PCMCIA?

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Level 2

394 points

PCMCIA?

Hi all
I'm back with another stupid question. What IS a PCMCIA card?
I am looking at a few used pismos on ebay, and noticed that some are missing "PCMCIA doors" or "PCMCIA eject buttons"
I know where the card slot is, but of what use is it? I have had my pismo for a while now and never needed this function, so I don't have a clue if it should be a deal breaker or not if these parts are missing or nonfunctioning.
sj

imac G5 1.9-10.4.8/Pismo(G4'd)550-10.4.8/B&W G3(G4'd)500-10.3.9 & 9.2/Ipod mini

Posted on Feb 8, 2007 1:42 PM

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Answer 1

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jpl

Level 7

28,285 points

Feb 8, 2007 2:12 PM in response to Sarah Dolk

Sarah,

Here is a nice primer on the subject:
http://www.pcmcia.org/pccard.htm

The absence of doors might allow a little dust to enter the 'book plus the appearance would be less than ideal; the missing eject button is a little more cumbersome. Most PC cards can be ejected by dragging their icon from the desktop to the Trash; in addition, there should be a little hole next to the PC card slot into which you push an opened paperclip to eject a card or reset the locking mechanism.

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Answer 2

Sarah Dolk Author

Level 2

394 points

Feb 8, 2007 5:05 PM in response to jpl

Thanks JPL
I get it now. I've always been a "tower" kind of gal. This is the laptop equiv to a PCI card, eh? I'm truly happy to hear it has nothing to do with the CIA!

If I do purchase one of these Pismos with the missing door, I can always tape it over to keep the dust out. I doubt I will ever use the slot.
sj

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Answer 3

Feb 8, 2007 5:37 PM in response to Sarah Dolk

If you get a Pismo with an internally installed Airport card, you may not need the PC slot. However, if you get one without Airport installed, it much easier to install a PCMCIA Airport card. Plus the PC cards are about 1/2 the price of an internal Airport & faster than ther internal Airport. This will be a consideration if you want to have a wireless capability.

 Cheers, Tom

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Answer 4

Sarah Dolk Author

Level 2

394 points

Feb 8, 2007 9:09 PM in response to Texas Mac Man

Thanks Texas - That is something I certainly should consider. I noticed that some people have had trouble with this type of wireless device, but I am going to check them out. Is there anything in particular I should avoid?

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Answer 5

Feb 9, 2007 7:00 AM in response to Sarah Dolk

On my Pismo running Tiger, I use a Macsense AeroCard Extreme model WPE-800 wireless card (802.11g, 54mbps). It was plug 'n play.

 Cheers, Tom

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Answer 6

Mar 2, 2007 7:29 PM in response to Sarah Dolk

A PCMCIA card is the lottle slot on the side of all PowerBook G3s and most laptops prior to it. You can put Wireless cards, USB cards, firewire cards, etc in the slot.

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