I was reading a blog on TechRepublic.com and it discussed 10 cool things you can do with a USB drive. I was aware of some of those things (such as Portable Apps) but was quite surprised by some others I did not know about. There is no reason why we can’t take advantage of all that a USB drive has to offer since USB drives are getting cheaper by the day and larger as well. Storage capacity is growing so fast that a 16 gig flash drive can be purchased today for as little as $33, a 32 gig for $70. Wow! I remember when I paid those prices for 4 gigs, and that was not long ago!

Here are the ten things you can do with your USB drive:

1. Run Portable Applications
   I knew about this one, but if you never heard of running applications like word processors, spreadsheet programs, database programs, web browsers, email programs, etc., all from your USB drive, then you may want to look into this. It allows you to use any computer to run your apps and you never have to worry whether the computer your using will have the applications you need.
2. Boot An Operating System From Your Flash Drive
   You can boot both Windows XP and a version of Linux from your flash drive.
3. Keep Wireless Connection Setup Information
   Saving the setup information for your wireless network to your flash drive will make it easier to add other computers and network devices to your wireless network.
4. Create a Password Reset Disk For Windows Vista
   You can have your flash drive serve as your password reset disk, just in case you have trouble getting back into your computer!
5. Boost Disk Drive Performance
   Use your flash drive as an extra memory cache for your hard disk. It’s easy in Windows Vista.
6. Use a USB Flash Drive Manager
   If you use Windows XP, then the USB Flash Drive Manager is available to you and makes managing your data a lot simpler.
7. Use It As a Portable Music Library
   Plug it into any Windows system and let Media Player do the rest.
8. Secure Your Files From Prying Eyes
   There are applications available to encrypt your files so that if you lose your flash drive, it can’t be read.
9. Run a Web Server From It
   I love this idea. It will allow you to demo websites locally on any computer without having to configure the computer. Great for showcasing web applications to potential clients or your boss!
10. Use Your Flash Drive As a Computer Lock
    Computer can be used when the flash drive is plugged in, but cannot be used when the flash drive is removed.

Want to know more? Check out the post yourself to get more details on how each of these ten tasks are accomplished.