Picture here is a standard USB memory stick, a device that is very common in the world today. There are several problems with the design of the USB devices used these days. First, to operate the device correctly the user has to signal the computer to "eject" the USB. There is little feedback involved in the process. Usually an icon just disappears off the desktop once the device is ejected. This step is often skipped and the device is just pulled out of the computer, risking damaging the contents of the USB. Another risk is for the USB to get bumped or bent, damaging either the computer, the USB, or both. The long thin design (used by most USB devices) increases this risk of putting unnecessary force on the connection. These risks effect the device safety, its effectiveness, and the user satisfaction.
SOLUTION:
The USB drive should take a lesson from the fading disc drive. CD's usually have a slot for the CD that will pull the CD completely inside the computer. Once finished with the CD, it is ejected, and it comes back out. The design decreases the room for breaking the CD or pulling it out with out ejecting. If this design can work for CD's, then I think it can work for USB's. USB's should be made to a standard size, so that computers can design a slot that pulls the USB inside the computer while it's being used. Once finished with the USB it could be ejected like a CD and removed. They could keep their rectangular shape and most other components of their design. This is as much a change in the design of the USB drive on the computer than it is for the USB itself. If this improvement would be made it would greatly increase the effectiveness of the USB, and it would remove a lot of the inherent error caused by the device's design.
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