U3 Flash Drives

What is the difference between using a regular flash drive with stand-alone apps and using a U3-compatible flash drive with U3 apps?

 

Here's a page to browse for released apps; http://u3.com/smart/default.aspx

I use portable apps on my U2 and am very content. I think the biggest difference is that a U3 drive is basically a self contained computer. I know with portable apps if you create a document with OpenOffice or AbiWord, my choice, you don't leave the actual document on the PC but you do leave a history of it in the recent file and temp files of it's creation. Apparently with U3 that's not the case. Also I understand that as a platform in and of itself programmers can write software to work exclusively on U3 drives.

Having said that I run AbiWord, FoxIt Reader, Thunderbird, Opera, FireFox and Sunbird on my old 256MB U2 flash all portable apps from http://portableapps.com/apps

 

I have a 1gig U3 drive that I pack around on trips. If I have to run something or get mail on someone's machine, I stick it in and keep all my data with me.

 

So you can use U3 apps on a non-U3 app flash drive?

 

I have a U3 drive, I don't think you can run applications designed for a U3 drive on a non-U3 drive. There are plenty of "portable" applications that don't depend on the U3 loader.

 

I don't see the advantage of paying extra for a U3 enabled drive. I have a flash drive with PStart installed and it provides an easy way of accessing all of my portable applications. I found The Portable Freeware Connection and PortableApps griffinspc linked to as great resources for finding lots of portable apps for free.

 

That's my understanding too. If an app is specifically written for U3 it will not function on U2.

 

Yes, Pstart is great and I have my Thunderbird mail client set up to download my email from my home account but told it to keep the mail on the server so when I get home I can download it again to my main machine.

 

What's U2?

 

Short for the old fashion USB 2.0 flash drive or a band from Ireland.

 

OK, that's probably a confusion factor. A U3 drive is still a USB 2.0 hardware interface, it just has additional capability to appear as two drives and launch it's U3 startup package.

 

True, I probably assumed too much that all would know that but it was easiest for this discussion or at least the way he posed the question. I still like the band though.

 

I liked the band before they became too commercialized, but I knew what you meant by U2.

 

Joshua Tree rules !

 

I have a U3 drive, and when I first got it I installed the free McAfee VirusScan for U3 flash drives... i got it off of the U3 site... however, it's not there anymore.. if anyone knows where you can get a virus scanner for ure u3 enabled flash drive, let me know.