Gary,
I agree with Limtex. The standard is going to be CF, not SmartMedia. I think that the flexibility of your Antec device is nice, but I can count the number of people I know with a type III PCMCIA drive on one hand.
I think a type II PCMCIA slot would be the best solution as SmartMedia, Memory Stick, CF (and presumably MMC) will have adapters for this slot.
If I think back on my recent electronics purchases I have a CF slotted digital camera, a CF/PCMCIA (type II) slotted H/PC and an MMC slotted mp3 player. Thus a CF slot will serve all my needs.
During the c.c. someone asked if SanDisk is selling SmartMedia because of the mp3 design-ins. Eli stated the main reason they are doing it is to be a turn-key supplier affording the luxury of one-stop-shopping to retail outlets they have agreements with. Let's face it, SmartMedia is full of headaches, especially compatibility issues both within platforms and cross-platforms. I don't think SanDisk is excited about potential consumer dissatisfaction with this handicapped media. With CompactFlash, once the product leaves SanDisks factory it is very unlikely to return due to incompatibility, malfunction, wear, or any other reason. That is the beauty of CF. So it seems unlikely that SmartMedia would be included in a discussion of potential standard PC bays like the floppy drive, CD ROM drive (or a Zip drive for that matter).
I think type II PCMCIA is the best unifying option. As you know that remains as a standard available only on notebooks, H/PC's and P/PC's.
Maybe someone should write a letter to Michael Dell and complain.
Ausdauer |
