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suprz · Apr 5, 2001, 01:47 PM

has anyone seen the advertisements for this "micro" drive. i went to IBM's web site and of course i didnt see that it is compatible with macs. i'm hoping i'm wrong, but i doubt it....too bad, it looks like a neat little way of storing data

ddiokno · Apr 5, 2001, 07:07 PM

yes, the microdrives are compatible with the mac... I use one in my Canon digital camera and put it in its adapter to download pictures to my mac...
dave

RoofusPennymore · Apr 5, 2001, 08:45 PM

It looks just like a CompactFlash card to you computer, camera, MP3 player, etc. The device you want to use it with must support CF+, which is the standard that it's built on. Your Mac does of course, but make sure if you are going to use it with other things that they do too.

suprz · Apr 6, 2001, 03:20 PM

i called ibm tech support and asked the tech if it would work on my imac thru the usb port as an external drive/storage. and he said it would only work thru a pcmcia port. not thru usb..........

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" I think,
therefore....IMAC

Apple_John · Apr 6, 2001, 10:15 PM

I once use Zio! (usb) reader to download pix from IBM micro drive to ibook. Works fine, just a little bit slow.

RoofusPennymore · Apr 6, 2001, 11:26 PM

As long as the reader supports CF+ (which almost everything does) then it should work. The IBM guys doesn't know anything.

Originally posted by suprz:
i called ibm tech support and asked the tech if it would work on my imac thru the usb port as an external drive/storage. and he said it would only work thru a pcmcia port. not thru usb

tonton · Apr 7, 2001, 07:06 AM

Originally posted by suprz:
i called ibm tech support and asked the tech if it would work on my imac thru the usb port as an external drive/storage. and he said it would only work thru a pcmcia port. not thru usb..........

Roofus is right. The IBM guy was clueless. If your device (digital camera or MP3 player) has CF+ compatibility and a USB interface it will work out of the box as a Mac CF+ reader, and therefore it will work with the MicroDrive. If you just want to use the MicroDrive without a digital camera, I don't know about in the States, but I can buy a USB CF+ reader in Hong Kong for about US$30. Not a huge investment compared with the 1GB MicroDrive.

suprz · Apr 8, 2001, 08:10 AM

what i was really interested in, was using the microdrive as an external HD of some sorts.....still feasible?

------------------
" I think,
therefore....IMAC

Apr 8, 2001, 09:24 AM

Its kinda expensive if your looking for just an external HD. The 1 gig microdrive runs about $400. You would also need a Flash Card Reader to get the files in the computer, unless you have a PC card slot. Readers are about $40-50.

If you need an external HD, buy something bigger than a postage stamp, if you want reliablity. Theres awful small parts inside MD's ... squeeze it to hard or drop it and you could damage'em.

Many people use them as "film" in a digital camera.
Heres a link to a great report about cards, but it refers to their use in cameras:
http://www.robgalbraith.com/reports/...pactflash.html

RonB