Stewart, David C wrote: >> But I did run into something hardware-wise that might reduce the >> demand. Just the other day, I got a SanDisk SD-HC card (4GB) >> at Costco, and it included a tiny one-slot USB adaptor, not much >> bigger than the card itself plus the USB connector on one end. If >> those tiny readers become givaways (or nearly so), it would become >> less inconvenient to take them along, since they'd take practically no >> space >> in one's laptop case. Indeed, I'd say they blur the line between an >> SD card and a USB memory stick. >> > > I think those mini-USB sticks are nice. But cameras / music players are > not too likely to adopt them, are they? The best thing about the SD > card reader is to move pictures directly from camera to laptop without > need for the USB cable. >
What Richard is referring to the is the little mini-reader that is included with some SDHC cards today. The reason that these are generally bundled with high capacity cards is that SDHC cards require a different protocol (electrically the same, but different software), that most of the older USB (even newer in many cases!) readers don't understand. So, providing a reader with the card is a means to enable SDHC without updating the firmware in the multi-card reader you bought a while ago. The good news is that since its software only, we can make it work in any laptop slot that is connected to the PCI bus. (Unlike USB connected readers, which are out of luck.) I predict that over time, card vendors will stop bundling these readers, once SDHC support in USB readers becomes more common. Anyway, I'm still waiting for some +1's. :-) -- Garrett
