[BigMark]

OK, I've got a 540c, 3400c, PB G3/333 and a Pismo 500, all of which have PC card slots.

1. Asides from ethernet, USB and Firewire, can anyone recommend some cool PC cards that provide other functions?

2. Is there a PC card which lets you slide a CompactFlash card into it? ( I know the IBM MicroDrive comes w/ its own adaptor)

[Davidarm]

1. 56k modem cards for the 540c and the 3400, SCSI card for the Pismo

2. I own a SanDisk PCMCIA Compact Flash adapter and it works great - I'm sure other manufacturers make them too...

[vmarks]

Geeky option- network adapter.

If you already have built-in ethernet, and add a second ethernet adapter, you can make the laptop into a router. Not sure why you'd need to, but it could be fun;

EDIT: oh duh! you said BESIDES ethernet, USB, and firewire! My mistake!

[ 12-30-2001: Message edited by: vmarks ]

[Cellery]

I use a 5GB PC Card hard drive to transfer files between my 3 laptops, use a WLAN card in two of them, and a PCMCIA CF and Memory Stick adapter to transfer digital photos to the computer quickly. Those are the ones I found "cool" and have since become indispensible to my computer usage.

[ 12-30-2001: Message edited by: Cellery ]

[BigMark]

A 5GB PC card? What kind of speeds ( MB/s )do you get with those? I haven't really heard much about PC card storage devices, and had no idea there was that kind of size available.

Memory Stick adaptors I had heard of (and used a while back) but I'm no fan of the Memory Stick. I remember the adaptor being quite costly as well (approx US$100)

I guess with a 5GB PC card available there probably aren't many people using a 1GB MicroDrive in its place.

[tonton]

I know you said besides USB, but many people forget that adding a USB card to a USB equipped PowerBook provides additional ports without requiring the use of a hub. Quite nice, IMO.

[BigMark]

Originally posted by tonton:
<STRONG>I know you said besides USB, but many people forget that adding a USB card to a USB equipped PowerBook provides additional ports without requiring the use of a hub. Quite nice, IMO.</STRONG>

Well, yes, I suppose that could be handy in certain situations, but I think most people would prefer to take the extra load off the CPU and just get a USB hub (which can be powered from the USB port).

I just thought of something- why doesn't someone make a security-oriented PC card i.e. you must have the PC card installed to either run the PowerBook or access certain files? This could be done at the moment I guess (a PC storage card that contains your keychains), but biometric measures could also be included- pull-out thumb scanner......

[seanyepez]

Now that Ricochet wireless Internet is ruled out (they went bankrupt), I don't know if there are any cool PC cards out there anymore.

Unless you need SCSI or extra cooling, I don't know what to tell you.

I recall there is a PC card fan. Search the Internet, and you will likely find what I'm talking about.

There is such a security card! Check out www.crypto.ch for details. I think it works only with PCs though.

[BigMark]

I remember seeing those PC fan cards a while back. Quite clever, as long as your PC card enclosure isn't *enclosed* though.

Thanks for the above link, however I think the companys target market is more along the lines of govt. & security related agencies as well as certain banking concerns I imagine. Needless to say, I doubt the Mac OS is supported

[Mithras]

Two ideas:

1. Wireless networking cards.
Dunno if they count as "aethernet", but 802.11 cards are great. Make an ad-hoc network between your or anyone else's computers wherever you happen to be. Surf the web at Starbucks or airports, or just around your house. Definitely cool.

2. PC-Card hard drive.
Somebody already mentioned the Toshiba 5GB hard drive that fits in a PC Card (that's the HD for the ipod, by the way). Very cool.

Another option is an external case that will hold a standard 2.5" laptop drive. That's up to 48GB in a little bus-powered unit you can plug in to any of your laptops, to backup or share data. MCE makes the Datashuttle and Apricorn makes the EZ-Gig; there's probably others.