Silicon Insights: The 'Sneaker Net' Returns

May 31, 2001 -- Do you know how much information a floppy disk can hold?

Listen to Tim Bajarin's report.

For many years, the floppy disk was a key component of sneaker net. Old timers know what I am talking about. Since many offices did not have networks and, well before the days of the Internet, the floppy disk was used to take files from one person and deliver them — by hand — to another person who then installed the files on a PC. That was known as sneaker net.

Of course, today, most people just e-mail files to their friends in cubicles down the hall and the need for sneaker net has almost disappeared.

The big problem with floppy disks is that they only hold 640K of information and although text files are often less than 640K, if you have a file with graphics, images, pictures, songs, etc., in most cases, those files are well over the 640K limits of floppy disks.

But, there is a problem with mailing large files to friends who are close by. Unless you have an e-mail service with unlimited storage, you most likely are limited to sending files no larger than 5 megabytes.

So, what happens if you have a Powerpoint file with 6 megs of data on it? Or, if you have digital pictures you want to send to a co-worker that is also over the 5-megabyte limit?

Unless you have Zip drives or CD re-writable media, you could be stuck. But, there is a new storage medium that works with any USB drive that is very cheap and easily solves this problem.

Agate Technologies has created something called the Q USB hard drive and it looks like a keyfob, yet holds up to 64 megs of data that can just be plugged into any USB port for very fast data transfer.

I recently needed to get a 10 megabyte Powerpoint file from my assistant, so I just took my 16 meg Q drive, plugged it into her computer's USB port, downloaded the file, then took it to my laptop, plugged it into my USB port, and presto, that very large file was now on my PC.

Yes folks, the sneaker net is back. And thankfully, my 16 meg Q USB drive cost only $69. Plus, now I have a really easy way to get large files from co-workers at will.

I now carry my Q drive on my key chain and am ready to get large files from anybody at a moment's notice. This handy little drive can be purchased directly from the company at www.eiware.com and you can get them up to 64 megs now and, by early next year, they will even come in 1-gigabyte models.

Tim Bajarin is a consultant and leading computer industry analyst and futurist, covering the field of personal computers and consumer technology. He's based in Campbell, Calif.