SD card or USB?

rapid64k · 14 Oct 2008 at 22:27

Just posing a question here guys i have a sudden urge to back up some of my data onto SD cards are sd cards better than usb sticks?
I know you require a card reader - which i have, they are also a lot smaller in size to a usb seem a bit faster too.
Is there any down sides to using an SD card over a usb stick?

Grimley · 14 Oct 2008 at 22:45

Yep, keep them hidden incase someone else suddenly needs an SD card in your house for their digital camera/PDA/Phone etc.

Aod · 14 Oct 2008 at 23:09

SD cards might not be supported 10, 20 or 30 years in the future. there's a much better chance that USB-flash-drives will be supported in the far future.

rapid64k · 14 Oct 2008 at 23:15

Aod said:
SD cards might not be supported 10, 20 or 30 years in the future. there's a much better chance that USB-flash-drives will be supported in the far future.

You could say the same thing about usb sticks to be fair.

PhillyDee · 14 Oct 2008 at 23:27

rapid64k said:
You could say the same thing about usb sticks to be fair.

Floppies are still going strong . . . I still have my Zip100 drive, but everything was backed up on them long long ago. USB will probably last longer.

Aod · 15 Oct 2008 at 00:12

rapid64k said:
You could say the same thing about usb sticks to be fair.

but SD cards are a proprietary, Licensed format, and USB-flash-drives AREN'T, thus, can be expected to have a FAR longer lifetime.

iamTakeo · 15 Oct 2008 at 01:50

I use an 8GB SD card in my EEE, great for extra storage and doesnt take up a USB slot, and practically invisible once its inserted!

Werewolf · 15 Oct 2008 at 02:06

Aod said:
but SD cards are a proprietary, Licensed format, and USB-flash-drives AREN'T, thus, can be expected to have a FAR longer lifetime.

I suspect the licence fees for SD are cheap enough now that it's not going to be a problem in the future (IIRC floppy drives, IDE, CD/DVD all require fees to the groups that hold the patents).

The way round it would be to ensure you keep a few memory readers.

From a purely space concious point of view i'd say ~SD or micro SD (with a few adaptors

), from a cost point of view i suspect usb is probably cheaper.

rapid64k · 15 Oct 2008 at 07:29

We still divided here. But i think its safe to say that SD cards used as a back up device is as safe as using a usb stick.

Nix · 15 Oct 2008 at 11:30

Honestly, I think USB have a longer life-span. SD cards will probably evolve much faster due to the nature of their size and being used often in phones, etc. Whereas the USB has become pretty stable.

Just my two cents ^^