U3

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U3 LLC.
U3 LLC Logo
Type Private
Founded 2004
Headquarters Redwood City, CA
Industry Computer
Slogan Your digital universe in your pocket.
Website www.u3.com

U3 LLC is a joint venture that is backed by Sandisk and its subsidiary, M-Systems. U3 is responsible for the development of a proprietary application design specification created for Microsoft Windows operating systems so that applications can be executed directly from a specially formatted USB flash drive. Applications are allowed to write files or registry information to the host computer, but this information must be removed when the flash drive is ejected.

USB flash drives adhering to the U3 specification are termed "U3 smart drives" by U3.com. "U3 smart drives" differ from traditional USB flash drives because they come preinstalled with the U3 Launchpad, which emulates the Windows OS start menu, and controls program installation.

U3 stands for the three keynotes of the standard, which are: ”Simplified for You“, ”Smarter about You“ and ”As mobile as You“.

Contents

[edit] The U3 platform

[edit] U3 Launchpad

U3 Launch Pad, From a Geek Squad Flash Drive
U3 Launch Pad, From a Geek Squad Flash Drive

The U3 Launchpad is a program manager that is preinstalled on every U3 smart drive, and is set to autoplay on insertion. [1] A partition with the U3 Launchpad pretends to be a CD/DVD-ROM device in order to add USB mass storage device autoplay functionality on pre-Windows XP SP2 systems, or systems whose USB autoplay has been intentionally disabled.

The program is made to work with Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 and above. No Launchpad program exists for the Mac OS or Linux platforms. [2]

[edit] U3 applications

To be fully U3 compliant, an application has to be programmed to clean up its own data from the local machine. It must also be packaged in U3's special program format. U3 applications will only run from a U3 device.

[edit] APIs

The U3 APIs allows U3 Programs lower-level access to USB flash drive.

[edit] Hardware

U3 smart drives are traditional USB flash drives with a specific setup:

  • Disk Management shows two drives; one emulates a read-only CD drive -- an ISO 9660 partition with the autorun and LaunchPad, and the other drive has a traditional FAT partition that includes a hidden SYSTEM folder with your installed applications.
  • Optional: U3 Compliant Applications Preloaded

Hardware manufacturers can get the hardware development kit by emailing licensing@u3.org. [3]

[edit] Compatibility

The U3 Launchpad and U3 Applications runs on Windows 2000 SP4+, XP or newer. U3 will work with Windows Vista as of version 1.4 or higher of the U3 Launchpad. Data will continue to be accessible from any OS capable of reading from USB Mass Storage Devices, unless the U3 device is password-protected.[4]

"If the OS in question can normally see ordinary USB flash drives, then the U3 smart drive removable mass storage area (domain) should still be available for standard file system activities unless it is a private area protected by a password."

The U3 Launchpad and U3 applications present on two separate SanDisk Titanium 2GB worked on 2 separate Vista RTM installations with no issues. Running applications that does not state they work with Windows Vista is not recommended. However, a SanDisk Cruzer Micro 4GB did not function on these same systems, the problem stems from the device driver for the virtual CD being unable to start. This is a driver issue for some of the devices and it is just a matter of time before it is resolved. SanDisk firmware version 2.1.7, 2.1.8, and 2.2.0 does not support Windows Vista while firmware version 2.1.5, 2.1.6 and 2.2.1 support Windows Vista. An update to unsupported device is planned and the target date for release is Q3 this year. [Source: U3 Community and U3]

[edit] Developer resources

Information on building U3 compliant applications, and the U3 software development kit, are available to registered developers at the official U3 website. Individuals must register (as a company) to download the SDK, or participate in the forums. [5]

[edit] Benefits

Portability
Software can be taken with all its personalized settings to any computer running a compatible version of Microsoft Windows, with no need to install the software if not already there, or to use different settings and options, and no need for administrator access privileges.
Software support
Software is available from the U3 site, including amongst others Trillian (instant messaging client), OpenOffice.org, FileZilla, Mozilla Firefox, and Skype.
Ease of use
Programs are run from the Launchpad, functionally similar to the Windows Start menu familiar to most users of Windows XP.
No need of admin rights
New software can be downloaded to a U3 flash drive without the requirement for administrative privileges on the host computer.
Virus protection
Many U3 drives come with virus protection software which gives protection against being infected by or spreading computer viruses.
3rd party support
Some popular free portable application programs available at PortableApps.com for non-U3 flash drives have been adapted for use with U3 drives. They are available at the web sites of U3 and PortableApps.com.

[edit] Criticisms

 The neutrality of this section is disputed.
Please see the discussion on the talk page.

Several criticisms have been made of the U3 platform. These criticisms are:

Closed Platform
The U3 platform is closed, though is available to anyone who registers (for free) with U3. Sandisk, the rights holders for U3, ask for a 5% royalty from USB flash drive manufacturers who wish to implement the platform on their products. The creator of Firefox Portable has ceased development of the application for the U3 platform citing these concerns, and newer versions of the application are available for all USB flash drives. [[6]]
Uninstallation issues
The original U3 Launchpad could not be uninstalled by an end-user. U3 responded to this criticism by making uninstall software available on their website[7]. This was largely due to Best Buy's Geek Squad, who in early 2006 raised the issue of not being able to uninstall U3 and got them to first write an uninstaller for the Geek Squad branded drives, and later for all the U3 drives; as of November 2006, U3 drives come with an uninstaller on the USB drive itself. However, the uninstaller doesn't work in all cases[citation needed]; and requires installing proprietary software on the computer before being able to remove the U3 features from the flash drive[citation needed]. Although U3 removal disables U3 functionality[8], SanDisk does offer LPInstaller to reinstall the basic U3 feature-set.[9]
Leaves Traces on Host PC
The U3 platform sometimes leaves behind files on a user's PC. This mainly occurs when the drive is improperly removed.
Data Security
Most U3 drives on the market feature a security lock within the U3 Launchpad. This loads the CD partition first and can be user-configured to require a password to be entered; otherwise the data partition will not load. The drive is supposed to seal itself after a certain number of invalid password entries, requiring a reformat.[10] Since the data partition is not encrypted, the user's data may not actually be secure, as the U3 CD-ROM partition can be easily be used to store any program.[11]
Insufficient user privileges
Where a user has insufficient privileges he may run into problems getting the launcher to work[citation needed]. In such a case the launcher might actually prove a hindrance to using the device[citation needed].
Two Drive Letters
As a work-around to the lack of Auto-Play for Flash drives, the U3 software must create two drive letters (one which presents itself as a CD to allow Windows' auto-play to start the launcher, and another for storing user data). Although this is the only way in which to implement the auto-start functionality required, it is a somewhat inelegant hack, and some argue that the extra drive letter created can be an annoyance.

[edit] Modification

The Launchpad software on a U3 device can be replaced using 3rd party tools, allowing it to Autoplay any software that is able to fit onto the device. This involves creating an ISO image not exceeding 6,291,456 bytes[12] and then transferring the ISO image onto the device, replacing the existing Launchpad files. Universal Customizer 1.0.0.8 is an example of such a tool.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Official

[edit] Reviews and overviews

[edit] Developer resources

  • U3 SDK (requires registration. individuals can register as companies)

[edit] Community

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