Tuesday, September 16, 2003
Smaller PC Card Format Debuts: New ExpressCard Could Appear on Desktop as well as in Mobile Devices.
Posted by Jason Dunn in "NEWS" @ 07:00 PM
"The trade group behind the PC Card has released the standard for the PC Card's successor: A smaller, faster card that goes in a slot that could become as common in desktops as in mobile devices. That's because the new card--called ExpressCard--is based on USB 2.0 and PCI Express interfaces that will be standard in the coming generation of desktop systems. Today's PC Cards require a PC Card controller, which desktop vendors typically don't bother to install because of the expense and because desktop systems can add all the peripherals they need via USB or PCI."
What do you think? Winner, or a loser in a new suit? I've always thought it would be cool to be able to swap out components using a "brick" type device, and this seems to be addressing that. But I can't help but think that the size is too big - I'd much rather use a CompactFlash-based card on my Pocket PC or notebook than one of these. The success of this will depend on what sort of hardware they release using this format - if they could cram a video card in there, or perhaps supplemental RAM or storage, this could turn into something very cool!
What do you think? Winner, or a loser in a new suit? I've always thought it would be cool to be able to swap out components using a "brick" type device, and this seems to be addressing that. But I can't help but think that the size is too big - I'd much rather use a CompactFlash-based card on my Pocket PC or notebook than one of these. The success of this will depend on what sort of hardware they release using this format - if they could cram a video card in there, or perhaps supplemental RAM or storage, this could turn into something very cool!
