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Robster1958 · Mar 12, 2003, 12:05 AM

i was thinking of buying a PCMCIA card that i can use to plug in a MemoryStick and read/write.

does ayone use this? if so, i was especially interested in whether you could leave the card inserted pemanently..does it stick out of PB..or is it flush?

also, is data transfer speed an issue, vs. USB?

penmanila · Mar 12, 2003, 01:05 AM

i've used a pc card holder for my compact flash card to download oictures from my digital camera into my tibook. it's cheap and fast. i don't think the pc card is ever really flush with the case--a little bit of it will always stick out, but it's not a problem.

Phanguye · Mar 12, 2003, 01:30 AM

i have a pcmcia card reader and it sits flush... i used to leave it in all the time but have started to take it out so dust and stuff doesnt get in

tooki · Mar 12, 2003, 01:33 AM

They seat flush. But with most such adapters, it's hard/impossible to remove a memory card from the adapter without pulling it out of the PC Card slot.

tooki

escher · Mar 12, 2003, 09:34 AM

How does transfer speed compare between a PC Card flash memory reader and a FireWire flash memory card reader? (Not USB, those are sucky slow.)

I went to an Apple-sponsored QTVR seminar two years ago and the pro photographer who was running it swore by his FireWire Lexar CF card reader. (He had a PB G4 and could thus have used a PC Card reader, if he wanted.)

Escher

nsxpower · Mar 12, 2003, 09:49 AM

How does transfer speed compare between a PC Card flash memory reader and a FireWire flash memory card reader? (Not USB, those are sucky slow.)

I went to an Apple-sponsored QTVR seminar two years ago and the pro photographer who was running it swore by his FireWire Lexar CF card reader. (He had a PB G4 and could thus have used a PC Card reader, if he wanted.)

Escher

FireWire is much faster then PCMCIA bus. I wish they hooked PCMCIA through the FW bus on the PowerBooks ... no need to carry around an external reader device w/ wired etc.

audvidsvs · Mar 12, 2003, 09:50 AM

The adapter I have sits flush with the side if the computer.
I have to use eject button to get at it.
On my IBook I had to use an external reader thru USB and it seemed a lot slower than the PC card slot method.
This is also true on Windows machines that I have.
I did not even realize the TGiBook had a card slot until I got it and I am so glad it does

Robster1958 · Mar 12, 2003, 06:22 PM

thanks for the replies.

now...any suggestions where to get one? (for memory stick).

they all seem to be about $40...should i just get the Sony brand?

oh...i assume with OS X.2, no drivers are needed?

vdrummer · Mar 12, 2003, 07:01 PM

I love the convenience of using the PCMCIA / CF adapter to transfer photos from my digicam. Also, it's my preferred method of file transfer to & from my Windows PC (512Mb Ultra CF card). I just leave the PCMCIA adapter in the Tibook all the time.

One recurring problem:
If the Tibook is asleep, and I insert the CF card, and then open the Tibook, the Tibook hangs and I must do a warm boot. Seems ok if I'm inserting and removing while Tibook is awake, but there's a hitch there somewhere; could be my PCMCIA, which is a Dazzle model from Compusa.

tooki · Mar 12, 2003, 09:53 PM

I doubt a FireWire reader would be faster, at least for CompactFlash. That's because CompactFlash is PCMCIA, just miniaturized. So the speed of PC Card is the bottleneck either way (this is assuming that Flash memory was infinitely fast, which it's not).

I don't think that any memory card is as fast as a PC Card bus.

tooki

kdixey · Mar 14, 2003, 12:23 AM

I love using my PCMCIA SmartMedia adapter. It's very convenient and fast. I prefer it over my USB card reader.

oeyvind · Mar 14, 2003, 01:36 AM

Firewire based reader will be faster, tested.

Why? FireWire devices are all dma based ( only require cpu for setup ). So, the loading of copying files from / to a firewire device should be much less than a pc card ( which requires programmed i/o ).

escher · Mar 14, 2003, 10:50 AM

Originally posted by nsxpower:
FireWire is much faster then PCMCIA bus.

Originally posted by tooki:
I doubt a FireWire reader would be faster . . . because CompactFlash is PCMCIA, just miniaturized. So the speed of PC Card is the bottleneck either way (this is assuming that Flash memory was infinitely fast, which it's not).

I don't think that any memory card is as fast as a PC Card bus.

Originally posted by oeyvind:
Firewire based reader will be faster, tested.

Why? FireWire devices are all dma based ( only require cpu for setup ). So, the loading of copying files from / to a firewire device should be much less than a pc card ( which requires programmed i/o ).

Thanks for your replies, nsxpower, tooki and oeyvind. I guess this goes to show how little theory is worth if it is not backed up by empirical testing. I know the pro photographer/presenter at the seminar wouldn't have used a FW reader unless it was faster than a PC Card. Nonetheless, it's shocking that a cable-based interface is faster than a technology that connects directly to the mobo.

I wonder whether the 3rd generation PC Card standard (forget what it's called), which the PCMCIA recently announced, will change the situation. In the meantime, we'll either have to put up with slower transfers for internal convenience or put up with an external attachment for faster speeds. I guess life is full of compromises...

Escher

escher · Mar 14, 2003, 10:52 AM

PS: SanDisk just announced a new line of USB 2.0 card readers. Who the hell knows when Apple will finally wisen up and ship USB 2.0 on all Macs (despite the fact that FireWire is technically superior)?

Escher