kinds of these flash based key chains coming onto the market. Some companies have realized that a user sometimes values memory over space, and have created larger 'key chains' which are comprised of several of the flash memory chips. By using several flash memory chips instead of just one, the companies are able to deliver portable backup storage solutions that are not only big on specifications, but also easy on the wallet.

James Fohl is a contributor at Free-backup.info -- the home of the popular Amazon S3 based Online Backup software -- Back2zip. This resources is also available at http://free-backup.info/options-in-data-backup-for-todays-users.html