[ale] USB flash drive questions

[kwc at TheWorld.com (Kenneth W Cochran)]

Hello:

I have some questions about the little USB flash drives...

Is there a FAQ or some documentation on them?

Apparently they come setup for a FAT32 filesystem - can I format
them for other filesystems (e.g. linux-ext2, BSD UFS/UFS2, MS
NTFS) & expect them to work reliably?

How resistant are they to Bad Things such as physical shock,
electromagnetic fields, security scanners of various types and
airport/hospital x-rays?

Any favorite/least-favorite brands/models or recommendations as
to which one(s) to seek/avoid?

Thanks,

-kc