I've lost my memory! It fell off my keychain and I can't find it.

The evolution of flash memory, which began as what used to be known as Thumb Drives and has spawned a whole new cottage industry, has allowed us to carry up to two gigabytes of data, music, pictures or video in our pockets, or in my case, on a keychain.

The most popular of these mini marvels, known as Disc-On-Keys, are from M-Systems, which actually licenses its technology to many of the so-called "manufacturers" of flash memory products.

M-Systems Disc-On-Key

The M-Systems drive holds up to 2 gigabytes of data, is smaller than the average pen and enables you to transfer valuable files from one computer to another simply by popping it into the USB port of your computer.

Unfortunately, after excessive use, these drives tend to fall off their cradles (which resemble a small docking station attached to your keychain). That's what happened to mine.

So a word to the wise: Keep an eye on your memory and don't, by any means, play with it by continually popping it into and out of its cradle. You could lose it.

U.S. Modular Monstor Drive

If you can't resist playing with your memory, there are larger devices out there such as the Monstor external USB drive ($99.98) from U.S. Modular that can hold up to four gigabytes of data.

This drive fits in the palm of your hand, so you can still carry it around in your pocket, but is much larger than the Disc-On-Key and harder to lose.

Among its key features are:

• An industry standard USB 2.0 interface.
• It only weighs two grams.
• Transfer rate ranges between 3.3 and 6.5 megabytes per second.
• Low power consumption.
• It can hold up to 600 MP3s, more than 350 photos or 30 minutes of MP4 video.
• It supports Windows and Mac operating systems.

More information on these drives can be found at www.usmodular.com or at www.m-systems.com.

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