PC Card Types (Introduced 1990)
PC Cards use a 68-pin connector and have an 86x54 mm (3.4x2.1") form factor. Laptop computers often have one or two Type II slots; however, newer laptops may only support ExpressCards (see below).
Type Thick x Long x Wide (Millimeters)
I 3.3 x 86 x 54 mm
II 5.0 x 86 x 54 mm
III 10.5 x 86 x 54 mm
CardBus (Second Generation - 1995)
Same size modules as PC Cards, CardBus cards are based on the 32-bit PCI bus, and data transfer speed was increased to a maximum of 132 Mbytes/sec from 40 Mbytes/sec for 16-bit PC Cards. CardBus also accommodates cards of different voltages and supports bus mastering and power management.
ExpressCard (Third Generation - 2003)
ExpressCards are smaller than PC Card/CardBus modules and come in two sizes: 5x75x54 mm and 5x75x34 mm. Designed for desktop and mobile use, ExpressCards use either USB 2.0, single lane PCI Express or both interfaces at the same time, providing up to 342 Mbytes/sec in one direction. See ExpressCard, PCI Express and USB.
Card and Socket Services
Card Services and Socket Services are the drivers for PC Cards. Card Services manage hot swapping and automatically configure the system resources required by the card (IRQs, memory and I/O addresses on a PC). Card Services talk to Socket Services, which is low-level software that talks directly to the PC Card controller chip. Socket Services are built into the system BIOS.
PC Card/CardBus and ExpressCards
PC Card and CardBus form factors are the same (left). The ExpressCards (middle and right) changed the format. (Image courtesy of Personal Computer Memory Card International Association, www.pcmcia.org)
The PC Card
The PC Card (left) on laptops is the equivalent expansion mechanism to the printed circuit board (right) on desktop computers.
Desktop Readers
PC Card drives can be added to desktop machines, either externally (top two) or internally (bottom). The unit in the middle is actually a SCSI hard drive with a built-in slot. (Image courtesy of Microtech International, Inc.)
![]() | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2008 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- Microsoft's 'conceptual touch designs'
- I've written from time to time about Apple and their rumoured tablet devices, applications for tablet PC's, multi-touch and Surface, and all those touchy-feely concepts we've been hearing about, but when do we get to actually see them? Microsoft has recently kicked forward their Software+Services, which for...
- Blog posts 2008-10-10
- Are there really too many Windows editions?
- Ask any Windows pundit about all the different versions of Windows Vista that Microsoft offers and you'll invariably get the same response. There are too many! Consumers are confused! It all needs to be simplified! To which I say: Be careful what you wish for. The case for reducing the...
- Blog posts 2008-10-10
- Netbook returns blamed on Linux 'teething problems'
- Higher return rates for Linux-based netbooks don't necessarily reflect badly on the open-source operating system, according to Ubuntu backer Canonical. The return rate on Linux-powered netbooks may be higher than that for Windows netbooks, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing for Linux, according to Canonical. ...
- News items 2008-10-10
- Consumers score a partial win against Walmart
- Walmart has done a 180 on its earlier decision to pull the plug on its DRM servers (thereby locking customers' music collection to whatever PC it happened to be on at the time) and decided to keep the DRM servers running - for now. Important Information About Your Digital Music Purchases ...
- Blog posts 2008-10-10
- News to know: Apple's $800 laptop; MS and Mac Patch Days; Vista Home for business
- Here are today's notable headlines. You can get News To Know via email alert and RSS daily: Ryan Naraine: Mac OS X Patch Day: 40 security flaws fixed MS Patch Tuesday heads-up: 11 bulletins, 4 critical Ed Bott: Look who's buying...
- Blog posts 2008-10-10
- Look who's buying Vista Home Basic (hint: it's not home users)
- Who's buying new PCs with Windows Vista Home Basic? Judging by the name, you'd assume those OS editions would be loaded on underpowered machines for starving students and penny-pinching families. But you'd be wrong. Based on my observations of the PC market over the past year or two, I think...
- Blog posts 2008-10-09
- Buy an ASUS Eee Box mini PC, get free malware!
- Proud owners of ASUS's Eee Box mini PC got more than they bargained for - malware. by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
- Blog posts 2008-10-09
- Economy-pinched semiconductor industry: How to ride the storm
- The credit crisis and overall economic downturn is starting to hit the semiconductor industry, which saw 5.5 percent sales growth in August. Research firm iSuppli has cut its 2008 sales growth forecast for the semiconductor industry from 4 percent to 3.5 percent and potentially even more if economic conditions continue...
- Blog posts 2008-10-09
- The five products Apple must make
- What ought to be Apple's next leap of faith? Here are a few ideas for where Apple should go next. What are your ideas? Apple made its latest big move into new territories last year with the launch of the now ubiquitous iPhone, expanding beyond the desktop and...
- News items 2008-10-09
- Asustek to offer touch-panel Eee PCs?
- While the Web swoons over news of Apple's latest $800 market entry, Asustek is planning to launch touchscreen Eee PCs in the first quarter of 2009, which the company expects will help drive sales further, according to Samson Hu, general manager of Eee PC business at Asustek, by way of...
- Blog posts 2008-10-09
- Asus ships Eee Box PCs with malware
- Asus has confirmed and apologized to customers (press release in Japanese; translated version) for shipping malware on the recently introduced Eee Box desktop computer : "According to an email sent out by Asus, PC Advisor reports, the Eee Box's 80GB hard drive has the recycled.exe virus files hidden in...
- Blog posts 2008-10-09
- syngo fastView (exe)
- syngo fastView is a standalone viewer for DICOM images provided on DICOM exchange media. It can be used on any Windows PC. Its operating concept is based on the easy-to-use syngo philosophy; Learn one - know all. syngo fastView can be used to view [IN] Dicom images on / from...
- Software downloads 2008-10-09
- AudioProc (exe)
- AudioProc is a high-quality, linear-phase multiband audio dynamics processor for Winamp, utilizing 10-band compression/expansion/limiting technology that emulates expensive professional broadcast hardware. Intended to achieve a competitive 'on the air' sound signature resembling that of modern audio broadcast processors used by major market FM radio stations, AudioProc will normalize the volume...
- Software downloads 2008-10-09
- Tickerz 3 (exe)
- Revolbyte Tickerz is a multimedia client which allows you to enjoy TV and radio channels via Internet. You don't need any additional TV-Card in your PC order notebook. You just need an ordinary Internet connection. With Tickerz you have access to thousands of radio- and TV-streams from all over the...
- Software downloads 2008-10-09
- Rich people can hang $4,000 IntelliTunes digital jukebox on their walls
- This one may be just for the Lehman Brothers and AIG execs of the world, because I'm not sure anyone else can afford Game Cabinets' new $3,995 Intellitunes digital jukebox in this economy. What do you get for all that money? The wall-mountable unit sports two separate...
- Blog posts 2008-10-08
- What happens when the "cloud" starts to precipitate? A hard rain's agonna fall . . .
- i use a lot of online services and I try to push as many applications as I can into the cloud. This means that I can work from anywhere on virtually any computer device. I don't need a personal computer (but I do need a personal cellphone - the new...
- Blog posts 2008-10-08
- WiMax - the technology, devices and momentum - finally arrives.
- Finally! WiMax is officially here. I know this because executives pulled out the big scissors - in this case, hedge clippers - to the cut the symbolic copper wire instead of a ribbon to signify the end of the wired Internet. Whenever there's a ribbon cutting, you know its official....
- Blog posts 2008-10-08
- AdSense for Games: Could RIAs be next?
- AdSense for Games: Could RIAs be next?Where do they cook up these numbers?25% of internet users play games. Okay, does that mean they play the little cutesy web games, or the massive online games like WoW, or multiplayer PC games, or any kind of game at all? Does it count...
- Discussion threads 2008-10-08
- Teaching telecommuting
- I had to commute this morning. I left the commuting behind about 5 years ago and dread the drive from middle-of-nowhere Massachusetts to Boston. We have a lot more horses than traffic jams out my way, so I've definitely lost my tolerance for traffic. The local troopers...
- Blog posts 2008-10-08
- C'mon, Vista really isn't that bad
- C'mon, Vista really isn't that badRE: C'mon, Vista really isn't that badI agree, it eases the transition from the digital to the physical world for computer users and seems especially geared towards newer computer users and explaining steps and giving more information about the system itself and any software installed....
- Discussion threads 2008-10-08










