Ina Freid from CNET News writes:

Microsoft is considering offering Windows 7 on a thumb drive to allow Netbook owners to more easily upgrade their machines, a source tells CNET News.

The move, which is still under consideration, is one of several things Microsoft has looked at to try to make it convenient to upgrade machines that don’t come with a CD or DVD drives.

Microsoft executives have said that they recognize that upgrading Netbooks poses a challenge and are exploring ways that the company can make it easier. In an interview on Thursday, Senior Vice President Bill Veghte said that Microsoft had nothing to announce on that front.

The challenge of getting Windows 7 on to older Netbooks threatens to cast a shadow over the technical work Microsoft did to get Windows 7 running on Netbooks. Its predecessor, Windows Vista, proved ill-suited to Netbooks forcing Microsoft to continue selling Windows XP as its answer to the low-cost notebook phenomenon.

Although a USB flash drive could offer the simplest way to move a Netbook to Windows 7, there are other options. Buyers with an external drive could hook up that to their Netbook, while another option would be an upgrade through a service such as Best Buy’s Geek Squad. Microsoft also sells a downloadable version of Windows today, so, in theory it could do the same with Windows 7, allowing buyers to put the OS on their own thumb drive.

Matt Bonin, a merchant director at Best Buy, said this week that the company is aiming to work with Geek Squad to develop services to streamline Windows 7 upgrades. As for Netbooks, he said the company recognizes the challenge they present and said the store already offers services to load other types of software, such as antivirus programs.

Complicating matters further is the fact that most Netbooks are running Windows XP. Those moving from Windows XP can buy an upgrade version of the software, but must back up their data, do a clean installation of the operating system and then reload their applications.

The same goes for all XP owners, as well as users looking to move from a higher-end version of Vista to a lower-end version of Windows 7 and all users in Europe trying to upgrade to Windows 7 using the browser-less “E” version–the only one Microsoft plans to offer there.

Read the full article here. One Blogger have his say here.

You check that you have inserted the memory stick correctly, and try again, with the same result. Finally, you give up assuming that the pictures are permanently lost.

They might not actually be lost forever, unless you have made them completely irrecoverable during the repeated attempts. Each attempt sends electrical power into the device, changing the flash memory. And soon, the original image on the memory can become drastically changed, making your pictures unrecoverable.

So the one thing you should do when you begin to receive such error messages is to switch off the camera, phone, ipod,etc and remove the memory stick. Store it in the special static-free plastic case it came in. This single precaution can make memory stick repairs a practical option to recover your thesis pictures music or voice files.

What Causes the Memory Stick Error Messages?
Memory sticks and cards can become corrupted in different ways. They might also suffer physical damage when the sticks circuitry or vital component is damaged. It is when such file corruption or physical damage happens that the flash drive or memory stick becomes unrecognised.

If the problem is physical damage, it is still possible to repair it and recover the pictures but should be done by a data recovery company who have the tools and facilities needed. The repair attempt itself can damage the image further. Be aware that strong magnetic fields (e.g found near speakers) can affect the flash memory .

Mostly memory stick problems arise from software problems or user errors. Examples of user errors include:

Formatting the memory stick before all pictures have been transferred to the computer

Accidental deletion of pictures before they are transferred

Ejecting the card whilst it is still being written to

Taking pictures or transferring files when your camera, phone, ipod or laptop battery is low in power

Pictures stored on the card / stick can usually be recovered in these kinds of eventualities.

The software controlling the memory stick can become corrupted when you use the same memory stick in more than one camera, or if you do any read/write operations when the stick is in a card reader. Airport scanners can also damage the files and software.

Memory stick repairs can usually remedy such software-related problems, and recover your pictures.

Memory Stick Repairs Procedure
As mentioned earlier, if your storage media begins to display error messages, don’t make repeated attempts to access it. Also don’t try to carry out any repairs yourself.

The kinds of procedures needed to recover the pictures will differ depending on what caused the problem. A professional analysis can reveal the cause and the present status. With this information, an experienced repairer and data recovery expert might be able to recover the pictures for you.

Repairers usually offer the preliminary analysis free. You might be charged only if they are able to recover the pictures.

Conclusion
Memory stick repair and data recovery facilities do exist. In most cases, you might be able to recover the pictures on the memory sticks, even if you cannot gain access to your files a specialist data recovery expert might be able to.

The camera error messages are caused by corruption of the files on, or physical damage to, the memory stick / card. In the case of physical damage, the pictures might not be recoverable. Corrupted files can usually be recovered by an experienced memory stick repair / data recovery service.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/data-recovery-articles/memory-stick-repair-is-a-feasible-option-303431.html

About the Author:
Andy Butler from ABC Data Recovery writes about Memory-Stick-Repairs visit www.abc-data-recovery.co.uk for further information.

The memory stick is a silicon medium that is designed for a wide range of audio and visual applications. On a single memory stick, a wide variety of digital content like photos, computer data, music and movie images can be stored. Copyright protection of contents and application specification are defined that enable a range of content and data to be held in a single medium. This allows to record, playback and exchange data with many other related products. The memory stick is a new type of recording medium that offers the combination of the features of convenient shape, healthy structure, low power consumption etc. Since memory stick is a removable storage medium for a portable device, Sony digital cameras use memory sticks for storage image files. With a memory stick capable reader, a user can copy the picture from the camera to the computer. Memory sticks are used in digital music players, PDAs, cellular phones, portable play station and in other devices. Originally, the memory sticks were approximately of the size and thickness of a stick of a chewing gum with capacity varying from 4 MB to 128 MB. Memory stick Select similar to 5.25 inches floppy disks has two separate 128 MB partition, which the user can switch between them using a switch on the card. The memory sticks include a copy protection mechanism, which allows writing programs, and are called programmable memory sticks. They are pink colored and are available in 8 MB and 16 MB versions. Memory stick is a removable flash memory card format comprising memory stick PRO, Memory stick duo and even smaller memory stick micro (M2). Memory Stick PRO: Memory stick PRO would be a long lasting solution to the space problem. Memory stick PROs has a higher transfer speed and maximum capacity of 32 GB. Memory Stick Duo: Memory Stick Duo is marginally smaller than SD (Secure Digital) format and approximately two thirds the length of the standard form factor. Memory stick duos are available in the same variants as their larger ones and have a simple adaptor (often sold along with the Memory Stick Duo) thereby permitting the duo to be used in any device that can accept its larger cousins. The normal and PRO versions of memory stick duo are also used with PSP. This, when inserted with memory stick slot, shows saved data, music pictures, videos and games. Memory stick micro: The memory stick micro (M2) measures 15 x 12.5 x 1.2 mm – roughly around the size of a finger nail – with a theoretical limit of 32GB. Maximum transfer speed is 160 M bit per second. Like duo sticks, it comes with an adaptor to ensure compatibility with current PRO devices. In 2006, Sony added the memory stick PRO – HG, a high-speed variant of PRO, for high definition still and video cameras.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/hardware-articles/usb-memory-sticks-types-and-varieties-451896.html

About the Author:
Visit http://www.bestpendrive.info for complete information about all types of pen drives, flash drives, memory sticks, SD Cards and detachable hard drives.

Now let’s analyse why is the branded USM Memory Key with your company logo the hot product in the off line marketing today?

Facebook

The range of people it appeals to is simply huge. Memory stick is like Facebook. Everyone uses the memory stick at some stage. Facebook might have quarter of a billion users. It’s online for a few years only. Memory Stick is not really on the market much longer. And in the offline world it has the same or more penetration than Facebook.

Stickiness

Putting your nice company logo on a nicely designed matching memory stick creates a product people will start using. By uploading their personal or company confidential data on the memory stick, it becomes – precious! People will keep it safe, and in the same time show off with it. A bit like your latest model mobile phone, or your fancy sports car keys that you casually put on the table in the fancy restaurant with your friends.

Memory Stick does not go straight to the bin (as most of other printed marketing materials do)

USB Memory stick has a serious advantage compared to the printed marketing materials – since people are extremely unlikely to bin it straight away. Majority of the paper based printed marketing goes to the bin without being opened, let alone read. Branded memory stick – even if we don’t like it, or even need it right now – we know there will come a time when it will come in handy, and we keep it for that reason. Quite often forever!

Be Original! Be Cool!

The technical parameters of the USB memory stick are the size and the speed. The larger it is the more useful it becomes, and the speed helps people enjoy using it.

Besides the techie stuff there is ‘The Looks’! Make sure your logo fits well and looks well on the memory stick design you choose.

Remember that memory stick can also be a functional product in other ways than just a storage for the data files. A key ring and a pen are just the starting ‘Stationary Like’ applications. The new designs are becoming more and more ‘Wearable’ and going into the fashionable and sports utilities direction. Keep an eye on those!