Inspiron PCMCIA port...no not really, PSYCHE!

I recently purchased an Inspiron 6400 (aka the E1505). I thought
that it had a PCMCIA slot neart the hard drive, just like dozens of
Dell laptop models before it. It was shaped the same way, and it was
called an "Express card" slot.

I thought, "ok, no problem...they simply adapted a PCMCIA slot to also
read digital photograph media cards or whatever else...they definetly
made it backward compatible...who in their right mind would make a
port identical in size and shape to PCMCIA while changing the types of
cards that can be fit into it?".

Then I try to insert a wireless WAN PCMCIA card into the port. Won't
fit. Ok, no problem, so I call Dell and ask them if there's possibly
any debris or packaging materials inside the laptop that I can remove
and get this going. I'm DCSE certified, I could have this torn apart
and put back together in 20 minutes flat.

Phone tech's response: "no, sorry sir, thats an Express card reader.
We no longer provide PCMCIA slots in newer computers. You'll have to
get a [$250 minimum] USB-to-PCMCIA reader device".

I was extremely upset. It was deceptive of Dell to provide a slot
that was the same size and shape of a PCMCIA port, while converting it
into a completely different interface. Calling it an "Express card"
was also deceptive.

Maybe all of you realize this already, and I'm still in the dark ages
with computer equipment, but I just wanted to warn anyone who has an
older PCMCIA card that it probably wont work on a newer Dell.


.

Relevant Pages

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