PCMCIA Announces NEWCARD Format

schnoz writes "Found this over at DPReview: "The PCMCIA technology association has today announced the 'NEWCARD' format. This new format makes use of PC Card, PCI Express and USB 2.0 technologies. The NEWCARD format is also aimed at both Mobile and Desktop PCs". Check out the rest of the article here."

Comments

So small

[larry2k]

Easy to lose as Memory Stick I'd prefer classic PCMCIA cards

Re:So small

[baxissimo]

Read the article. They've made it possible to cram 2 cards in one slot by making a half-width card. Standard size cards aren't being eliminated.

Re:So small

[Anonymous Coward]

and for people who actually take care of their things, the smaller size is a blessing.

A bit short on the info, long on the ass kissing

[Michalson]

Is it just me, or did that article seem to be more toward executives who want to see their companies name than people who want to know what is going on? While I see a bunch of stuff about how this will "revolutionize" the industry, I could just barely get the info on what IT actually was. It would have been nice to actually see some info like how this USB2/PCMCIA/PCI connection is going to work or what it will look like? Is it something where you buy an adapter cable depending on which of the three you're plugging it into?

The photo

[Tri0de]

shows a unit labled 'Single Wide'. I wonder what that implies for the future, and if it refers to physical size or data bus size

Re:The photo

[Anonymous Coward]

It is refering to form factor.
No idea about PCI Express standards, but it is faster than your 6MHz 64-bit PCI bus for sure.

Re:The photo

[Anonymous Coward]

It's probably because the card in the picture is half as wide as a normal PCMCIA card... it may be possible to have two cards plugged in side by side in the same space as today's PC Card slots.

Re:The photo

[User 956]

The shows a unit labled 'Single Wide'. I wonder what that implies for the future

Not sure. Here's a double wide, though. You can pick one up today, for low, low prices.

Re:The photo

[devaldez]

single-wides 'r fur 'em poor folk and kids just atartin' out...double-wide and triple-wide be available for the 'stablished and rich... ...as a manager, it's my solemn duty as a US citzen [sic] to purchase a double for me and single-wide in the backyard for my kin...

Re:The photo

[swordboy]

The photo shows a unit labled 'Single Wide'. I wonder what that implies for the future

Well, if it is anything like my 'Double Wide', then the future isn't so bright...

Seriously...

Re:The photo

[Pulzar]

It refers to data bus size. It's using a single PCI-Express lane for data transfer. If devices in the future require more bandwidth, more lanes can be added without much effort (first PCI-E graphics cards, for example, will be using a 16-lane bus which works in the exact same way.. except it has 16 lanes)

Re:The photo

[ActiveSX]

I don't know about you, but I've never seen a 6 MHz 64-bit PCI bus before. Maybe I'm just behind the times a bit.

Cheaper

[twemperor]

I suppose repackaging existing technology in yet another form factor is a more cost effective product development plan...

Re:Cheaper

[kfg]

This is called Planned Obsolesence. Repackage, give it new name that implies modernity (like "New whatever." God these guys are doing it crudely) and rely on costomer dissatisfaction with owning something "old" to drive sales.

Can you say "tailfins" and "Venti-ports"?

I knew you could.

KFG

Re:Cheaper

[afidel]

umm, no in technology new packaging has a point, I don't think you'd like a laptop made with desktop components. I have one and they call it a luggable for a reason, it's basically luggage =) Small form factors allow portability and integration. For instance a full sized dim wouldn't work very well with my Digital Elph but CF cards are great.

Re:Cheaper

[kfg]

Actually, yes, I would. I'm ready to retire my Compaq transportable 8088.

No, I'm not joking about either.

Besides, we're not talking about desktop cards. We're talking about cards that are already small and light enough to put a few of them in your shirt pocket and not even notice them.

KFG

What I figured

[hackwrench]

Its just a way for manufacturers who make USB format devices to quickly retool their devices to work in a PCMCIA format.

Re:website is NOT slow, you karma whore

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't mod this guy up. Page text posters shouldn't be modded up anyways. You should always AC a page text post.

And besides, in this case their website is flying...go whore somewhere else.

And try not reading the web through a 14.4 Kpbs connection.

Card-based computer

[Pyrosophy]

I've always thought it would be really neat if someone could make a basically PCMCIA based computer. No PCI slots, no need to open up your computer -- just a slot in the front of the computer where you could insert a new card that gets automatically plugged in, enabling pre-existing ports on the back of one's box.

Instead of having to make users deal with a modem PCI card, a network PCI card, sound card, etc, all they would need to do to upgrade is eject one of the old PCMCIA cards and load a new one like one loads a video tape.

I'm not saying this would be easy or compatible with existing OSs, but it sure would be cool.

Re:Card-based computer

[Anonymous Coward]

Hey d00d, you might want to look at these new fangled things called Laptop computers. They have this elusive technology that you are seeking.

Re:Card-based computer

[Anonymous Coward]

USB Anyone? They've got USB NICs, hard drives, etc. If someone comes up with a USB monitor, you're computer *could* just be a motherboard with a few little holes.

Re:Card-based computer

[Ducky]

I've always wanted something like this. PCI is nice, but the whole edge card + screw mounting design carried over from the ISA days always bothered me. Not necessarily PCMCIA, but some end-user friendly form factor that I wouldn't need a static bag and a screew driver for.

The problem with PCMCIA is it's slow compared to PCI and AGP. It was designed for reduced size, not raw performace. But a PCMCIA based machine would at least be a start.

Hard drives are just now starting to lose the ribbon cable in consumer models (Serial ATA), so I'm not going to hold my breath or anything for something only the 2 of us want. =D

-Ducky

Re:Card-based computer

[infiniti99]

Actually, I don't see why it wouldn't be compatible with current software. Most OSs already can handle hot-swapping of PCMCIA / USB devices, certainly they could easily handle an entire system of similar devices.

I could swear I read something about an entirely card-based computer maybe 6 years ago. I remember retelling what I had read to friends over and over, about the possibility of easily installing all of your hardware by just sliding it into some external slot.

Everytime I install hardware into current PCs, I always end up losing screws or cutting my hands on those metal spikes that line the bottom of PCI cards. If I dread installing hardware into my own PC, how could anyone expect normal folks like my mom to be able to do it? It's clear we have a long way to go. Everything should be as easy as PCMCIA.

Re:Card-based computer

[rcw-home]

The problem with PCMCIA is it's slow compared to PCI and AGP.

PCMCIA is ISA. Cardbus is PCI.

Re:Card-based computer

[waveclaw]

I think they call those 'laptops.'

Re:Card-based computer

[Raptor CK]

I don't see why anyone would add the ports without adding the hardware to use them, but otherwise, it's a good idea. PCMCIA-style devices in the back of a PC would make life easier for upgrades and the like.

I'd love to be able to plug 6 or 7 PCMCIA cards in the back of a desktop, for example, and upgrade from 10 Mbit Ethernet to 100 Mbit without rebooting, or drop in a modem in an emergency. Some of these features wouldn't work very well with Type II cards, but a load of Type III slots would work wonderfully.

Of course, the main issue is, as always, one of engineering. Bus speeds increase over time. PCMCIA can't handle anything close to 100Mbit/sec, so I've got a Cardbus Ethernet Adapter instead. Gigabit might eventually become an option, or Firewire 800, and then we'll need a new bus *anyway.*

You'd need an expansion backplane to handle this properly, such that you would crack open the box, replace the backplane, and then you can support the next PCMCIA standard. Of course, ideas like this have been done before, and tend to fail miserably for consumers, if only because they're too expensive to implement.

There are a handful of desktops that have had PCMCIA slots, though. DEC Multias come to mind, although I'm sure that there are others. It's a good concept, although it's apparently just not useful enough to take off.

Re:Card-based computer

[gilesjuk]

I thought about something similar, but for the situation where you have a really slow PC with no RAM at work. You could take your CPU and RAM modules to work and insert them.

Re:Card-based computer

[Ducky]

PCMCIA is ISA. Cardbus is PCI.

Heh, brain-fart on that one, Thanks. I haven't had a laptop in a while - I've been using the smartphone + desktop arrangement for about 2 years. While I miss roaming around while at work, the keyboard attachment for the phone makes meetings bearable at least.

Ok, so how about an AGP cardbus-like form factor. Actually, I'd settle for roughly the same size as the average vid card, just a friendlier package. =)

Re:Card-based computer

[gilesjuk]

Cables break, pins can bend. Edge connectors are tried an tested reliable technology.

Of course something like a ZIF socket might work, but you would need a reliable locking mechanism and motherboards that support hot plugging.

I persoanlly would like to see PCI/AGP cards with the connector opposite the backplane, you could then design a system where you slide the cards in from the back of the PC.

Re:Card-based computer

[red_dragon]

IBM once made a PCMCIA-based desktop computer, the PS/2E, which was basically a Thinkpad built into a pizza box chassis. The machine was designed as a "green computer", meaning that it'd consume as little power as possible. It came with four PCMCIA slots built into the back, but the rest was pretty middle-of-the-road: XGA2 graphics, 486SLC2 processor, and an IDE disk interface. As you might imagine, they didn't sell too well.

Re:Card-based computer

[djaxl]

I think they call those 'laptops.'

I think they used to call those 'Atari.'

Re:Card-based computer

[Anonymous Coward]

I have designed the criteria for an OS which
could handle exactly this. I have also designed
the key aspects of the OS. I (and a few others)
are in the process of early implementation.

As it turns out, there are many virtues to a
system designed under assumptions of hardware
flexibility.

- persistence is very nearly a gimme
- security based on namespaces, not permissions
- given the right hardware, good scalability

The actual design requirement I started with was
that someone could walk up with a .44 magnum,
blow a hole in the installation, walk away and it
should still accept logins and be repairable
without a reboot.

If anyone wants to know more, or get involved,
email paleman at deeptht dot armory dot com and
let me know.

Re:Card-based computer

[Anonymous Coward]

I've never understood why almost all PC's are so horribly consumer unfriendly, with expansion by unscrewing the case, inserting cards, screwing things down, etc. The old Atari PC's (400/800) at least had cartridge expansion (snap in a modem/ram card/etc.).

There was an attempt by a number of PC manufacturers at defining an expansion cartridge format for the PC, similar to the laptop expansion bays, based on USB and FireWire, but (rumor has it) Intel killed it because they didn't want any non-Intel technology (i.e. FireWire). Would have been nice, though -- snap in a hard drive, modem, etc., impossible for a consumer to get wrong. No screws, no exposed electronics, no driver installs.

Ah well, at least Intel can keep getting USB royalties... :-)

Re:Card-based computer

[rgmoore]

To a substantial extent, I think that this is the real longterm goal of the USB/Firewire design. They're supposed to have enough speed on an easy to use external bus that you can plug all kinds of peripherals- CD burners, hard drives, sound cards, and networking devices- into without ever having to open up the case. About the only thing that nobody seems to be trying to plug into them is graphics cards, which makes sense technically. Of course you pay a premium for those external devices, but that's likely to be true of something like a PCMCIA based system, too.

Re:Card-based computer

[Anonymous Coward]

AFAIK, the PS/2e was for demo purposes only and wasn't really in production.

Sony did sell a desktop that used only PC-Card and Memory Stick, however, that was very much in the vein of the PS/2e (except with a mobile PII or something.)

Re:Card-based computer

[Anonymous Coward]

"I'd love to be able to plug 6 or 7 PCMCIA cards in the back of a desktop"

PCI to Cardbus adapters can be had for about $30.

Re:Card-based computer

[Anonymous Coward]

There was an attempt by a number of PC manufacturers at defining an expansion cartridge format for the PC, similar to the laptop expansion bays, based on USB and FireWire, but (rumor has it) Intel killed it because they didn't want any non-Intel technology (i.e. FireWire).

Intel 'killed' it? Thanks for being so specific. There have been hundreds of similar proposals throughout the years, and they have all failed because there really isn't a demand for them.

Ah well, at least Intel can keep getting USB royalties... :-)

Take a look at usb.org and tell me how much the USB royalties are (hint- you don't pay any royalties).

Re:Card-based computer

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually Intel did kill it.

First they developed the spec ("DeviceBay"), then they told all the OEMs that they were going to integrate FireWire into their standard chipsets, for use with DeviceBay. Then they changed their mind about including FireWire, and the OEMs quickly forgot about DeviceBay.

Re:Card-based computer

[kinema]

Years and years ago HP used to do something along these lines. All of the cards could be removed from the back without opening the box. Just loosen the thumb screws and slide it out. Kind of like CompactPCI.

--adam

Re:Card-based computer

[srussell]

I've always wanted something like this. PCI is nice, but the whole edge card + screw mounting design carried over from the ISA days always bothered me. Not necessarily PCMCIA, but some end-user friendly form factor that I wouldn't need a static bag and a screew driver for.

I'm not disagreeing with you, but I think there are some pretty good reasons why PCMCIA hasn't taken over the desktop. The first is price: PCMCIA cards are smaller -- you usually pay for the form factor, and PCMCIA card costruction is generally more expensive, having housing and all. You always pay more for a PCMCIA peripheral than an internal PCI card, and I'd guess that the PCMCIA slot itself is more expensive to produce than a PCI slot.

PCMCIA is slower (as has already been mentioned). If you need to hotswap peripherals, it makes sense to use PCMCIA... however, most desktops don't change configuration as much as your average laptop, where you have to swap PCMCIA cards, and this is usually only because you have a limited number of slots.

What it boils down to is that the benefits of PCMCIA on a desktop system usually don't offset the extra cost.

Re:Card-based computer

[merlin_jim]

As I read your post, I think "wow, what a great idea!"

Then I remember the cost of pcmcia cards.

But what is a pcmcia card? It's a standard interconnect technology that's pluggable, coupled with a standard physical form factor that is external and small.

Unfortunately, the real direction the industry has taken along those lines is USB. And the form factors, while external, were not standardized and are certainly not mating. As a matter of fact, increasingly I find my desk to be a jumble of USB devices hanging on the ends of their needlessly long cables.

A case of bawls to the first slashdotter to succesfully solve my quandry, which is this:

While I enjoy the universal ease of use of USB devices, the increasing amount of clutter every perihperal creates is dismaying, therefore a standard way of organizing disparate devices in such a way that it is tidy is needed. Rubber-banding the cables doesn't do it, though cheap, easy to manufacture, and easy to retrofit cable reels (including integral winding springs) WOULD do it. The solution should cost less than $50 for my 8 devices and be removable when needed.

Re:A bit short on the info, long on the ass kissin

[Anonymous Coward]

Umm, well it IS just a press release, so...

Re:A bit short on the info, long on the ass kissin

[Anonymous Coward]

Not PCI, PCI Express. Aka 3GIO. The next ass kicking replacement of PCI.

Newcard

[SILIZIUMM]

Thanks 'Newcard' is just the codename. Imagine if it would have been the actual name... the next version of the product would have been called 'Newer Card', the following 'Even newer card' and so on.

Re:Newcard

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't care what _they call it. I'm still going to call it P, C, M, C, I, A, Card, and pronounce each of the syllables in luxurious detail.

Re:Newcard

[agallagh42]

No no no, the third version would be "NewererCard" of course!

Re:Newcard

[tadas]

I don't care what _they call it. I'm still going to call it P, C, M, C, I, A, Card, and pronounce each of the syllables in luxurious detail.

The acronym stands for "People Can't Memorize Computer Industry Acronyms".

Re:Newcard

[Twilight1]

Person 1: (dials cellphone)

Person 2: Hello?

Person 1: Okay, they do have laptop modems. Just needed to check with you, though... does your laptop take NEWCARDs?

Person 2: What?!? Of course it takes new cards. I would have bought one off eBay otherwise.

Person 1: ?!? Okay... just wanted to make sure.

30 minutes later...

Person 2: What the hell is this?

Person 1: It's a NEWCARD modem!

Person 2: Of course it's a new card modem, but for what, a PDA? I wanted one for my LAPTOP!!

...

Re:Newcard

[swordboy]

And rounding out the pop charts this week at number two is Ezra. Once again, number one is, Better than Ezra!

Re:Newcard

[Anonymous Coward]

Old time MIT students will of course realize the logical successor name is "NextCard".

Re:Newcard

[kfg]

Which is exactly (although a bit disguised) what Intel did with the Pentium.

Here's our fifth generation chip. Here's our newer (II) fifth generation chip and here's our even newer (III) fifth generation chip.

Rinse and repeat until people in general catch on and start pointing and giggling at them.

At this rate we'll NEVER see the Sexium.

KFG

Re:Newcard

[Anonymous Coward]

Having never heard it pronounced, I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not. What are you supposed to say, pakumsha? Pick'umshyeeah? Puckmickayyeh?

So desktop has already?

[Anonymous Coward]

my desktop there's many serialparlel and also usb firewire sometimes 2.0 What's another for/ just one more I'll lose this I think. will be saying >> no way to the osay!

The row then becomes

[nomso]

like HighFrequency - VeryHighFrequency - UltraHighFrequency - SuperHighFrequency - Exremely(?)HighFrequency

or DoubleDensity - HighDensity - ExtraHighDensity

NewCard - NewNewCard - EvenNewerCard

Re:The row then becomes

[Merlin_80000]

don't forget LudicrouslyHighFrequency

Re:The row then becomes

[BabyDave]

Am I the only person who thought of newspeak - i.e. NewCard - PlusNewCard - DoublePlusNewCard ...

Re:The row then becomes

[Anonymous Coward]

ExtraLudicrouslyHighFrequency

Re:The row then becomes

[Zugok]

superhypermegafrequency

picture of it

[adpowers]

Here is a picture of it in an actual computer.

Information please?

[Anonymous Coward]

Why does DPReview regurgitate this bullcrap? Why does slashdot?

How about some facts? When will we start to see this new interface used? What are the performance figures? Benefits (besides taking you to the future and beyond, revolutionize the computer industry)?

This is worse than vaporware.

More Confusion

[atcurtis]

First, it was PCMCIA... Then it became PC-CARD.... Now NEWCARD?

Whats next? NEWERCARD? REALLYNEWCARD? NEWERTHANLAST-CARD?

I find this very good...

[zoloto]

...if companies support it widely enough. It would be nice to slip this into a dumb terminal, and presto! instant user desktop with our personal info on it. Then take it out and carry your stuff with you.

this is just one of the possibilities

Re:I find this very good...

[Synithium]

Not with my users. I'd get the frantic phone call in the middle of the night about losing documents.

Caller: OH MY LORD I LOST MY DOCS!

Me: Huh? Did you delete them?

Caller: No, i lost my PC-on-a-card.

Me: Tough luck, did you remember to allow you docs to get backed up?

Caller: I have to do that?

Me: Er, did you not get the memo?

Caller: I thought you did everything like that (and wipe my ass besides).

Me: No, good luck finding a new job.

never name something "new"

[alonsoac]

Maybe this is offtopic but I think it is important that people realize that one should never name things "new something", because of the obvious reason: at some point they will not be new anymore and the name will be plain stupid and whoever invented it will feel bad. So save yourself the trouble and think before naming stuff. This applies to function names, program names, whatever.

Re:never name something "new"

[Anonymous Coward]

You mean like Windows NT (New Technology)?

Re:never name something "new"

[Anonymous Coward]

how about New York hey

Re:never name something "new"

[cristofer8]

my school has a dorm called "new house." The next dorm they build was called "next house."

It's not the size, but how you lose it

[Kaz Riprock]

No, that's not a typo. The picture shows how this thing is barely bigger than a pair of quarters edge-to-edge. Great. You know how often I lose change?

There's a certain advantage to having small media/cards/devices. For example, having a 128 MB SD disk in my digicam is nice. I don't have to have a backpack to store more than 100 pictures at a time. But some of these things aren't even big enough to fit your initials on them, let alone some sort of recovery info if you *were* to lose what amounts to not much more in size than pocket lint.

It's nice that I can take my entire mp3 collection anywhere I want to go in a thimble. That's a real advance in computer technology. But are these guys banking on the idea that I'll lose one out of every 10 to 20 of these things that I'll buy?

I hope any NEWCARDs that I might need or buy come with a carrying case that's about as big as a floppy or CD. I'm still finding jelly beans, pen caps, and AA batteries under the furniture that have probably been there since Reagan was in office....oh..there's my entire work portfolio...

Re:It's not the size, but how you lose it

[Anonymous Coward]

I've got an EasyDisk drive the size of two or three cigarettes -- it came in a leather case, and I've just attached it to my keychain. Haven't lost it yet.

Re:It's not the size, but how you lose it

[Anonymous Coward]

How come every time a new small device is released, guys like you come out of the woodwork complaning about how easy it will be to lose it?
First it was the memory stick, next the iPod, now the NEWCARD. Seriously, this has never been a problem for me. Do you still wear your housekey on a rope around your neck?

Re:It's not the size, but how you lose it

[Anonymous Coward]

You know how often I lose change?

As a matter of fact, I have a nickel for every single time.

Re:It's not the size, but how you lose it

[kfg]

Everything has an ideal size. For portable computer devices it's about the size of a 3 1/2" floppy.

That's the real reason they became popular, and have refused to die off. It has nothing to do with technical merits or storage capacities. They're simply the *exact* right size and thickness for comfortable human handling.

Big enough to hold onto. Thick enough not to fold or break. Small enough to fit in a shirt pocket. The media itself protected by a shell.

CD's fit none of these parameters. Mini disks would if you didn't have to worry about scratching them.

You don't need the smallest card possible, you need the *right* sized card.

KFG

Re:It's not the size, but how you lose it

[Jucius Maximus]

"The picture shows how this thing is barely bigger than a pair of quarters edge-to-edge. Great. You know how often I lose change?"

That's what the 'accessory' market is for. Companies like kensington and targus will make cool keyring and necklace storage for these things if they become widespread.

Re:It's not the size, but how you lose it

[Anonymous Coward]

having a 128 MB SD disk

Way to support DRM there.

Use CompactFlash, people. Not only do you not support DRM, it comes in larger capacities, and it's slightly cheaper.

Re:It's not the size, but how you lose it

[Kaz Riprock]

No problem. Anytime anything is free and a present, I'm usually "thank you" first and DRM second. Sorry, we can't all be overly informed consumers when it comes to a 128 MB ram chip in my digital camera that's never going to move from its slot as long as it lives, so it's not like I've somehow given the Dark Side a foothold in my computer world that will spin out of control until I can't even clean the ball of my mouse without Microsoft needing to engage the "Release Hatch Product Key" through my network connection.

That having been said, I'm a slut when it comes to gifts. Whatever you give me...I'm fine with it so long as it works.

Re:It's not the size, but how you lose it

[Anonymous Coward]

Ahh, but when you do, YOU'RE FUCKED! Some dude'll drive your car home, and lounge around your house watching all the pr0n you thought was safe from prying eyes because you had it on your keychain.

STEP INTO MY OFFICE....

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, You're FUCKING FIRED!!! Bitches.

What???

[Omicron32]

"The way people interact with their PC is a key component of development at Microsoft." I would never have guessed...

Re:What???

[baryon351]

Yes, it's changed recently.

For quite a while it was "The way skriptkiddies interact with people's PCs is a key component of development at Microsoft"

Excuse me Sir...

[greymond]

"Hi I wanted to get a NEWCARD for my computer."

"Sure, what kind of new card did you want to get, a modem, video card, etc...?"

what does it stand for?

[fermion]

does anyone remember what PCMCIA stands for.

I think I head it was People Can't Memorize Complicated Industry Acronyms?

Any want to confirm/correct this?

Re:what does it stand for?

[Quietust]

I always rememberd it as "People Can't Memorize Computer Industry Acronyms".

Re:A bit short on the info, long on the ass kissin

[Dr.Enormous]

Never trust a press release that uses "leverage" as a verb three times in less than a page. Unless it's a press release about levers.

Why USB 2.0?

[GreatOgre]

Why not use something worth a damn like Firewire or even Firewire 2.0 (which I've heard about being developed though I haven't seen much on it)? From what I've seen, Firewire devices still have a faster transmission rate than the USB 2.0 devices even though the burst speed is lower. Plus, Firewire isn't some much of the hack that USB is (nd yes I run SCSI too!).

Or is Intel and the gang still pissed that IEEE won't give USB the time of day?

Re:Why USB 2.0?

[g4dget]

From what I've seen, Firewire devices still have a faster transmission rate than the USB 2.0 devices even though the burst speed is lower.

What difference does it make? USB 2.0 is faster than almost any device you might care to connect through it.

Plus, Firewire isn't some much of the hack that USB is

Again, who cares? Both FW and USB2 work fine, and USB2 support in operating systems is really simple (because most of it is just like USB1).

Re:Why USB 2.0?

[Anonymous Coward]

Firewire 2 (aka Firewire 800) is shipping on the new PowerMacs (along with BlueTooth & Airport Extreme) and the new 17-inch PowerBooks. Basically, USB 1 maxes out at 900 KB/s sustained transfer rate, USB 2 at 27 MB/s, Firewire 1 (Firewire 400) at 43 MB/S, and Firewire 2 (Firewire 800) at 82 MB/s. Firewire is technically a form of SCSI, btw. Firewire's three big advantages over USB (besides speed) are power sufficient to run normal hard drives, very long distance transmission with guaranteed quality of service (to avoid synch issues & dropped frames with A/V, for instance), and peer-to-peer protocol (no host computer necessary to access devices with Firewire in them). The last thing keeps the data bus from slowing down your whole computer during data transfer.

Re:Why USB 2.0?

[Anonymous Coward]

Modern hard drives easily exceed USB 2.0's maximum sustained thoroughput. Things become even worse if you want the speed advantages of any form of RAID. I guess you could say that today's shipping laptop drives (those 2.5" buggers) are serviced by USB 2.0. Anything else is faster.

It's nice because it's backwards compatible & cheap. But that's about it. The added speed in real world use is not much (though I suppose miles compared to USB 1.1).

Re:Why USB 2.0?

[g4dget]

Modern hard drives easily exceed USB 2.0's maximum sustained thoroughput.

Not under real-world conditions.

Things become even worse if you want the speed advantages of any form of RAID.

And to use those things, you buy a PCI card to control them; the differences between FireWire and USB 2.0 for those applications are academic.

I guess you could say that today's shipping laptop drives (those 2.5" buggers) are serviced by USB 2.0. Anything else is faster.

We are talking about laptop drives here. And, besides, what's the alternative? 1394 is no faster. 1394b is somewhat faster, but, then, there are faster versions of USB in the works as well.

I really don't see what all this complaining is about. This new PCMCIA standard gives you PCI and USB 2.0. USB 2.0 is fine for most applications, and if you really want to run a RAID array on your laptop, use the PCI interface.

that's what most people say

[SweetAndSourJesus]

It's Personal Memory Card International Association, but nobody cares.

No, I don't know where that extra C came from.

Re:that's what most people say

[SweetAndSourJesus]

Guh, read the first sentence, self.

Personal Computer Memory Card International Association.

It's been one of those days, sorry.

One of those days where you miss entire words in sentences, yes.

Re:that's what most people say

[gottabeme]

Um...read your own link. :)

Re:that's what most people say

[Anonymous Coward]

It's Personal Memory Card International Association [pcmcia.org], but nobody cares.

Helps if you read the text of the page behind the link... it's "Personal Computer Memory Card International Association", but this is just me nitpicking. Feel free to mod me down. That's why I posted AC.

Re:that's what most people say

[Anonymous Coward]

Uh, gee guys, thanks for pointing that out Five minutes after I caught it.

Re:that's what most people say

[Anonymous Coward]

Uh, gee guys, thanks for pointing that out Five minutes after I caught it [slashdot.org].

Hey! Wait a second...you're not so "anonymous", coward! :)

Re:that's what most people say

[xombo]

>>> It's Personal Memory Card International Association [pcmcia.org], but nobody cares.
>>>No, I don't know where that extra C came from.

It is Personal Computer Memory Card International Association.

Re:that's what most people say

[Anonymous Coward]

Could be worse, I'm having one of those days where you miss the entire article.

Oh.. the NEWCARD..

[Anonymous Coward]

I prefer the OLDCARD name... as one would put it "Teeeh Expensive Little Piece of Garbage".

Why USB 2.0: such a slow standard?

[adzoox]

Isn't USB 2.0 already slower than the PCI Express or cardbus i/o?

Why didn't they choose FireWire 800 or something like an AGP type i/o so that video card PC cards could be ultrafast?

Re:Why USB 2.0: such a slow standard?

[Fulcrum of Evil]

Why didn't they choose FireWire 800 or something like an AGP type i/o so that video card PC cards could be ultrafast?

Well, you can only have one AGP slot, and who wants to handle 30+ watts coming from a plugin card? Anyway, If you support 64bit/66MHz PCI, then you can just plug a Firewire card in.

Re:Why USB 2.0: such a slow standard?

[g4dget]

Probably for the same reason why you aren't driving a Formula 1 race car to work: it's not necessary, and it's not cost effective.

In different words, with PCI, they have communications at bus-speed covered for the few applications that need it. But for almost all PCMCIA applications (networks, modems, storage, etc.), USB 2.0 is already much faster than what is needed. And USB 2.0 is cheaper and more widely supported than any serial bus alternative.

Re:Why USB 2.0: such a slow standard?

[Anonymous Coward]

PCI Express replaces AGP, so you will be able to use it for video cards.

Re:Why USB 2.0: such a slow standard?

[kinema]

IEEE1394b is being finalized (or already has been) and the EEs working on it managed to reduce the cost of the silicon necesary (compared to IEEE1394a). In my opinion 1394 makes much more sence for this application. Most laptops alreay have USB (v1.1 and soon to be v2.0) on them. Why do we need more ports? 1394 makes a lot more sence for connecting devices like hard drives and other ATAPI/SCSI devices. Maybe it's just me but I would have gone with 1394. --adam

Re:Why USB 2.0: such a slow standard?

[curious.corn]

Uh, I don't think so. USB belongs to intel. Remember when usb was first forced down our throats? (it was the 440LX chipset I think) It was a useless plug nobody used but nonetheless you couldn't buy a machine without it because intel simply made it impossible to do so. Now that it is ubiquitous intel can levy massive royalties. I'm pretty shure intel wants to shove it's usb2 anywhere it can either with convincing or coercive arguments.

Re:Why USB 2.0: such a slow standard?

[Anonymous Coward]

The real answer would be firewire. But 1394 is good technology, and we know that superior tech is always doomed in the end.

It can do 25Mbit DV transfers without a bit of CPU load. 1.1Mbit reads from a memory card lag my machine with USB.

USB is a protocal that depends completely on the host CPU for its logic. That keeps intel selling high end processors to move data on a serial bus. Pathetic.

Side note: it's also the reason why USB mice refresh at 125Hz. You could do much better with firewire, but any higher on USB and it would have lagged the Pentium 2 machines that USB was introduced with.

Re:Why USB 2.0: such a slow standard?

[TheRaven64]

As I pointed out here 1394 actually makes a lot of sense as a peripheral interconnect mechanism. It's powered and fast. It's proven technology and it's cheap.

Re:Why USB 2.0: such a slow standard?

[g4dget]

Maybe it's just me but I would have gone with 1394.

All things being equal, I would have gone with 1394 as well. However, USB 2.0 is here, and it is cheap and extremely widely supported. There is a large number of "class drivers" for it--standards for how computers can talk to specific kinds of devices, like network adapters, disks, monitors, keyboards, printers, MIDI devices, etc. And there are lots of devices on sale that actually conform to those specifications. And there are even more de-facto standards for USB devices.

1394 and 1394b look pretty bleak in comparison. What I see sitting on the shelves that plugs into 1394 is very limited: disk drives, camcorders, and a few web cams (but you need to buy a special driver for those on the Mac).

1394 and 1394b are niche products now, primarily used for disks and video. I don't see that turning around. It would have been nice if their rollout had been handled differently, but it wasn't.

Re:Why USB 2.0: such a slow standard?

[g4dget]

USB belongs to intel. Remember when usb was first forced down our throats?

I do. I was eagerly awaiting an alternative to PS/2 and RS-232c. Apple made USB a modest success in their market niche, and I was glad to see it come to the PC platform. What is wrong with that? And USB has turned out to be great for Linux: USB offers by far the widest selection of devices for Linux that just plug in and work.

Now that it is ubiquitous intel can levy massive royalties. I'm pretty shure intel wants to shove it's usb2 anywhere it can either with convincing or coercive arguments.

So? Apple was trying to charge FireWire royalties. Given that both standards are proprietary, that is not a basis for preferring one over the other.

Re:Why USB 2.0: such a slow standard?

[curious.corn]

Nothing against it at all. I was just giving my answer to why people end up with usb2 enabled toiletpaper, that's it. I'm not pro or against usb (although I object that it could have been deployed better, after all it has been a massive beta test for usb2), I'm just aware that it's a proprietary imposed standard like rambus, yet more fortunate (and perhaps useful) than the latter.

Re:A Troll Apologizes

[Anonymous Coward]

Your ideas intrigue me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

It's just a refinement

[Anonymous Coward]

Typical press release doubletalk. Based on the "single-wide" (which implies double-wide) and the quotes which refer to two cards in the same form factor as one PCMCIA, I'd bet a dollar or two that:

1) NEWCARD is simply specs for a new version of PCMCIA that allows for two NEWCARDs in the place of one PCMCIA. This allows notebook manufactures to keep their dies the same and just swap out the card bay. If they get cute, they might even be able to make a hybrid version that takes either 1 old or 2 new cards--depends on connector pinouts).

2) Since they will be restricted in connector pin space, they're using a USB2.0 serial bus for communication rather than PCMCIAs parallel bus/bizarre IDE disk protocol. Fewer pins, better reliability and speed.

3) This is nothing more than a packaging standard. PCMCIA is just worried about impingement from Compact Flash cards for network/serial/bluetooth/everything else. Note the emphasis on "mobile" computing. Subtext: don't buy Flash, we're better.

4) (Personal opinion). Unclear to me why they'd trumpet any sort of connection to USB, given the incredibly bad compatibility story it has.

Re:It's just a refinement

[worst_name_ever]

NEWCARD is simply specs for a new version of PCMCIA that allows for two NEWCARDs in the place of one PCMCIA

Isn't that basically the difference between PCMCIA Type II and Type I? If so, they could ditch the NEWCARD moniker and simply call it PCMCIA Type 0.5 (or would that be 0.V? or 1/2? or I/II?)

Nintendo

[yerricde]

Edge connectors are tried an tested reliable technology.

Then why not do as Nintendo has done for years and put expansion boards in plastic packages?

Re:Nintendo

[gilesjuk]

Proably the cost of doing so and the heat expelled by many boards. A casual PC user never goes inside their PC.

Nintendo's carts generally contain memory chips and a battery.

Re:Nintendo

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't know about you but I don't want to blow on my video card to try and make it work. :)

The IBM PS/2 E was exactly this.

[isaac]

IBM made such a machine - the PS/2e was a low-power (fanless!) machine with a single ISA slot. This slot was almost always filled with a pcmcia adapter that put 4 PCMCIA slots on the front panel (behind the lil' door.)

It didn't sell well, on account of it was way overpriced ($5000+ with a 10.4" VGA TFT, IIRC) - ultimately, it ended up at closeout places.

This type of "slimtop" machine is moderately popular in Japan where space & power efficiency are more highly valued than in the US.

-Isaac

Re:The IBM PS/2 E was exactly this.

[John Meacham]

oh my gosh. the keyboard in that picture has a built in eraserhead. I have looked everywhere for one of those on a 'real' keyboard. sweet.

Re:The IBM PS/2 E was exactly this.

[Bishop]

You probably should have gone straight to IBM: USB keyboard with Trackpoint.

Re:The IBM PS/2 E was exactly this.

[Aryeh Goretsky]

Hello,

IBM makes several keyboards with built-in TrackPoints, such as this one and this one. They replace the older TrackPoint II keyboard.

Other manufacturers include PCKeyboards.Com, who have this model and this one.

I have one of their smaller keyboards. It is based on a laptop keyboard and, frankly, is not as as crisp as the keyboard in my ancient IBM ThinkPad 770. For occasional use it is fine, but I would not want to use it as my primary keyboard.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

Re:The IBM PS/2 E was exactly this.

[krokodil]

Until last month such machine was my home
firewall/wireless router. With network cards
(2 wired, 1 wireless) running OpenBSD it worked
as charm running firewall, NAT, dhcpd and DNS
for my home network of 5 computers on DSL.

Microsoft is dieing. No trolling intended here

[Anonymous Coward]

Seriously. How can you stop a compeditor that doesn't have bills to pay, or debt? I mean, I was worried back in the day. I was sure they'd come up with some way of simply taking advantage of strong political ties to make Linux essentially illegal. That doesn't even matter anymore. Money is getting invested. Huge companies are in. I used to flat out laugh at the "world domination" types on here because it just sounded so silly. My argument was always, who cares about the rest of the world. How can they stop something free? It's turning out to be their achilles heel. Microsoft can't buy Linux out. Microsoft is moving too slowly to make something that can compete on cost. They've spent a fortune on trying to market their way out of this inevitable approaching death, and people just don't buy it anymore. I'm not saying that Microsoft will fade into the distance. That's just not realistic. But they will have to give up the childish name calling and get onboard at some point. The sooner they realize they need to give up the server market and embrace Linux as much as they can, the less money they'll bleed down the road. If they don't, they'll lose the server market within a short time, then they'll slowly lose the desktop market. It's all right there in black and white. It's what I see. I can't be the only one. Imagine all the PHB's reading articles going "wow, that geeky guy telling me about Linux years ago was right. We need Linux now". I don't even feel silly saying that. I would have a year ago. Scott McNeilly in a Penguin suit speaks volumes. It's only a matter of time now.

less PR, more info

[Turadg]

Good summary from the BBC

Techie details from EE Times

Re:An update on Slashdot from I, CmdrTaco.

[Qrlx]

You say this site should be a microcosm for the free and open society of the future? Don't you see that it already is? And you wonder why it stinks of shit...

Very good point. Pity it's destined for -1.

FUD

[g4dget]

Unclear to me why they'd trumpet any sort of connection to USB, given the incredibly bad compatibility story it has.

That's just FUD. USB compatibility is excellent, for the kinds of devices for which there are official standards. That includes mass storage, networking, and digital cameras. USB compatibility may not be perfect, but there are also plenty of FireWire, PCI, parallel port, and RS-232c devices that require special drivers.

In different words, USB's "compatibility story" certainly can be improved,b ut I don't see any alternative to USB that comes even close.

Re:FUD

[Anonymous Coward]

spelled F.I.R.E.W.I.R.E

Re:FUD

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh? Look at the long list of "class drivers" for USB. The class drivers available for FireWire seem much more limited.

Ohhhh, USB2

[evilviper]

I suppose PCMCIA/CardBus was too fast, and worked too well. "Let's throw USB2 in the mix and watch the hilarious results."

The advantage I see, is that USB and firewire have been smart enough (where everyone else was moronic) to have just one software interface, meaning one driver will support all the USB/Firewire cards.

However, they could have done the same thing with something better than USB2.

Where's the GNUCARD?

[Anonymous Coward]

Answer: it's stuck back in 1999, with GNU/HURD

N-E-W-C-A-R-D

[FS]

As long as we don't have to spell it "N-E-W-C-A-R-D" every time we say it! People mispeak PCMCIA more than any other acronym I can think of.

Cooling and speed

[foldedspace]

You guys thinking you can just upgrade the entire computer with a closed up little plastic card, forget it. Gigabit ethernet outruns the 32 bit/33 MHz PCI bus. Video cards, gigabit network cards and even some sound cards have heatsinks and (some even have) fans. I'm having a hard time imagining exactly what this will be good for.

Re:Cooling and speed

[xchino]

Actually Gigabit ethernet runs slower than 32/33 PCI. Quite a bit slower. It's only slightly slower in thoery, but the difference is where PCI operates at or near a true 132MB/s, you will never see the theoretical peak of gigabit ethernet, just like you will never see the theoretical peak of 100baseT. Also, a PC-card like standard using AGP for it's I/O Bus instead of PCI could handle all the things you speak of. Also, don't forget with 1000BaseT latency is still in the ms's.. compare to ns over PCI/AGP...

It's completely possible to upgrade a computer with a closed up little card, just not financially feasible for manufactureres to produce or consumers to buy.

Whata useless article...

[Goronmon]

I don't think there was any actual information in that article. All I read was a bunch of hype about how good these Newcard format was going to be and what it was going to replace.

It almost seems as though they were just trying to sell some stock by making this new format to be the greatest thing to hit the laptop since the keyboard.

FireWire 2.0 [sic] already exists

[pauljlucas]

Why not use something worth a damn like Firewire or even Firewire 2.0 (which I've heard about being developed though I haven't seen much on it)

FireWire 800 already exists and is in production in new Apple computers.

Great just what we need....

[los furtive]

...more dongles in our future. Most if not all recent laptops have built in 10/100 ethernet and 56K modem, as well as USB/firewire ports...there is less and less need for PCMCIA/PCCards of any size at all.

Re:Great just what we need....

[burns210]

the entire idea of PCMCIA cards is that once that cool new technology comes out (10/100/1000 ethernet cards(gigabit), usb 2.0, bluetooth 802.11z) you don't have to replace your laptop. You can just buy a card.

All the computer guys in here know that building a computer with builin everything(video, sound...) is a less good than buyind a pci card that you can update later.

PCMCIA cards give you the cool features of tomorrow without having to replace the whole box.

Re:A Troll Apologizes

[Anonymous Coward]

The parent post was funny, but this is where I really lost it and started ROTFLMAO.

Thanks, I needed that. ;)

Speaking of stupid names...

[ediron2]

Hey, laugh it up about 'newcard'.

Seriously.

Have fun. All I know is any name beats the everloving s**t out of PCCard. I can't count
all the times I've had to break out of a conversation to make sure whoever I was doing
a support call for was talking about a PC-CARD (like a credit card) and not a PC card (like
one you open up the PC and install inside).

Oh god. I just channeled my own voice from the future: "No, is that a *NEW* card you've installed, or is it..."

Re:Speaking of stupid names...

[Anonymous Coward]

"Well, I don't know if it's GNU or not, but it does say that it's Novel!"

Re:A bit short on the info, long on the ass kissin

[macshit]

I wonder if the people who write press-releases are ever embarrassed by what they do. It's got to go against the instincts of even the worst writers to have a 100:1 meaningless formulaic fluff to useful information ratio, and surely they don't think that potential customers are impressed by all the crap?

Maybe it's all a game between rival press-release writers to see who can write the longest press-release without actually saying anything...

Old vs. New

[DarwinDan]

So now they're gonna call the older PCMCIA standard OLDCARD?

Of course it's a refinement.

[daoine_sidhe]

That's what an advancement in technology is. What else could it be?

>1) NEWCARD is simply specs for a new version of PCMCIA that allows for two NEWCARDs in the place of one PCMCIA. This allows notebook manufactures to keep their dies the same and just swap out the card bay. If they get cute, they might even be able to make a hybrid version that takes either 1 old or 2 new cards--depends on connector pinouts).

Look, it's based on an entirely different bus, and it's a different (albeit similar) form factor. Notebook manufacturer's keeping the same dies?? What dies would those be? The ones that can also turn out PCI, PCI Express, and ISA cards? What about Vesa Local Bus?

>2) Since they will be restricted in connector pin space, they're using a USB2.0 serial bus for communication rather than PCMCIAs parallel bus/bizarre IDE disk protocol. Fewer pins, better reliability and speed.

You said it yourself. Newer protocol, better reliability and speed. Nothing further needed.

>3) This is nothing more than a packaging standard. PCMCIA is just worried about impingement from Compact Flash cards for network/serial/bluetooth/everything else. Note the emphasis on "mobile" computing. Subtext: don't buy Flash, we're better.

Where else do YOU use PCMCIA? I find it quite useful in my laptop. For mobile computing. As for the argument against compact flash, for every compact flash device I've EVER seen (with the sole exception of pure storage), I've been able to find a PCMCIA card at a much lower price. What would you prefer laptops to use? How about ISA, since it's only drawback is that it is an older bus that isn't as fast?

4) (Personal opinion). Unclear to me why they'd trumpet any sort of connection to USB, given the incredibly bad compatibility story it has.

You said it yourself, once again. Personal opinion. I have yet to ever see personally, or in fact hear of anyone (with this one exception) who complains about how incompatible USB is. Boy I sure miss my old serial mouse, parallel printer and SCSI scanner. Those sure were the good old days.

To sum it up, do some research on the technology involved in the future, preferably before you spew random verbiage on the world at large.

Re:Of course it's a refinement.

[Anonymous Coward]

To sum it up, do some research on the technology involved in the future, preferably before you spew random verbiage on the world at large.

If only you could heed your own advice since it applies equally well to your poorly-informed post.

Re:Of course it's a refinement.

[demon]

Well, USB devices have had some compatibility issues, mostly caused by the fact that the device makers got a bug up their collective butts and decided they needed to create their own protocols for a lot of devices, even though USB included well-written protocol standards for just about any kind of device. If they could have just stuck with the standards, you wouldn't have stupid Windows-only USB devices (of which there are more than a few, don't kid yourself).

Re:A bit short on the info, long on the ass kissin

[JebusIsLord]

Phrases that should set off mental alarm bells in a press release:

1) Leveraging our unparalleled...
2) Through the power of synergy... (or worse yet, something made-up like "synergism").
3) Embraced and extended!
4) Not an evolution, but a revolution!
5) ...utilizing amazing 3DFX technology...

Wrong.

[daoine_sidhe]

Gigabit ethernet has a maximum transfer rate of 128MB/s. The PCI bus can handle up to 132MB/s. Read this: http://www.pc.ibm.com/us/infobrf/ibpci.html That completely aside, this does not use the PCI bus. It uses PCI-Express or USB 2.0 (decided by the particular NEWCARD in question). PCI-Express can do 10GB/s in either direction (the NEWCARD will be limited to 2.5GB/s) while USB 2.0 can handle up to 400megabit/s. There is also no need for gigabit NICs to need heatsinks. There is a HUGE market for these things in the portable computing world. In the future, please read the specs before commenting.

So, is it just me...

[tlambert]

So, is it just me, or have they failed once again to put the ejection under software control so the pig can have it's driver's detached and the hardware powered down, FS's unmounted, etc., before the thing disappears out from under the OS?

Way to go... we're back at the same place PCMCIA was back in 1994, yet again. 8-(.

-- Terry

We have firewire/USB 2.0, why do we need NEWCARD ?

[Anonymous Coward]

I do not get it. And article is not clear. We
already have USB 2.0 and firewire, why not
to make USB 2.0/firewire devices ?

Why do we need new format ?

Kubus

They have bested themselves

[soramimicake]

In unimanginative naming, that is. I thought "PC Card" was quite bad already. "Newcard" tells you nothing about the technology, is not catchy, and will be obsolete in a few months (when it is not "new" anymore). I hope they didn't pay anybody for the name.

You forgot to add...

[Bull999999]

6. Value added! 7. Provides one degree of speration. 8. ??? 9. Profit!

It stands for

[Anonymous Coward]

Neople Ean't Wemorize Computer Andustry Rcronyms Dummy!

your sig

[Planesdragon]

What would Jesus do... for a Klondike bar?

Why, I suspect that he'd make it not melt, and not be too cold to bite down on even with sentiive teeth.

Or more likekly, just pay for it. ;)

Re:your sig

[saintlupus]

Jesus of Nazareth did not die so we could enjoy eggs and chocolate bunnies!

Nah, I'm sure he was all about the Peeps. And I bet his never went all stale and crunchy like the ones I found in the kitchen the other day.

--saint

Re:your sig

[Issue9mm]

Doesn't anybody read anymore?

Jesus didn't die, but was put into a drug-induced coma. He later "arose", faked an ascension into heaven, then got married and had kids.

A society formed around him, entitling themselves "The Grail" to protect the bloodline of Christ so that when the Apocalypse comes, they can produce the (fine print)descendant son of God, allow him to perform a few miracles to sway the public, and then capitalize on their newfound public control ability to further their own agendas of worldwide scale.

-9mm-

Re:A bit short on the info, long on the ass kissin

[Planesdragon]

I wonder if the people who write press-releases are ever embarrassed by what they do.

No, I'm not. Of course, the PR I write is all just swiping the nominee's submission anyway, so it's almost a stretch to call it "writing." ;)

How underwhelming...

[irritating environme]

Basically they want a notebook to come with 10 USB ports as opposed to 2 USB ports, some with a standard-sized bay for cards to stay in...

What INNOVATIVE technology...basically USB devices with a standardized form factor. Well, it will be an ergonomic improvement at least.

This isn't some part of PATRIOT II, is it?

[kfg]

I mean, a Pulse Code Modulated Central Intelligence Agency would just be one step futher toward a police state then is acceptable by anyone.

KFG

Ah, those were the days!

[CrystalFalcon]

Anybody more than me remember the ultimate hacking cartridge for the C64? "Final Cartridge III"?

I love names like that :-)

The New Church (Nieuwe Kerk) in Amsterdam springs to mind. It was completed around 1350...

Scratching minidisks?

[OblongPlatypus]

Have you ever seen a minidisk? They're encased in a hard shell, much like floppies; no worries about scratching there.

Since we're talking about ideal sizes, I would actually prefer minidisk-sized devices over floppy-sized devices. To me, minidisks are the perfect size for handling. Small enough to put several of them even in the smallest pocket, and big enough that you don't lose them like you do quarters.

Re:Scratching minidisks?

[kfg]

I don't mean the minidisk(tm). I mean the smaller CD size that can be put into the smaller recess in a standard CD drive.

Perhaps the digital "Business Card" will take over this function

KFG

While we're talking about minidisks.

[Blue Stone]

I agree.
I also think Minidisks would be the perfect replacement for floppy disks, and I don't really understand why it hasn't been pushed.
People seem to be touting USB key-fobs as floppy replacements, but an additional factor that the floppy has to all those you've mentioned, right size, protective shell, etc. is that they're cheap.
I can slip one in an envelope and send it to a friend. I can give it away with relatively little cost to myself. Not true of USB Key-Fobs.
MiniDisks would seem the perfect replacement for floppies, I'd have thought.

I'm shocked

[Mostly a lurker]

I have read through every post and I reckon perhaps ten people have understood what this is. It allows for devices with a single nice form factor using either a slow (USB 2.0) or fast (PCI-E) interface. Looking at what has already been achieved with things like HandyDrive, I am really excited at the idea of what we might see in 2005 (how's about a 10GB card, 60% of a current PC-Card with >100MB/sec transfer speeds -- not unrealistic).

What happens when it's old?

[smcavoy]

replaced by the new-newcard.

The right way to clean a Game Pak

[yerricde]

Did you have to blow on your Pentium II or early Celeron back when they were in cartridge packaging? No. I typically don't have to blow on Nintendo Game Paks either because I just take a cotton swab, dip one end into running alcohol, run it over both sides of the edge connector, and then use the other end of the swab to dry the connector. That's the essence of what the official Nintendo cleaning kits do.

Re:A bit short on the info, long on the ass kissin

[blair1q]

Unilever, when you only need one lever.

Re:Bible Truths and the Rhode Island Fire

[onShore_Jake]

What, no website?
Too much trouble to dial all those numbers.
I need to know what kind of internet connection there willbe in hell before i make my final decision.