| Transcend JetFlash 120 1GB Flash Drive
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Quality:
When we first received this product, I was surprised by its small size compared to its relatively large 1GB of space. It is impressive when you consider two years ago most flash drives of the same size only held 128MB of data. At under 3" long, it will easily fit in a pocket or hang comfortably from your neck. The flash drive has a cool-blue color with a transparent center. Like most flash drives, this drive has a removable plastic cover that protects the USB adapter. The only issue you may have with this device is misplacing the end-cap when you remove it. Otherwise, Transcend appears to have gotten things right.
 
Operation & Use:
As mentioned, the Transcend JetFlash 120 come packaged with a small CD that contains drivers (for Windows 98) and software. The same software was also packaged with Transcend's JetFlash 110 model reviewed by Bigbruin.com in May 2005.
The software allows users to use their flash drives as a computer "key" (without the key you cannot unlock the computer). The software also allows users to create a private partition on the flash drive that can be password protected. Using either feature is very simple, you install the software to your computer, then click a button to activate the feature you want. There was one problem that I realized with the private partition, and that is that on a public workstation (such as your public library) you wont be able to access your data unless you have executable permission on that PC. Executable permissions are required to copy the Transcend software from the jump drive to the local computer.
 
I decided to test another feature of the flash drive that is becoming mainstream in the industry. Transcend advertises their flash drives as being "bootable devices." With little work, I was able to install a scaled-down version of Windows XP using software called BartPE onto the flash drive. This third party software enables users to run recovery and anti-virus tools in a familiar Windows environment. This could be very useful for someone trying to fix a machine in the event of a system file being infected or corrupted. As long as the computer you are using was built after 2004, booting directly from a jump drive should be possible after enabling the function in the BIOS. If not, a quick BIOS flash will usually allow users to add-in this functionality.
 
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