Filed under: Macworld, Hardware
MacBook Pro will support 34mm PC Cards
As the dust settles a bit around MacWorld, it seems a few
details about the new MacBook Pro's are becoming clearer. First on many PowerBook users' minds: will my EVDO card work
without PCMCIA?It turns out a little naming confusion is the key to this mystery. On the "What's Inside" page for the MacBook Pro, under the Expansion category, you may notice this entry:
- ExpressCard/34 slot
[more info about EVDO usb dongles and other ungainly hardware patches for existing PCMCIA cards on the MacBook Pro]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Rich Wardwell said 10:59AM on 1-12-2006
I'm not sure what to say, except that this information is incorrect. A PC Card (originally called the PCMCIA card) will NOT function in an ExpressCard slot -- be it 34mm or 54mm. These slots are a completely different format. Where the confusion may lie is in the fact that they are both sponsored by the PCMCIA ASSOCIATION. They are TWO different standards.
AGAIN... Your legacy PC or CardBus card will NOT work in an ExpressCard slot!!!!!
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Samuel McConnell said 11:04AM on 1-12-2006
PCMCIA isn't a standard, it's a standards body. PCMCIA ratified the ExpressCard standard, which is PCI-Express and USB2.0. It's pin-incompatable with CardBus cards (CardBus is ALSO a PCMCIA standard)
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Rich Wardwell said 11:05AM on 1-12-2006
To expound....
The website for the PCMCIA trade association is http://www.pcmcia.org
You can see both the PC Card and the ExpressCard standards referenced on the right...
The website for ExpressCard is http://www.expresscard.org/web/site/
Two standards... the ExpressCard is substantially smaller, lower power, and PCI Express enabled (much faster) --- but completely incompatible with PC Cards.
Rumor has it that Verizon will be shipping an EVDO ExpressCard Card in February or shortly thereafter. Until then, Mac PowerBook Pro users are doomed for EVDO access unless they use a Junxion Box router or tethering with an EVDO phone (not supported on Verizon).
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Fabienne Serriere said 11:07AM on 1-12-2006
Rich~
No legacy stuff will work because the card won't fit in the 34mm slot, which is what this post is about. Your current cards are now tiny espresso cup coasters or really chunky bookmarks. I hope that clears things up!
cheers,
fbz
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Justin said 11:37AM on 1-12-2006
Wow guys. Worst post ever. See above comments. Just had to rub it in. =P
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Michael Katz said 11:47AM on 1-12-2006
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expresscard#ExpressCard_.28Newcard.29 ......
"ExpressCard supports two form factors, ExpressCard/34 (34 mm wide) and ExpressCard/54 (54 mm wide, in an L-shape) the connector is the same width (34 mm) on both. Standard cards are 75 mm long (10.6 mm shorter than CardBus) and 5 mm thick, but may be thicker on sections that extend outside the standard form factor for antennas, sockets, etc."
Even if there was a 54 mm ExpressCard slot, it wouldn't work since it's still the 34 mm connector to me the 54 would stick out of the slot like a wifi card, and probably block say the headset port. The Slot would still be 34 mm wide even if it was a 54.
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Kesey said 1:28PM on 1-12-2006
Worst post ever.
What is the point? Can we use PCMCIA/PC Cards in an ExpressCard slot? No.
Where does the "naming confusion" come into play? The slot is not compatible with PCMCIA/PC Cards. Who's confused?
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Rich Wardwell said 2:43PM on 1-12-2006
#4 --- that's what I said...
#7 --- Naming confusion was me trying to explain why the OP could have made the erroneous assumption that they were cross-compatible.
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EVDO Guy said 1:20AM on 1-13-2006
We will be keeping our page updated with EVDO solutions available for the MacBook Pro. Besides ExpressCard/34 solutions, you may see EVDO modems in USB2.0 form factor first. This would be the holy grail of solutions, since, it would allow EVDO in PowerBook 12, iBooks, Desktops AND the MacBook Pro.
http://EVDOinfo.com/Tips/PC_5220/MacBook_Pro_and_EVDO_20060111671/
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