The capacity of the first USB flash drive in history will surprise you a lot
The first USB flash drive in history surprised with its storage capacity. Dov Moran, an Israeli engineer, designed the prototype in 1995 and patented the idea in 1999. However, it was Trek Technology and IBM that brought it to market in 2000.
Unlike current flash drives, the first model required a cable to connect to a computer, similar to an external hard drive. However, Trek Technology and IBM launched it on the market with the current design, according to Gearrice.
Trek Technology's first flash drive had a modest 8MB capacity and cost $30. Soon after, IBM released its own model, which offered two options: one that was the same as its competitor's and another that had a 32MB capacity, though it cost $100 more.
In 2000, it was updated to USB 2.0, which had a speed of up to 30 MB/s, 20 times faster than the first USB key in history.
In 2008, the transition to USB 3.0 at 4.8 Gbps was made. Today, the standard is USB 4.0 at 40 Gbps. Along the way, many companies have chosen this technology, resulting in a wide range of designs and capabilities. The reality of pendrives has changed a lot since then.
Today, for value compared to other options, we can find safes like the Kingston IronKey Keypad 200 that are designed to protect data with military-grade security specifications and the option of cloud storage is growing.
In the 1990s, Bhatt, one of the inventors of the USB flash drive, was having trouble connecting to his home printer, which led him to look for a solution that would allow for simpler, more universal connectivity. His goal was to create a global standard for low-cost, low-bandwidth communications.
USB didn't really take off until Windows 98 in 1999. Since then, USB has evolved and become key to many devices, with ever-increasing charging capabilities.
As for the question of why USB can’t be reversed, Bhatt explains that doing so would require doubling the number of cables and circuits, which would significantly increase the cost. While he acknowledges that this was a mistake, he also points out that USB has managed to become a reality and has exceeded initial expectations.