PCMCIA

1. Papa, Mama and the Wee Baby
2. Pick a Card, Any Card

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Papa, Mama and the Wee Baby or PCMCIA III, II and I or PCMCIA III, II and I
From Catalog 38, page 7

Because the PCMCIA standard is relatively new, some confusion still exists about the various specifications.

The ideas behind PCMCIA started in several different groups at about the same time. That they were evolved into one fairly well defined implementation is a credit to the electronics industry and the critical consumer.

Today's standard is a well thought out compromise. In addition to supporting byte and word transfers, it also provides signaling for both memory devices like static RAM, DRAM, and FLASH as well as I/O devices like network interface cards, modems and hard disks.

While the same 68-pin connector supports all of these devices, the size of the opening for the connector varies with the device. Most memory devices are Type I, meaning the thinnest card available. A Type II device like a modem or sound card will not fit into a Type I slot, but a Type I will fit into the taller Type II slot.

In the same fashion, a PCMCIA hard disk, which is usually a Type III, requires the additional height of a Type III slot. Most of the sockets today are Type II.

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Pick a Card, Any Card
From Catalog 36, page 4

Grab a modem, a hard drive, a LAN adaptor, and a couple of meg of nonvolatile RAM. Stick all four in your jacket pocket and take off!

No problem if the devices listed above conform to the PCMCIA standard. (Can you imagine doing that with any ONE of those devices a couple of years ago? The hard drive alone would have pulled your jacket off your shoulder, and the LAN card would have torn holes in the pocket.)

I can't think of an easier way to add versatility and capability to the computers I use as I move about. Low power, small size, and the security of having your important data in your pocket highlight the advantages of PCMCIA. Add to that the savings that accrue when you move your accessories instead of buying duplicate cards for each machine you use, and I believe the advertising that says PCMCIA is the next wave.

P.S. -- The biggest advantage for me is the ability to move my custom environment from machine to machine.

P.P.S. -- I now load 17 programs into high memory. Don't ask! Here, you can ask!

17... RETRIEVE, FILECMD, QEMM, DOS-UP, FDDEVICE, FDCD, ANSI, MSCDEX, FSFILTER, WRKGROUP, PROTMAN, NE2000, SBPRO, RAMDRIVE, DBLSPACE SMARTDRV, SETVER

Of the 17 programs listed above, the two most important to me are RETRIEVE and FILECMD. RETRIEVE is a great deal like DOSKEY, only better because it is easier to use, more powerful, and it behaves better with other software. FILECMD is a program that migrated from the mainframe world and provides a wonderful interface for repetitive directory interaction.

Thanks to the authors, Jack G. and Glenn H.

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