DeadDrop Offline File Sharing: A Creative Use for PCB's

Along with our range of branded USB flash drives we also make custom USB flash drives. Everything about theses memory sticks is customisable from the storage size of the memory chip to the shape and colours of the casing.  We have made some really cool custom USB flash drives for companies like Nike, Silk Cut, Tampax and Orange to name a few.  However if you fancy doing this yourselves we also sell the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) that make up the memory of the custom USB memory sticks.  You might be wondering why we think that companies would want to buy the PCB’s and make 100 or 200 of their own USB cases.  Well, we don’t.

Printed Circuit Board (PCB)

The idea behind selling the PCB’s is that many schools use them as Design Technology projects for their students.  At the beginning of the project they will be given a PCB and the challenge to come up with a creative case to hold the memory chip.  This is a great way to help develop the students creativity and give them a useful data storage device at the end of it.  We have recently come across another use for the PCB’s.

A very interesting use for PCB’s is DeadDrops, a growing, offline, peer-to-peer file sharing movement.  DeadDrops involves securing a USB memory chip in a discrete public place stored with some files that you want to share.  The PCB’s are usually put in wall using cement – they need to be secured quite tightly.  A wall is not the most comfortable place to access the USB drive, the DeadDrops site has a lot of images and videos with people using their laptops, quite uncomfortably whilst holding them next to the wall.  The location of the PCB can then be uploaded to the DeadDrops blog and people can visit the street of the DeadDrop and try to find the USB.  Files can then be downloaded and uploaded onto the flash drive making it an off-line file sharing system.

Rabbit PCB USB Example

Finding a random USB flash drive cemented into the wall does seem like quite an interesting discovery and it would be interesting to hook your laptop up to it to find out what was stored on there.  Although a cool concept, it is quite pointless, but it does seem to have attracted a cool community of followers.  The DeadDrops blog also shows a video of people loading some data onto a USB flash drive attached to some balloons and letting it loose into the sky.  No doubt the idea is that someone will find this, open the files on the drive, find out what it is about and be expected to release the USB back into the sky for someone else to find.

We don't condone damaging public property for placing USB's but DeadDrops is certainly a creative use for PCB’s and we think that many pupils can come up with cases and applications just as imaginative.  PCB’s can be supplied in any memory size from 64MB up to 16GB.  To find out more visit our PCB product page and our Branded Memory Sticks for Schools and University's Page.  If you would much prefer that we used our creativity to develop a custom USB memory stick to give to customers then get in touch.