Related Articles

PCMCIA is a standard port available on all laptop computers, but it hasn’t quite caught on in the desktop market. Since the PCMCIA slot is viewed as a sort of replacement for PCI and ISA slots found in the desktop, it would be redundant on a regular computer. With the laptop computer’s “motherboard” safely tucked in the casing, it was no wonder that some sort of compact, secure, and durable alternative arose. But why would you need a PCMCIA slot on your regular computer? Under normal circumstances, you wouldn’t, but some users may find specialized uses for PCMCIA devices on their laptop.

Antec Datachute PCI Boxshot & Package's Contents

Take for example, the Kodak PictureCard Reader that we reviewed a short while ago or Antec’s own SmartMedia to PCMCIA adapter. With the use of such adapter cards, you could turn your SmartMedia or CompactFlash media into ultra fast and relatively large storage transfer type disks between your laptop, your camera, your portable MP3 player, and your main desktop. There’s also a whole slew of other devices that you may purchase for your laptop, that you also may want to use on your desktop computer. Ultra portable DVD-ROMs and CD-RW drives are become hot ticket items, and these portable devices can come with PCMCIA adapters so that they can be used on the road. Wouldn’t it be convenient to invest in a single suite of portable media storage devices that you can bring with your laptop, AND that you could use with your home system? Beyond these examples, there are a few other possible applications that different users may have imagined. The DataChute allows you to quickly and easily add PCMCIA reading/writing capability to any computer with a free PCI slot.

Specs:

Features:

Supports most PC cards suppliers with or without CIS

Datachute Drive & PCI Card