LaCie's itsaKey, iamaKey and PassKey USB drives now available
By Darren Murph 
posted March 14th 2009 7:43AM
posted March 14th 2009 7:43AM
posted March 14th 2009 7:43AM
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At last a USB drive that makes sense!
I wouldn't say so, this is a trap. The less I have to take my keys out of my pockets the safer they are. Putting these drives on your bundle of keys is putting yourself up for he risk of forgetting your keys at a place that's not yours.
Not to mention pocket lint. I can see these guys getting clogged within a couple of weeks if I actually used them in my pocket with my regular keys.
errm...Blow in the end before you plug it in? I usually end up doing this anyway to the port on the computer because no one bothers to do any computer maintenance AT ALL and its always completely clogged with dust or is broken from pencils or something being shoved in it "because of boredom." Why would you ever do that to a computer? If its a public computer or one you bought, either way your being an ass. Anyway, it probably comes with some kind of end cap and judging by the length of the end it will probably be a pretty big one that doesn't fall off too easily.
Oh and I think only that one model has the type of connector that has an opening, the rest are the flat kind so this lint thing can't happen.
well one problem i see with this.
it comes out quite a bit, and having your keys attached to this will cause it to be a lot heavier and have a slight pull on it with gravity and all. If the key could actually go all the way in, that would be impressive.
@shibathedog
Thats what he said!
@homeboy:
I don't know about you, but I keep my thumbdrive in my pocket anyway. People who wear them on lanyards around their necks just look weird, honestly.
@SPPT:
Not if you use a cap. Besides, have you ever got lint stuck in one before? All you do is poke it out with a pencil or piece of metal or something. It doesn't affect the performance of the drive at all. My 512 Megabyte Memorex from three years ago still works fine after having been in mine and other people's pockets for just that long, and I've had to get lint and even little pieces of paper out of it more times than I can even remember.
nice, good idea
Your comments don't address the important lint and aesthetics of necklace-displayed usb drive issues mentioned all around!
So now when I forget my USB drive in the computer lab, I forget my keys too.
I guess I could hang this solitary key around my neck. That would look cool.
No, it wouldn't, but go ahead.
But...but...I wanna look kewwwwwwwl!
Slap a monkey or robot head cover on that and I believe we've reached an accord!
I'll have Sheila bring in the papers and we can finish this thing up...
I like this idea.
My pocket lint is going to love its new home in that USB connector....
I will be buying one of these! I have one of those kingmax things and its way too small and fragile. Much rather something that can live with my keys properly.
Two possible solutions to the two main problems being mentioned with this design:
1) Put a rubber sleeve on the tip or the entire shaft (great, here come the condom jokes) to prevent lint buildup.
2) Put the usb key on a detachable keyring from the main keyring so you don't accidentally leave behind your entire keyset in the computer.
#2 is what I will be doing.
These would have been much cooler as security tokens than a USB drives.
You can still use it as a security token using the right security software. There is software that can turn any memory stick, or flash drive into a key to login to Windows.
Of course, a combination of key + password is much more secure than just a physical key.
For everyone who says there will be some pocket lint clogging the thing, that could be true if they didnt include caps for them. I took a look at the lacie.com page for these, and the iamakey pictures show them in the plastic packaging.
http://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?pid=11225
The other two didnt seem to have plastic caps though.
From Matt's link, notice that the "iamaKey" model is only half of a USB connector. You shouldn't have a problem with lint build-up.
They've got it backwards. Put the CAP on the keychain, plug the drive into it.
really bad idea. I'd rather lose the cap than my usb drive.
I've thought of that, but then there is more liability that your drive will fall off your keychain by coming out of its cap. It's safer to have the drive attached to what you're carrying... even if that still has the potential to cause problems. If they put in some kind of locking cap, that would work, but I think it would crowd the design too much.
LaCie could probably sell more caps if they wanted to by increasing the price on the cap replacement. Then again most people don't care if they lose the cap...
Yep - looks like the lint problem is fixed with the included plastic cap. Now if only we could figure out how to help people remember their keys...ginkgo biloba, methinks?
Personally, I'd rather get to my car and realize I'd left my USB drive than drive all the way home and realize it later or not at all. I think having your USB drive connected to your keys is a great idea.
Now someone needs to invent a USB lock.
And later on someone can invent the USB bump key.
Wouldn't having it attached to your keys make it less likely you would forget them? How would you drive home? How would you get into your house/apartment/dorm room? That's how it works with my 16GB thumb drive...
Word, I agree with Alec. I think it would be pretty hard to not see your keys hanging on a computer (I've got a leatherman squirt, volkswagen flip key, and several keys all on a carabiner that I clip inside my pocket). Also, who forgets their keys? How do you get through your life? Not to sound intolerant, but that's just stupid. Rock on lacie. I was about to buy the corsair flash survivor, but it would make my keyring way too massive.
How about you just use it the way you use your current ones an look at the hole as part of the design and not an obligation to put it on your key ring. All of the ones I've had, had some sort of loop for a key ring but, I didn't attache them to my keys for all of the reason above.
I'm just happy that it looks like a key instead of a piece of bacon or a hotdog which seems to have been the trend lately.
anyone know who sells these in the uk?
play.com are selling them.
On for pre-order.
Yea I really want the weight of my keys hanging off my USB sockets. Real healthy for the motherboard ya know, makes it stronger!
I don't remember the last time I actually plugged a usb thumbdrive directly into my motherboard. I always use front ports or a hub, makes more sense.
Maybe someday our house door locks will be USB controlled, you just have all of your locks with a USB passkey and plug it in to unlock your door.
Ahh. Then criminals wouldn't need guns, crowbars or lock picks to break into homes....just hack themselves in.
This would be perfect for the usb lock.
What we refer to as a 'memory stick' or 'USB stick' the French refer to as a 'USB key'...
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cl%C3%A9_USB
A french-speaking desginer behind this?
many non-french speaking people refer to usb drives etc as usb keys
I think they starting being called usb keys because they typically were used as
'keys' that contained specific software or code to 'unlock' another piece of
software on the computer.
I remember this was the case with Lightwave 3D
- in order for the program to operate, you had to have a certain
approved usb key plugged in to the computer. This was back in 94-95
before usb flash drives became commonly referred to as 'keys'.
My friend's vinyl cutting printer software is the same way too.
I'm not sure how far they really go back, but that's my personal
experience and my best guess.
Anyways, I ordered my 8GB iamaKey since the plastic cap pretty much solves the lint issue - don't think there would be one anyways from the look of the high-res photos. It seems to be all one solid piece on the end and the black part is just a piece of plastic that contains the contacts. Plus I'll be getting a removable type keychain like the barbell in the picture to take care of the 'weight on usb port' issue.
I've always called mine a USB KEY. I'm not French, not at all.
I do like French Fries, and French Dressing.
Yes, finally. I ordered my 8 gig iamaKey, and I am very excited. I am sick of the over sized USB thumb/jump/disk drive that counterweights the keys I already carry on my key ring. This is perfect!
thatsastupidNAME
In for one.
My computer doesn't have the port for the first one.
now i just need to find a retail store with them in the US so i don't have to pay shipping