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Post by t-bob on Nov 27, 2009 19:37:14 GMT -5
Anyone here know when software will be available on flashdrives instead of the disc format? It would be so much easier (lighter weight/less costly) to buy a netbook than a laptop. Right now everything is DVD/CD based.  |
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Post by patrick on Nov 27, 2009 19:44:21 GMT -5
Depending on the software, can you install it so that it is installed on a flash drive instead of a hard drive?
By the way, I understand that flash drives have a limited number of read/write cycles, so this may not be feasible.
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Post by Ann T on Nov 27, 2009 20:31:46 GMT -5
Are you talking about installing software from a flash drive instead of from a DVD? Can't you just copy all the files from the DVD onto a flash drive, using another computer, and then install from the flash drive into the netbook?
I copied an entire desktop iMac's worth of software, documents, e-mail, etc. using the Apple Migration Assistant and a wireless connection when I set up my Macbook Air. Then the Macbook rebooted, and voila--everything was installed and ready to go, passwords and serial numbers and all. That was slick.
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Post by Russell Letson on Nov 27, 2009 20:53:36 GMT -5
For software installation purposes, a $60 external USB DVD drive ought to serve. (I just saw one in Target at that price.) For external/backup storage, thumb drives seem to work well--though, as Patrick points out, they have a finite (though pretty long) read/write lifetime. (I love my cheap 8-gig drives from Micro Center.) I would think that a more serious limitation of a netbook's CPU and architecture might be lack of speed for some applications--though even Word Perfect runs OK on our old sub-1GHz ThinkPads, so it's probably only graphics- or sound-intensive apps that would be affected.
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Post by Supertramp78 on Nov 27, 2009 22:06:29 GMT -5
Software will be downloaded before it comes on a flashdrive. Blank CDs cost about 20 sents. Flash drives cost more than that and online distribution costs nothing.
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