Flash drive usually is best option to store crucial data

Cars with much more horsepower than we need, hundreds of TV channels we don’t watch, and cameras capable of taking photographs that would look sharp on a billboard — even though we view them on small screens.

Which brings me to the most trenchant example of excess in the name of technology — digital storage, which has mushroomed to the point where even an entry-level personal computer comes with a terabyte’s worth of hard drive, and you can buy a 4-terabyte external hard drive at a big-box store.

Today, a smartphone app can take up more than 10 megabytes, while a terabyte can hold around 167,000 high-quality jpeg photos or 20,000 music CDs.

With the growing popularity of streaming services for movies and music — not to mention online storage for data and photos — big hard drives are losing their allure.

[...] what’s the best way to store your essential data, like legal documents and archival photos?

Is there an easy way to copy or transfer data from an Android tablet or smartphone to a flash drive? I know I can use my PC as an intermediary to transfer files between my phone and a flash drive, but it would be nice if I could connect the phone directly to a flash drive.

What you want is a dual USB drive, which sports a standard USB connector at one end and a micro USB connector at the other.

SanDisk and Hyper even make dual flash drives for the iPhone and iPad (which have proprietary Lightning ports rather than using the micro USB ports that have become standard for Android devices).

[...] when I use the free Wi-Fi hotspots at airports and at Embassy Suites, about all I can do is e-mail and some Internet browsing.

The weather thing sounds odd, but the Netflix issue is a no-brainer: the airport service and the hotel block Netflix so it can’t be accessed on their hotspots.

The hotel, on the other hand, blocks Netflix because it wants you to pay for its on-demand movie service.

[...] lots of hotels block Netflix, so I’d advise putting it on your checklist of essential amenities before booking a room.