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Understanding the accumulation of data

You are here: Home / Everything / Apple / SanDisk ExpressCard Flash Media Adapter: Nifty MacBook Pro Accessory!

SanDisk ExpressCard Flash Media Adapter: Nifty MacBook Pro Accessory!

October 6, 2008 By Stephen Leave a Comment

As I mentioned the other day, I recently picked up a Canon ultra-compact digital camera to use while on the road. What I didn’t mention is that I also grabbed a nifty new accessory for the MacBook Pro: A SanDisk ExpressCard flash media adapter. This little gadget converts a notebook’s ExpressCard slot into a versatile flash media adapter – it takes most versions of SD and Memory Stick, and works in both OS X and Windows without a hiccup (or even a driver install).

This post is part of my series focused on the MacBook Pro.

  • Don’t Be Jealous Of The New MacBook Pros!
  • Upgraded! 320 GB in a MacBook Pro!
  • SanDisk ExpressCard Flash Media Adapter: Nifty MacBook Pro Accessory!
  • How I Get 7 Hours of MacBook Pro Battery Life
  • Panic! Green Light and MacBook Pro Keyboard is Half Dead!
  • Low-Power USB Ports Haunt My MacBook Pro

Of course, I could just carry around a cable and use the camera as a media reader. But that’s one more tangled item in the rat’s nest for airport security to flag. Besides, that ExpressCard slot was just sitting there doing nothing – what’s a geek to do?

ExpressCard is a really weird technology, by the way. It’s actually two slots in one, from both a physical and electrical perspective. Physically, there are two different card sizes – the slim “34” type seen here, and a wider (but notched) “54” version. The MacBook Pro and my Dells have just the narrow ExpressCard/34 version, and most cards are of this type as well. But the weird thing is the electrical connection: ExpressCards can have either a PCI Express or USB connection! So this little card reader is nothing more than a USB card reader built into a tiny metal card. This is why it doesn’t need a driver for most modern OSes, and why it was so cheap. One more thing – unlike PCMCIA/CardBus cards, which are held in by friction, ExpressCard has a nice positive push-and-click engagement in the slot.

The ExpressCard flash media adapter snaps in place and is flush with the edge of the MacBook Pro - very clean!
The ExpressCard flash media adapter snaps in place and is flush with the edge of the MacBook Pro - very clean!

Note: Some of these links include affiliate codes that help pay for this blog. For example, buying an Amazon Kindle with this link sends a few bucks my way! But I don't write this blog to make money, and am happy to link to sites and stores that don't pay anything. I like Amazon and buy tons from them, but you're free to buy whatever and wherever you want.

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  • Introducing Rabbit: I Bought a Cloud!
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Filed Under: Apple, Photography, Terabyte home Tagged With: digital camera, ExpressCard, MacBook Pro, Memory Stick, PCI Express, SanDisk, SD, USB

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