PC Card Standard Questions & Answers

1. Why is PCMCIA coming out with another revision to the Standard?

There are several reasons for the new PC Card release at this time, which
is designed to address both short and long term goals of the Association.

First, we are always trying to improve the Standard, to make it as robust
as possible, and to continue to enhance compatibility. As we learn more
about how the PC Card technology is being used, and the issues that
developers and users face, we incorporate the appropriate enhancements in
the Standard. The compatibility enhancements we've included in this
release are designed to do just that.

Second, as technology continues to advance, users' needs grow and change
accordingly. It is imperative that PCMCIA continue to advance the PC Card
Standard to accommodate both the new technologies and the new demands of
the marketplace. Features such as 3.3V/5V support, standardized support
for multiple function cards (e.g. data/fax modem and LAN adapters, sound
and SCSI, etc.), DMA capability, and power management are examples of how
PCMCIA continues to address the needs of the market.

Finally, PCMCIA must continue to cast an "eye to the future" in preparation
for new technologies and applications on the horizon such as full-motion
video, 100 Mbps Ethernet and other high-speed networking solutions, and
other performance-demanding applications. CardBus, with its 32-bit
bus-mastering interface and 33 Mhz performance capability is not designed
to replace or obsolete the existing PC Card interface. Rather it is
designed to satisfy such demanding applications in the future, and to do
so within the PC Card Standard.

With all of these issues coming together, PCMCIA feels that the time is
right for these enhanced specifications.

2. What are the key features and enhancements in this release?

There are many new features and enhancements in this release of the PC Card
Standard. To address compatibility, the new release includes an expanded
CIS (Card Information Structure). The CIS contains specific configuration
information on the PC Card, and expanding it allows for a more
comprehensive dialogue between a PC Card and the host in which it is to
operate. To further enhance compatibility, the new release includes a set
of guidelines intended to assist developers in designing products that
will not only be more robust, but will be more compatible as well.
Finally, PCMCIA has standardized on media storage formats to enhance the
ability of users to interchange information.

The new Low Voltage Standard provides support for 3.3V-only cards and
platforms in addition to the current 5V technology. This will enable PC
Card products to work better and consume less power in battery-powered
notebooks, handheld PCs, PDAs, and the like.

The Multiple function Standard allows developers to put more than one
application on a single PC Card (e.g. data/fax modem and LAN adapter,
sound and SCSI, etc.), and to have the host software (Card and Socket
Services) and the host be aware of each of the multiple applications. As
the number of PC Card applications continues to increase, we expect to see
many multiple function PC Cards in the future.

DMA capability has also been included into the Standard. This will allow
increased performance for products such as PC Card sound cards, network
adapters, and others to be designed without developers having to emulate
DMA, which is a standard capability in desktop computers. We believe that
the inclusion of DMA into the PC Card Standard will expand the breadth of
possible PC Card applications.

A Power Management interface to industry standard power management services
has been included to enable a single card services client device driver to
be both a card client and a power management-aware driver. Now with an
APM-aware card services, a power management capable card driver and a PC
Card with power management features, PC Cards can suspend and resume
operations based upon the host's power manager thus lowering power
consumption and extending battery life.

Finally, CardBus with its 32-bit bus mastering interface extension and 33
Mhz performance has been included to allow for future applications that
require performance levels not viable with the universal 16-bit
interface.

For additional information about these new enhancements, refer to the
associated PCMCIA White Papers.

3. Is compatibility still an issue for PCMCIA, and what is being done to
address it?

Compatibility has been, and remains a key issue for PCMCIA. As a result,
we're taking several steps to try to make compatibility a non-issue in the
future. In this release of the PC Card Standard, we've enhanced the CIS
and made it mandatory in order to allow for better communications between
a PC Card and the host in which it operates. The enhanced CIS contains
more information regarding the capabilities of the card as well as the
resources that it will require. In addition, we've included a set of
developer guidelines in the Standard that will make it easier and more
efficient for engineers to develop robust products that are compatible
with the Standard, and which can achieve higher levels of compatibility.
Finally, the standardization on media storage formats will increase the
level of compatibility for data interchange.

Within PCMCIA there are several workgroups, both in the technical and
marketing areas, that are addressing the issue of compatibility. By taking
a closer look at this issue, these workgroups are not only identifying
ways in which the Standard can be enhanced for improved compatibility, but
also ways in which better information can be presented to the user to
determine whether PC Card products are intended to be compatible.

In addition, by the very nature of addressing compatibility within PCMCIA,
we are fostering an environment where vendors work cooperatively to make
sure that their products are compatible with the Standard, as well as with
other PC Card products. While compatibility is still a key issue for us,
we believe that there has been a dramatic improvement over the past year,
and it is our goal to continue this improvement in the future.

At the same time, it was not the intent of either organization to restrict
the other in any way. We both understand that there may be instances where
each organization may need to incorporate regional standards not endorsed
by the other. As a result, the mechanism of integrating the two standards
into one does allow for certain "localizations" that can take the form of
a separate appendix or chapter relevant to each particular market. The
core specifications and standards, however, will be identical with this
release.

4. How is backward compatibility affected by this release?

Backward compatibility has been, and continues to be an issue of paramount
import to PCMCIA. It is our intent that products designed to be compatible
with the prior release (PCMCIA Release 2.1), and which currently work
properly together should continue to do so with this release.

This does not mean, however, that all existing products designed to the
PCMCIA 2.1 release will work properly with all new products designed to
the new release, nor should that be the expectation. Products that are
compatible with the new release (be they new or existing), but which do
not take advantage of any of the new features or capabilities should be
expected to work at least as well as they would under Release 2.1.

It should be noted that products that do take advantage of one or more of
the new features of this release may not be compatible with existing
products. A new PC Card, for example, designed to work only in a 3.3V
environment, will not work in an existing 5V PC, nor would it be intended
to. Conversely, some products implementing new optional features may be
compatible with existing products. For example, a PC Card that implements
the new DMA option will still operate successfully in an existing platform
using PIO (programmed I/O) transfers, and a new platform implementing DMA
will operate with existing cards not supporting this feature.

We have tried very hard to allow for backward compatibility as much as
possible while still advancing the Standard with the new capabilities the
market has demanded.

5. Why is this release called the "PC Card Standard," rather than the
previous "PCMCIA Release X.Y?"

In the past, there has been some confusion regarding the terms "PCMCIA" and
"PC Card". When we use the term "PCMCIA" we mean to refer to the
Association (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association).
When we use the term "PC Card" we mean to refer to the technology itself
and the products that embody it. As a result, while PCMCIA does in fact
develop the Standard, we feel it is more appropriate to refer to it as the
"PC Card Standard." Also, the fact that this will be a joint release
between PCMCIA and JEIDA (see question 7) is another reason for choosing
PC Card as the name of the Standard.

6. Why is there no revision or release number associated with this
release?

Unlike software applications where version numbers are often used to
indicate data or file format compatibility, we believe that relying on the
use of release or revision numbers to connote compatibility with a
specific version of the Standard has caused considerable confusion in the
market.

For example, consider a notebook and a PC Card adapter that advertise
compatibility with different releases of the Standard. In and of itself,
this does not indicate whether the two products are indeed compatible, nor
whether they will work properly together. Correspondingly, the fact that
two products are compatible with the same release of the Standard does not
indicate that they are designed to be compatible or are designed to work
together. A 5V-only notebook, for example, and a 3.3V-only PC Card may
both be compatible with the PC Card Standard, but they are not intended to
work with each other.

We believe that it is more important for users to select PC Card products
based upon the features and capabilities they support, and by determining
if these capabilities meet their needs. This would be analogous to
purchasing an Ethernet adapter and an Ethernet hub based upon the fact
that they both support the 10Base-T feature rather than by which revision
of the IEEE 802.3 Standard they are compatible with.

As time progresses, we believe that purchasing PC Card products based upon
their supported features will make it easier for users to select the right
ones, and will reduce the confusion and uncertainty of relying upon
release numbers.

7. How does this release compare with the JEIDA specification?

In the past, the PCMCIA Standard and the JEIDA Standard were similar but
not identical. With the global nature of today's business, both
organizations felt the time was right to integrate the two standards into
a single global standard - the PC Card Standard, which embodies the core
specifications from both. The common PC Card Standard will be available
from both organizations.

8. Does this new release make existing products obsolete?

Our goal is to maintain the viability of existing PC Card products while
providing an avenue for technology evolution. Our goal is also to enhance
the Standard by incorporating new capabilities designed to address new
application needs. Existing PC Card products that serve and satisfy users'
current needs will continue to be as viable with this release as they have
been in the past. As users' needs change, however, the Standard will allow
new products to be developed that address these new needs

9. Does CardBus compete with the Small Form Factor PCI Specification, and
if so, how does it compare?

We do not believe that CardBus competes with the Small Form Factor (SFF)
PCI Specification. Rather, we believe that they are complementary
technologies designed to address different market needs. While their form
factors are similar, and they both offer 32-bit interfaces that can
operate at 33 Mhz, we feel the applications for them are quite different.

SFF PCI is designed as a static, or "under the covers" technology whereby
the PC is opened up, the SFF PCI card installed, and the PC's covers
reinstalled. These products are not intended to be dynamically inserted
and removed by the user. Our understanding is that SFF PCI is more of an
OEM technology designed to allow vendors a more efficient "build to order"
process using standard form factor components.

CardBus, on the other hand, has been developed for products that are to be
dynamically inserted and removed in the same manner as other PC Card
products. Users can insert CardBus cards as necessary for their
application, and remove them at will. And like other PC Card products,
CardBus cards can be easily moved from PC to PC as the need arises.

While SFF PCI and CardBus both offer the high performance of 32-bit
technology, the applications and environments in which they are intended
to be used really makes them complementary, not competing technologies. In
fact, the design of CardBus was intentionally made as compatible as
possible with PCI so that CardBus adapters to a PCI local bus could be
implemented with a minimum of cost and effort.

10. What are the key issues facing PCMCIA this year, and how will you
address them?

While this release of the PC Card Standard is certainly a major one, we
don't believe our work is done by any means, and additional work will be
ongoing. We will continue to expand and broaden the developer guidelines.
We have also begun preliminary work on a non-platform specific Socket
Specification. And we will continue our efforts in developing a
compatibility matrix designed to make it easier to understand which PC
Card options and features are intended to work together.

We also feel that market education is a key responsibility of PCMCIA. We
will continue to educate the market (users, resellers, etc.) about PCMCIA
and PC Card technology through additional, topic-specific white papers, as
well as industry and consumer trade shows and symposia.

On the strategic front, PCMCIA will continue to listen and respond to
changing market needs, as well as the impact of new technologies. Our goal
is to not only broaden the applications for PC Card technology within the
current market, but to begin the process of examining additional consumer
and non-technical markets. Through all of these efforts we will strive to
enhance compatibility among PC Card products.

11. When do you expect products that incorporate the new features of the PC
Card Standard to be on the market?

As a standards organization, it would be inappropriate for us to speculate
on individual company's product announcements. For information on specific
product announcements and availability, you should contact the member
companies themselves.

However, we believe that the features and capabilities included in the new
release are very beneficial and will be attractive to many developers. And
since these enhancements are based upon proposals brought to PCMCIA by its
member companies, it is reasonable to expect that these companies will
look to incorporate them in future products.

12. How does PCMCIA recommend that a user determine whether the PC and the
PC Card product he/she is selecting are compatible with the new release,
and whether they will work together?

We believe that the best way for a user to determine whether particular PC
Card products are designed to work together is for the user to be as
informed as possible. PCMCIA provides some of the information that the
user will find helpful in its collateral materials and brochures. However,
the best way for a user to determine whether PC Card products are
compatible is to contact the vendors themselves. It is likely that the
vendors will have the most up to date information regarding which products
are compatible with theirs and what criteria can be used to determine
compatibility.

PCMCIA
1030 East Duane Ave, Suite G
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
408-720-0107,  fax 408-720-9416
Internet: office@pcmcia.org

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