PCMCIA

P ersonal C omputer M emory C ard I nternational A ssociation defined standards for memory card external slots (ports) to peripheral devices such as fax modems. PCMCIA slots are common in printers, and notebook/laptop computers, but these "slots" have been troubled technologies from the start. Before buying a computer with PCMCIA slots, readers are advised to read Doe (1994) and Smarte (1994) regarding the problems and hopes for improvements in the future. Doe (1994) , p. 172 states that: "User outrage about this incompatibility has scared many people away from PCMCIA." The Type I slots are 3.3 mm thick and serve mainly as memory cards. The Type II slots are more input/output compatible with fax modems and LAN adapters. The Type III slots are 10.5 mm thick and can be used for porting to some auxiliary storage devices such as external hard drives. One problem is that some vendors who claim to have Type III slots are really manufacturing with only Type II slots stacked on top of each other giving rise to a .5 mm incompatibility difference. There is also some doubt whether PCMCIA technology can be expanded to 32 bit and 64 bit processors of the future. Smarte (1994) , pp. 204-205 compares performances of leading PC models on various PCMCIA attributes and functions. Readers might especially want to note how many of the computer models "fail" with respect to SCSI performance using PCMCIA slots. Smarte (1994) , p. 208 also provides a small glossary of PCMCIA terms. For example, "CIS" depicts Card Information Structure of formatting and data organization on the card. "Plug and play" is a feature that allows changing of cards without having to reboot the system. Smarte (1994) , p. 215 also provides a listing of new PCMCIA technologies and their vendors.