Micro External HD or Flash Card?

Anybody got any experience with the Micro External HD's similar to this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136013

I just got voted into my colleges Student Government as a Senator and the computer I am using doesn't have the C++ compiler on it that I need. Since I have to have office hours and sit in there doing nothing for long amounts of time (10 hours a week), I need that program to do my HW on. So I decided I would buy a small micro external hd or a bigger flash drive. I currently have a Sandisk Cruzer in which I can put any size SD card into. But I was worried about the speed (everything is USB1.1 at the college and at my home) of the flash drive being too slow. Are the Micro hard drives any faster. My USB gonna be the limiting factor? Anybody use them?

If you have only a usb 1.1 connection, then you are stuck with 12mbs max... doesn't matter what you get, the connection is slower than the hardware.

Ok, gonna get a 4gb SD card. But I need a new "reader". I have a Sandisk Cruzer but it is USB1.1 only (http://tinyurl.com/2elag9). So I looked around and went out and bought a Sandisk MobileMate but it's horrid. It feels like it is scratching my SD card when I insert it. And I cannot store the SD card inside it while traveling like I can with the Cruzer. Hope Bestbuy will let me return it.

Anybody know of anything similar but is USB 2? Can be Micro SD or SD (since all my cards are in those formats).

If you buy something that is definitly usb 2.0 make sure it will run under 1.1 before parting with your money.... some of these just will not work in a usb 1.1 port.