Home Articles

 

Living in an era where almost everyone has already placed dependence on modern day technology and computers, it has become unavoidable to exclude cyber terminologies in random conversations. So if you aren’t that well versed with these hard-to-decipher terminologies then we suggest that you start learning them today so that you will not be left behind in today’s computer generation and for you to keep up with the modern world you are living in.

Anyone who owns a personal computer, a laptop or even just a cellular phone has probably used a PC card. If you are curious enough, one should raise the question and ask what it is, then when you get an ample definition of what it means another stream of questions will surely follow. So here is a brief yet comprehensive discussion of what it is, what it does, what it’s for and how this can be of great use to your computers.

Let us first define what it is so that it would be easy to discuss its uses in the succeeding paragraphs. This type of card was formerly known to be a PCMCIA card. This type of device has an Input/Output device that possesses a memory similar to that of a credit card and it has been designed to fit snugly and perfectly into your personal computer. The amazing thing about this card is that it not only functions to work in a personal computer, it also serves the same purpose and work to a laptop and a notebook as well. This card has several purposes but the most prominent of all is its functions as a modem for telecommunications. This card despite posing similar functions for any computer device, is classified into a 16 binary digit and to 32 bit and not only that, it also has a different kind of device closely akin to the one previously mentioned, and it is known as the ZV port card.

A standard has been built for these cards and it has been published by PCMCIA which stands for Personal Computer Memory Card International Association. The PCMCIA is a group that has been built and organized way back 1989 and has made a certain standard for Input/Output and memory both integrated into a certain circuit card. In the year 1993, another standard was introduced and it was called the PCMCIA 2.1 Standard and it was because of this published standard that users of Personal Computers have been assured and secured of other peripheral devices attached to their computers because these devices follow the said standard. Another question raised is this, how can the PC card connect to my personal computer? This card contains a pin connector that enables it to be attached or inserted into a designated narrow space in your computer. These cards come in different sizes and they are classified into three different types depending on its thickness. The Type I card is 3.3 mm thick and is used as a memory card. The Type II card is 5.0 mm thick and has relatively several uses, it can function as a modem, SCSI, LAN and for sound. The third type, TYPE III card is the thickest among the two cards; it is 10.5 mm thick and functions as an ATA hard drive. Both the first and the second type of cards can function inside the slot of the TYPE III card slot while a Type I card can fit and work perfectly well on a slot designed for a Type II.  One must know that the thicker PC cards cannot fit into slots designed for the thin cards, with this in mind; one must not force a thick card into a thin slot to avoid destroying your card. When you follow the PCMCIA standard, one must know that this standard was made to be applied into portable personal computes but this can also be used among other desktop computers as well.