Nearly everyone who works with computers needs portable storage of some type, and if none of the specialized devices get your attention, the 8GB Flash Voyager will do the job well. A rugged rubber coating and waterproof cap should allow it to stand up to years of abuse, and its large capacity leads the field for devices of this size.

But durability isn't necessarily this product's chief selling point. As USB flash drives go, the Flash Voyager 8GB is amazingly fast! 33.3MB/s read rate is nearly as good as the latest USB hard drives, while 22.0MB/s write speed is none too shabby, either. Corsair still wants to stress that this part is designed for capacity above speed, and it's certainly large enough to hold a typical dual-layer DVD or 2-3 single-layer DVD movie files, which are typically 2.4-3.8GB per disk.

Even then, in true spy-gadget fashion, this tiny little device holds an important secret: Your data! The unit ships with TrueCrypt software, which serves to help protect your valuable information from prying eyes -- useful whether your gift recipient works alongside James Bond in the Ministry of Defense, or merely as a nameless drone in the corporate world.

The software is interesting in that it fills the entire TrueCrypt volume (a portion, or all, of your thumb drive) with garbage -- garbage that gets overwritten by password-protected encrypted data that also appears as garbage until the volume has been mounted. Documentation covers everything from how you're protected even if your password is taken (say, if you cave under torture, or are merely careless). A great gift for those who need to carry personal information, or who work with important materials -- regardless of whether they carry a license to kill.

Stuffed in the back of the package are a lanyard, USB extension cable, and CD with 98SE drivers and TrueCrypt Encryption software. The Flash Voyager 8GB is supported natively by Windows ME and newer operating systems.