the semi-official stick of SimonaStick.com has been the Patriot XPorter USB2.0 8 gig stick because of its performance, cost, and funky look. its big blocky rubber body with a lifetime warranty only costs $14 and is faster than the Corsair Flash Voyager. the Voyager used to be the fastest until Corsair changed its controller chip last summer to a slower one
cost is an important consideration to me because i tend to look at things through the eyes of a teacher and want to endorse something that i think is a good value (and fun too) =)
in the last year, the prices for USB3.0 sticks have come down to reasonable levels and last march i tested an 8 gig USB3.0 stick by Super Talent. it was a little faster on big files but WAY slower on small files than the funky XPorter. keep in mind that i’m testing these on USB2.0 machines so there’s no way to reach the theoretical speeds that USB3.0 promises but they still can be faster than a 2.0 stick. the slow “write” speeds of small files kept the Super Talent from becoming the new sim-on-a-stick stick (a stick stick? plus it was not very funky)
today i received a possible contender – the Corsair Survivor - a truly oversized monster of a stick which is touted as being “adventure proof” because when i sit like a lump at my pc i may need a crushproof stick that is waterproof to 200 metres and withstands g-forces up to 40 Gs! (guess i must be an Extreme OpenSim user!) =D
this stick was on the US Amazon site for $33 from Nu Image but now it’s not currently available =(
the price is more than i’d like but it is a 16 gig stick versus the Patriot 8 gig but it only has a five year warranty. realistically, five years is fine but it’s neat that the Patriot is warranted for life (including free cap replacement)
apart from its total geeky look and huge size, how did this stick perform? will it be the new sim-on-a-stick stick for the soon-to-come OpenSim 0.7.2 version of SoaS?
using CrystalDiskMark i ran the same benchmark on the Corsair Survivor as i had on the Patriot XPorter and you can see, despite being on a USB2.0 machine, that the Survivor runs faster. small file write times are what matter for running sim-on-a-stick
does this mean you should run out and buy a Corsair Survivor?
nope. the speed of the Patriot allows OpenSim to run just fine and i have never had an issue with it. but . . . i’ll be using the Survivor for a few weeks to see if i notice any difference and also to get attention at work with this trash can sized stick! (what me try to get attention? never!) =)
“… crushproof stick that is waterproof to 200 metres and withstands g-forces up to 40 Gs …”
*pictures getting so frustrated getting textures to line up properly, yanks the stick out the slot throws it down onto the floor, stomping on it before throwing it out the window into the swimming pool 20 floors below*
Yep, pretty handy ;-D
Sarge Misfit
14 Oct 11 at 7:19 am
btw, Ener, 0.7.2 has been released. :-)
Sarge Misfit
14 Oct 11 at 7:22 am
yah i know, i was trying to say the 0.7.2 version of sim-on-a-stick which needs the Diva D2 build to be 0.7.2. it was very unclear how i worded it but i’m a frog, what do i know about English? =D
love your tantrum! it’s also heavy, if i have it in my pocket and fall in the water, i’m a goner!
Ener Hax
14 Oct 11 at 7:43 am
Those are important features. Every stick that I’ve owned has gone through the clothes wash cycle at least once – and survived. My unintended line of experiments leads me to conclude that a random sampling of usb sticks are waterproof (to at least 1/3 of a meter).
Small pocket paper notebooks are decidedly NOT waterproof.
Kimika Ying
14 Oct 11 at 7:46 am
nice to know Kimika =) the Patriot one is also claimed to be waterproof with several accounts online about it being washed like yours
this one is so big (and heavy) that it would be hard to miss in your clothes
i hope it’s big enough that i don’t lose it (i’ve lost two sticks that were very small)
Ener Hax
14 Oct 11 at 8:35 am
Looks like I’m not up to date on the Diva builds, Ener. Concentrating too much on AuroraSim I guess :-P
Sarge Misfit
14 Oct 11 at 9:05 am
no worries Sarge, the stick uses the Diva build because it has her awesome Wifi admin panel (let’s you create new users so that you can go from Simona to Simon if you are gender conscious) =D
Ener Hax
14 Oct 11 at 11:10 am
That’s one of the things I like about the Diva Distro, Ener, the WebUI that makes account management so easy. I STILL haven’t figured out how to get something similar setup for an Aurora-on-a-Stick. I have to admit to not having had much time to work it out, but it should be just a matter of configuring the relevant files to use the Apache server that comes with SoaS.
Sarge Misfit
14 Oct 11 at 12:28 pm
” … just a matter of configuring the relevant …”
spoken like a true master g33k! (even if you and i are just feeble minded Canadians – you know, we don’t need stringent regulations because most Canadians don’t need laws to tell them what is ethical or not) =D
Ener Hax
14 Oct 11 at 2:40 pm
You’ve been reading too much EuroTrash, Ener! *winks, grinning*
Sarge Misfit
14 Oct 11 at 3:26 pm
hey, i’m a frog – all i know to do is eat split pea soup, have some poutine, and cut down trees in the forest. oh yeah, i’m also decent at finding beaver =p
Ener Hax
14 Oct 11 at 3:46 pm
> Ener… We don’t have that brand here. But a couple days ago, I bought an 8GB stick with an interface slot for a micro SD card as used in my Android cellphone… for €10 bucks… I also got a 32GB micro SD card for €37 bucks…
Eurominuteman
14 Oct 11 at 11:24 pm
So the question is, does an Opensim Standalone run on an Android cellphone? If yes, how?
Eurominuteman
14 Oct 11 at 11:30 pm
The Mobile Grid Client doesn’t have 3D view and voice according to this article…
http://nickzwart.blogspot.com/2011/07/hollidays-opensim-and-sl-on-your-cell.html
Whereas, the iPhone app called Pocket Metaverse does allow 3D view.
Eurominuteman
14 Oct 11 at 11:42 pm
3Di also has an Android viewer, but it’s not being pursued any more…
http://www.hypergridbusiness.com/2011/07/3di-scales-back-on-opensim/
Eurominuteman
14 Oct 11 at 11:48 pm
How can I get a dual-use Opensim Standalone configuration (laptop + Android mobile) running, by using a USB stick with integrated micro SD card slot? Would the cellphone Internet capability allow sim visitors?
Eurominuteman
15 Oct 11 at 2:13 am
So, I am not only a backwoods hillbilly, but I also lack transparency and support bribery, huh?
How’d you like to be named the respondant in a libel suit, Eurominutemant?
Sarge Misfit
15 Oct 11 at 9:43 am
Sarge, if you are a backwoods hillbilly, then i aspire to be the same. you have good mad skillz on the VW front that i certainly envy. so consider yourself an Ener-Approved VW Tech Ninja! =)
now Euro, that’s an interesting query and i see that Linden Lab is pursuing an iOS and Android interface (they either have or are tyring to hire such developers)
if Linden Lab succeeds, then that should find it’s way to OpenSim. however, the CPU power as well as bandwidth will be an issue
this is where a semi-read only viewer would be good – one that does not allow you to build but it still has to allow wou to write the appearance of avatars which opens a can of virtual worms
it should probably evolve to that but it is such a small market and at what point do you just place an arbitrary stop to this?
what i mean is that other 3D apps, like Maya and Blender, are not ported over to mobile devices and never will be (although there is Blender for USB drives avaialble at PortableApps)
Ener Hax
15 Oct 11 at 11:04 am
Thank you, Ener.
Sarge Misfit
15 Oct 11 at 11:15 am
> Ener… Android is also used in iPads…
Eurominuteman
15 Oct 11 at 6:22 pm
> Ener… CPU power and bandwidth are progressing upwards through the ceiling at exponential speed, so any bottlenecks won’t matter soon, I would think…
I mean, it’s actually hard to fathom and factor in, what exponential change here means… my Android cellphone has a 32GB micro SD storage card now, and prices dropped 50% recently…
The mentioned dual-use USB 2.0 stick 8GB with micro SD slot can handle a 16GB micro SD storage card, so 24GB costs me €9.99 + €17.90 = €27.89
Eurominuteman
15 Oct 11 at 7:43 pm
” … Sarge, it worries me that genuine, active contibutors to a community(Opensim in this case) such as yourself is getting so bent out of shape over Euro. While I understand, please don’t let these people cause you to take your eye off the ball.
…
There is also another side effect – useful blog and forum resources of the Opensim community get “noisey”, and their value is diminished. Worse still, I suspect some significant opensim contributors(EG core developers) shy away from the noisey blogs now. They just can’t commit time to a post only to be promptly challenged about their inegrity.” http://iliveisl.com/16-month-decline-in-second-life-sims/#comments
Thank you, Breen, for the support and, most important, for reminding me of what is important, the community, as well as reminding me of what is at stake, the development and future of OpenSim and the metaverse. I allowed the commentary of one person to blind me to that. I have contributed to the “noise” as a result.
I apologize to one and all for my part in that. Please be assured that it will not happen again.
Sarge Misfit
15 Oct 11 at 8:46 pm
[...] sim-on-a-stick stick because of its massive funk factor, decent price, and initial speed test results. however, it will need to see about a month’s worth of my own OpenSim activity to see how [...]
OAR copy times on the contender USB stick at i live in science land
15 Oct 11 at 9:23 pm
Euro – please stop your attacks on commentors here – you have many good points but attacks on others is never welcomed
Sarge does not need to have any safe harbour anything – his is a private endeavor and he offers no services or goods
Ener Hax
15 Oct 11 at 9:39 pm
@Misfit: No need for apology. And I have no problem with a guy defending himself.
As an aside, in another forum, I decided to challenge Euro on his posts. This would have continued forever, but the moderator stepped in, rightly. But the results we interesting and answered a few of my suspicions.
Euro openly slanders Maria Korolov, and hypocritically refers to her as an un-quality astroturfer. Yet not 18 hours ago links to yet another Hypergrid Business story.
Its all about the links. The guy is about as abhorrent as they come.
Breen Whitman
15 Oct 11 at 9:59 pm
[...] saw in the benchmark speed test that the Corsair Survivor was faster than the Patriot Xporter, even on a USB2.0 machine. then we [...]
OpenSim start & OAR loading times – Xporter vs. Survivor at i live in science land
18 Oct 11 at 1:18 pm
[...] new “official” stick for sim-on-a-stick? – oct 14 CrystalDiskMark benchmark speed tests between USB2.0 & USB3.0 stick [...]
sim-on-a-stick posts at i live in science land
8 Jan 12 at 10:14 am
[...] the Corsair Survivor is still the official sim-on-a-stick stick and i had the chance to test out a brand new 32 gig one. they look identical and the 32 gig is at Amazon for $38 USD (suggested list is $49.99). that’s a great price considering that the 16 gig one was $37 last october [...]
bigger isn’t better – 32 gb vs 16 gb Survivor at i live in science land
24 Apr 12 at 5:49 pm
[...] at a premium (USB3.0 ports are blue). however, 3.0 sticks have come down in price and the current official Sim-on-a-Stick stick is $25 USD on Amazon for the 16 gig size ($19 for 8 gig and $37 for 32 [...]
part two! sim-on-a-stick: USB 2.0 vs. USB 3.0 at i live in science land
16 Aug 12 at 1:33 pm