Worried about how reliable the flash memory your memory stick may be, well Toshiba, the inventor of flash memory, has worked it out for us.

Excellent Reliability for Consumer Applications

"..sufficient for a wide range of consumer applications, from storing documents to digital photos. For example, if a 256MB MLC NAND Flash-based card can typically store 250 pictures from a 4-megapixel camera (a conservative estimate), its 10,000 write/erase cycles, combined with wear-leveling algorithms in the controller, will enable the user to store and/or view approximately 2.5 million pictures within the expected useful life of the card....

..For a more general application such as a USB drive, the 10,000 write/erase cycles would enable the user to completely write and erase the entire contents once per day for 27 years, well beyond the life of the hardware.

So I don't think there is much of a need to worry. If a storage format gets anywhere near a 27 year life cycle it would be a first in the computing industry. Just remember to have backed it up in the first place, so if the format is obsolete or the drive broken you can always get to your data at Mozy. Get Mozy Now!

John

By the way if you want to read the full Toshiba article it's here..