ExFAT - A newer file format, supported in Mac OS X 10.6.5 or later.
Advantages: exFAT has many of the same advantages as FAT32 in that it's a disk format that offers interoperability between Macs and PCs. It has one big advantage over FAT32: exFAT supports file sizes larger than 4 GB, so if you have a need to move huge files between Macs and PCs, this is likely the format you'll want for your flash drive.
exFAT is supported by the following operating systems:
- Mac OS X Snow Leopard (10.6.5 or greater)
- OS X Lion
- Windows XP SP2 or later (with an additional update for exFAT support)
- Windows Vista SP1 or later
- Windows 7
Disadvantages: As a relatively newer file system format, exFAT isn't supported in older versions of Mac OS X (anything prior to 10.6.5) or anything older than Windows XP SP2. If you won't be dealing with older Macs or PCs, this may not be a problem. Of greater issue is that most consumer electronics (cameras, camcorders, video game systems) don't support exFAT, either. If you need to transfer files between your Mac and one of these non-PC devices, you're almost certainly going to have to format your flash drive in FAT32 instead.