I've never used the 'Safely Remove Hardware' tool in Windows XP before unplugging a USB stick. But I note that people are recommended to do so.
Now I realize you may feel the time taken to do a proper usb disconnect is possibly going to ruin your social life Beag's, but it's only 10 seconds man!!!!
Even though USB devices are Plug & Play—that is, they're ready to go upon being plugged in—you shouldn't just unplug them. A USB port has current running through it, so the power jolt caused by unplugging a "hot" connection can corrupt data on a storage device, camera, or mp3 player.
Now waiting for the 10,000 posts saying "well it never happened to me!" ..... but one day, when it does, there will be crying and knashing of teeth ....
