On The...Torture Rack? LaCie's Unbreakable USB Thumb Drive
What's The Point?
The bottom line is that the LaCie XtremKey is impressive. It stood up to just about all our attempts at destruction (we'll be honest--we were working up another ten or so).
But, in the end, you have to ask yourself the question: what's the point? As we've seen, in general, standard USB keys hold up fairly well to abuse. A quality metal model, in practical terms, is just as able to withstand the vicissitudes of the outside world as the LaCie model. Still it's a good product, reasonably fast, and all but indestructible.
It has two shortcomings, though: it's relatively bulky, and above all, it's expensive. The 8 GB version lists at $49.99, the 16 GB (the one we tested) at $79.99, the 32 GB at $139.99, and the 64 GB--an exceptional model, admittedly--at $249.99.
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Why not try get a gun a shoot the LaCie USB drive and see if it is able to stop a bullet? If so, i will buy right away...Reply
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alikum jupiter optimus maximusWhy not try get a gun a shoot the LaCie USB drive and see if it is able to stop a bullet? If so, i will buy right away...And chain them together and use as bullet proof vest?Reply -
iam2thecrowe you forgot the washing machine test (my usb stick has been through twice and survived) and the run over it with a lawnmower test (again my usb key survived!)Reply -
ta152h Next time use a better acid. Nitric Acid will dissolve many things normal acids can't. Of course, Hydrofluoric Acid would work quite well on just about anything, although not a strong acid.Reply
I would strongly recommend one more test. Let a goat eat it, and see what happens. The damn things eat cans, so they have a chance against this thing. If the goat displays unusually good memory a little while after eating it, you'll have your answer. -
jj463rd Some thermite with an igniter will do it in.So will some R.D.X. with a #8 blasting cap too.Reply -
cangelini Had this been performed in the US (our French team wrote it), you *know* I would have taken as much California-legal firepower to it as possible. Ever since that "CPU Shootout" two April 1sts ago, I've been itching to put a few more rounds into hardware.Reply
Call it payback for pre-production components that keep me up late at night troubleshooting...