Serious question on thumb drives (was Re: Maybe a deal on flash drives)

[Thomas Cameron]

On Sat, 2007-09-15 at 23:37 -0400, Michael Semcheski wrote:

> When I read this, the first thing I thought of was bad caps and
> capacitor plague.
> 
> Basically, there is a formula for making the electrolyte solution in
> the capacitors.  A rival manufacturer used industrial espionage to
> steal the formula, but didn't get it exactly right.  The result was a
> formula that worked for three years or so, then stopped working.
> 
> So, when you buy the knock offs, you're not necessarily getting what
> you think you're getting.
> 
> Of course, in the case of the bad caps, it was pretty much all of the
> major computer manufacturers (e.g. HP and Dell) that ended up
> unknowingly buying the bad product and putting it on motherboards.  To
> their credit, they generally extended the warranty on these products
> well beyond the original date once the problem became well known.

So I get three years of use out of a thumb drive instead of maybe the 5
I would have gotten from a so-called name brand.  OK.  

Three years ago, I thought a 256MB thumb drive was MASSIVE.  Today I
wouldn't take one for free.

I keep circling around the idea that for a little solid state thing like
a thumb drive, for only $60-70, it is probably worth the risk to buy a
cheap one.  I am considering buying one just to test it out.

Anyone ever used one of the cheap ones off eBay?

Thomas