Many people ask for PCMCIA Cards, not knowing that PCMCIA is really just an acronym for Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (formerly Personal Computer Memory Card Industry Association). The PCMCIA is the standards body for several device standards including ExpressCard, PC Card, PC CardBus, and at one time the Miniature Card and SmartMedia (when the SSFDA folded) standards as well. When people mistakenly ask for PCMCIA Cards, what they really mean are PC Cards.
There is no such thing as a "PCMCIA Card" -- Greg Barr, PCMCIA Public Relations Coordinator
The term "PC Card" refers to the credit card-size peripherals that add memory, mass storage, and I/O capabilities to computers in a rugged, compact form factor. The term "PCMCIA" (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) refers to the non-profit trade association and standards body that promotes PC Card and ExpressCard technology by defining technical standards and educating the market. In the past, cards were known as "PCMCIA Cards," but the industry now refers to products based on the technology as "PC Cards," "PC Card Hosts" and "PC Card Software," and refers only to the association as PCMCIA. -- PCMCIA FAQ www.pcmcia.org/faq.htm#terms
As seen in the quotes, the hardware people sometimes mistakenly refer to as PCMCIA Cards, is correctly called PC Card when referring to the 16-bit legacy variety, and PC CardBus when referring to the 32-bit variety. When the quote mentions cards were known as PCMCIA cards in the past, this wasn't because they were actually named that by the standards body, it was due to common usage by end users. Before the generalized hardware name PC Card was coined for these devices, the industry referred to them as memory cards, hence the "memory card" portion of the PCMCIA acronym. When I/O cards were standardized in the PC Card form factor, PCMCIA employed the name PC Card. On the other hand, it is fine to refer to these devices with the industry acronym before the hardware names: PCMCIA PC Cards or PCMCIA PC CardBus Cards.
PCMCIA PC Cards are often categorized by PCMCIA PC Card Type I, PCMCIA PC Card Type II or PCMCIA PC Card Type III (85.6 x 54.0 x 3.3 or 5.0 or 10.5mm thick) form factors. All the Type designation indicates is the thickness (depth) of the card. All PCMCIA PC Cards feature a standard 68-pin parallel interface to the host system. Notebook computers can feature PCMCIA PC Card or PCMCIA PC CardBus slots, although newer models feature PCMCIA ExpressCard slots. Adding PC Card support to desktop computers typically requires a host adapter, called a PCMCIA PC Card reader.
Typically PCMCIA PC Cards are categorized by their purpose. PCMCIA PC Card memory devices or PCMCIA PC Card/PC CardBus I/O devices.
Outside of PCMCIA PC Card memory devices, PC Cards exist for a wide variety of purposes. Most serve as host adapters, which add or augment the abilities of the computer they are being used with. For many applications, 16-bit legacy PCMCIA PC Cards are sufficient. For example, RS-232 adapters or PC Card to CompactFlash adapters. To provide 32-bit and/or high performance busses, PC CardBus host adapters allow for useful applications including Ethernet or FireWire.
Like the PC Card standards it is replacing, PCMCIA ExpressCards serve a wide variety of functions on modern computers. See our ExpressCard FAQ for ExpressCard 34 and ExpressCard 54 Cards for in depth information on PCMCIA ExpressCard technology. See our extensive ExpressCard product lineup for examples of ExpressCard proliferation.
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