Not even a 10-ton truck is a match for LaCie newest flash drive (and yes, LaCie tested that claim).

Come hell or high water, or even a 10-ton truck, LaCie's new XtremKey USB 3.0 flash drive has little to worry about. As the name implies, LaCie's latest flash drive is extremely tolerant to harsh conditions, such as being submerged in water down to 200 meters (over 656 feet). It has a protective cap made of thick ZAMAC metal alloy and wear-resistant screw threads with a rubber O-ring.

With AMD and Intel both fully (and finally) embracing the SuperSpeed USB 3.0 standard, it's almost impossible to pick up a system saddled with just USB 2.0 ports, especially with third-party companies like NEC and Marvell picking up the slack. That's good news, because USB 3.0 peripherals are quick becoming commonplace. One of the newest USB 3.0 products is Patriot Memory's Supersonic Rage XT, a high-performance thumbstick built around a compact form factor.

The way in which we shuttle files back and forth between our mobile devices and home PCs is changing, but changing to what? Just as the SuperSpeed USB 3.0 spec gets ready to be baked in natively to chipsets from Intel and AMD, both companies are also looking at Thunderbolt (Intel) or equivalent alternatives (AMD), but where USB 3.0 has an advantage is in cost.