PCMCIA Compatibility Still An Issue

The Card Services standard has just been finalized, but future looks promising

While the ATA specification will probably resolve compatibility issues for PCMCIA mass storage devices, there are still questions remaining regarding the compatibility of other PCMCIA devices with various manufacturers’ systems. Although the electrical and mechanical standards were established in 1991 in PCMCIA specification 2.0, the third level of compatibility, called “Card Services,” is just being finalized as we go to press. The standard, which consists of software and firmware specifications, has therefore not been implemented in PCMCIA devices on the market today.

According to John Reimer, President of PCMCIA, this period of uncertainty will pass quickly. “There will be a time period, in which we’ll have to configure systems to [PCMCIA] peripheral devices. But pretty soon all the configuration software will reside on the peripheral device itself and will automatically download to the computer.” These so-called “downloadable drivers” will hopefully eliminate configuration and compatibility problems. In the meantime, users of PCMCIA devices will have to be careful to select cards that are compatible with their systems.

Eventually, all PCMCIA devices should be interchangeable. Referring to SunDisk’s new ATA device (see above), Reimer said, “pretty soon you’ll be able to walk up to a kiosk, plug in your ATA card, download a city directory, flight schedule, or whatever, and plug the disk into your computer, whether it’s a Newton, a ThinkPad, an EO; it won’t make any difference.” That will be the day when this industry takes off.

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