Expresscard/34 slot -- best usage ideas?

See the following:

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/notebookaccessories/PCMCIA_Express34Cardbus

It gives you several different uses and prices of the various cards.

Hope that helps...

Many uses. The most common are memory card readers, broadband wireless cards (cellular data network), and port expansion (additional FW or USB ports, or addition of an eSATA port).

One unconventional use that I particularly like, for those with no other use for the slot but who do use the IR remote for Front Row, is this remote which stores in the ExpressCard slot.

They are all hot-swappable.

I used Express/34 slots for MMC readers.

In the days of FW800 and multiple USB 2.0 ports, ExpressCard slots don't seem to get as much use - at least from what I've seen. There are definitely folks who use them, but I know quite a few who have never used either the older PCMCIA or current ExpressCard slots. That being said, there are lots of options.

I did notice someone mention that when they were using a particular Aircard on their new 15" MBP, the thickness of the USB connector blocked access to the adjacent USB port. So, they were going to try and get an ExpressCard version instead. You could always use a portable USB hub and the 17" does have 3 ports vs 2 on the 15", but it's a thought.

Card readers are a solid use as others have mentioned here. That way you don't have to remember to keep a USB card reader in your bag. Another use could be an eSATA ExpressCard for a very fast external HDD connection.

Jeff

I like the idea of the VillageTronic VTBook Graphics card. The ability to have three displays going would work well for me.

One use has to do not with what you can do right now, but with the future.

The longer you plan to keep a laptop, the more the expansion slot comes in handy for port upgrades. For example, Apple was late putting USB 2.0 ports on Macs, so there are many Macs out there that only have the extremely slow USB 1.1 ports. If the Mac has a slot, you can just stick a cheap USB 2 card in there and you no longer have to wait a century to sync your new iPod or camera. But all of the iBook and 12" PowerBook users are out of luck because they have no slot.

Today, owners of miniDV cameras and new MacBooks are out of luck because the new MacBooks have no FireWire and no slot. If the MacBook had a slot they could put a FireWire card in and connect the camera.

And as mentioned above, since no Mac laptop has eSATA onboard, you can get an eSATA ExpressCard so that you can use external drives faster than even FireWire 800.

So a slot may be something you do not need today, but have available as a form of future-proofing.

Anybody seen an Expresscard/34 with SCSI. I have a film scanner that used SCSI and I'd rather not have to buy a new scanner. Thanks.

Steve: I recommend looking into SCSI-to-FireWire adapters, because I haven't been able to turn up any SCSI-to-ExpressCard adapters. I too have an old SCSI film scanner (a Nikon LS-2000). Because I'm not required to travel with it, I addressed the problem of not being able to connect it first to my old Powerbook G4, and now to my MBP, by keeping an old SCSI-equipped desktop Mac for use primarily as a scanning station.

I echo eww one hundred percent. A SCSI-FireWire adapter will be much more stable and simple to run than a SCSI card. When you can find them, SCSI cards have a painful history under OS X, often lacking Mac drivers that are kept compatible with the latest OS X.

But I have been able to easily connect any old SCSI device I still have using this adapter. Plug and play, no driver or configuration needed. The Mac thinks it's FireWire. I bought it to run my old SCSI scanner, though I have replaced it since then.

The best use I've found for the expresscard/34 slot is a 3G/HSDPA [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HSDPA] modem.

Unfortunately I haven't found a UK mobile network that are offering these so haven't had a chance to try it out yet but I'd say as soon as one does I'll get 1.8-3.6Mbit Internet everywhere on my MBP and have it basically built-in 🙂

are these modems pretty much standard? can I buy an HSDPA / EDGE modem expresscard in US or Canada and then be able to configure it with any mobile provider GSM in north america OR Europe?

mishaxz,
if you go in to your local AT&T store the chances are you will be given one that's network locked to an AT&T sim card but it should work elsewhere.
If you decide to purchase from an online shop or high street PC store then you should have an unlocked card that will work with any network in any country.
Of course if you want to go overseas you will need a Tri-Band or Quad-Band card so that it will function in certain countries.

*The bands are as follows:*
850 MHz (U.S./Canada/Latin America/Brazil :Only the carrier Vivo in the southern and southeastern of Brazil)
900 MHz (Africa/Europe/Brazil/Australia/Asia :excluding Japan and S. Korea)
1800 MHz (Africa/Europe/Australia/Asia/Brazil)
1900 MHz (U.S./Canada/Latin America/Brazil :Only the carrier Vivo in the North, Northeast and cetral-west of Brazil)

Hope that helps!

ok, cool... thanks... I understand now, as long as I get an expresscard that is unlocked, quad band and supports hspda and edge, I should be able to work with just about any GSM network.

Great! Remember and pick up an unlimited/high usage data bundle otherwise some networks will charge up to $4/MB if using Pay as You Go/Top-Up.

Another thought:

The company Caldigit has come up with an express card 34 to elane adapter so you can use their expensive, very nice external RAID systems. With an HDPro, you can now edit uncompressed HD video and even 2k resolutions on the go with a Mac book pro.

http://www.caldigit.com/HDPro/hdpro_mobility.html

Hope that helps...