The first ever portable USB drive surprised with its storage capacity. Israeli engineer Dov Moran designed the initial model in 1995 and obtained a patent for the idea in 1999. However, Trek Technology and IBM were the ones who brought it to the market in 2000.
Unlike current portable drives, the first model required a cable to connect to the computer, similar to an external hard drive. Trek Technology and IBM launched it in the current design, according to Gearrice.
The first portable drive from Trek Technology had a modest capacity of 8 megabytes and was priced at $30. Shortly afterward, IBM released its own model, offering options of an equivalent competitor and a 32-megabyte version with a higher price of $100.
In 2000, it was upgraded to USB 2.0, which boasted speeds of up to 30 megabytes per second, 20 times faster than the first USB drive in history.
In 2008, the transition to USB 3.0 with a speed of 4.8 gigabits per second occurred. Today, the standard is USB 4.0 with a speed of 40 gigabits per second. Along this journey, many companies have adopted this technology, leading to a wide range of designs and capabilities. Pendrives have changed a lot since then.
Today, for a comparative value with other options, we can find safes like the Kingston IronKey Keypad 200 designed to protect data with military-grade security specifications, and the option of cloud storage is increasing.
In the 90s, Byhat, one of the creators of USB flash drives, faced issues connecting his printer at home, prompting him to search for a solution that would allow for simpler and more comprehensive connectivity. His goal was to create a global standard for low-cost, low-bandwidth communications.
USB did not gain strength until the second edition of the Windows 98 operating system in 1999. Since then, USB has evolved and become a key for many devices, with constantly increasing charging capabilities.
As for the question of why USB cannot be reversed, Byhat explains that doing so would require doubling the amount of cables and circuits, significantly increasing costs. While he acknowledges that this was a mistake, he also points out that USB enabled it to become a reality and surpass initial expectations.
