Thumb Drives/Flash Drives

Thumb drive, flash drive, jump drive, etc. Do these names all refer to the same thing? There are more and more being advertised, and at prices all over the map. Is there a significant difference in quality or function, depending on the price, or what's the deal? I would like to transfer the photos on my hard drive to another media to open up space on the hard drive. Would a flash drive be a good, reliable place to store them? I hear more all the time that cd's don't last forever. Is there any longevity info available for flash drives? I just saw a 2 gigabyte for under $20. Can it be any good?
Thanks for any info. or opinions

 

Hello garjfree,

Here is a thread with opinions on various drives http://www.windowsbbs.com/showthread.php?t=61129

I would not store data on these drives longterm. First because any media can "break" - so a backup on another media is essential, second, the connectors are fragile, if constantly pushed/pulled can break. I solve that problem by attaching the drive to a short USB cable "permanently" and plugging the cable into the computer. I have had one break on me already.

Regards - Charles