The Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) was a group of computer hardware manufacturers, operating under that name from 1989 to 2009. Starting with the
PCMCIA card
In computing, PC Card is a configuration for computer parallel communication peripheral interface, designed for laptop computers. Originally introduced as PCMCIA, the PC Card standard as well as its successors like CardBus were defined and develop ...
in 1990 (the name later simplified to ''PC Card''), it created various standards for peripheral interfaces designed for
laptop
A laptop, laptop computer, or notebook computer is a small, portable personal computer (PC) with a screen and alphanumeric keyboard. Laptops typically have a clam shell form factor with the screen mounted on the inside of the upper li ...
computers.
History
The PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) industry organization was based on the original initiative of the British mathematician and computer scientist
Ian H. S. Cullimore,
one of the founders of the
Sunnyvale-based
Poqet Computer Corporation
The Poqet PC is a very small, portable IBM PC compatible computer, introduced in 1989 by Poqet Computer Corporation with a price of $2000. The computer was discontinued after Fujitsu Ltd. bought Poqet Computer Corp. It was the first subnotebo ...
,
who was seeking to integrate some kind of memory card technology as storage medium into their early
DOS
DOS is shorthand for the MS-DOS and IBM PC DOS family of operating systems.
DOS may also refer to:
Computing
* Data over signalling (DoS), multiplexing data onto a signalling channel
* Denial-of-service attack (DoS), an attack on a communicat ...
-based palmtop PCs,
when traditional floppy drives and harddisks were found to be too power-hungry and large to fit into their battery-powered handheld devices.
When in July 1989,
Poqet contacted
Fujitsu
is a Japanese multinational information and communications technology equipment and services corporation, established in 1935 and headquartered in Tokyo. Fujitsu is the world's sixth-largest IT services provider by annual revenue, and the la ...
for their existing but still non-standardized
SRAM memory cards, and
Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...
for their
flash
Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Fictional aliases
* Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed:
** Flash (Barry Allen)
** Flash (Jay Garrick)
** Wally West, the first Kid ...
technology,
the necessity and potential of establishing a worldwide memory card standard became obvious to the parties involved. This led to the foundation of the PCMCIA organization in September 1989.
By early 1990, some thirty companies had joined the initiative already, including Poqet, Fujitsu, Intel,
Mitsubishi
The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries.
Founded by YatarÅ Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...
,
IBM,
Lotus,
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
and
SCM Microsystems
SCM may refer to:
Organizations
* SCM Corporation, an American typewriter and calculator manufacturer
* SCM Holdings, a holding company owned by Ukrainian tycoon Rinat Akhmetov
* SCM Press, a UK-based academic publisher of theology
* Securities Co ...
.
From 1990 onwards, the association published and maintained a sequence of standards for
parallel communication peripheral interfaces in
laptop
A laptop, laptop computer, or notebook computer is a small, portable personal computer (PC) with a screen and alphanumeric keyboard. Laptops typically have a clam shell form factor with the screen mounted on the inside of the upper li ...
computers, notably the PCMCIA card, later renamed to
PC Card
In computing, PC Card is a configuration for computer parallel communication peripheral interface, designed for laptop computers. Originally introduced as PCMCIA, the PC Card standard as well as its successors like CardBus were defined and devel ...
, and succeeded by
ExpressCard (2003), all of them now
technologically obsolete
Obsolescence is the state of being which occurs when an object, service, or practice is no longer maintained or required even though it may still be in good working order. It usually happens when something that is more efficient or less risky r ...
.
The PCMCIA association was dissolved in 2009 and all of its activities have since been managed by the
USB Implementers Forum
The USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) is a nonprofit organization created to promote and support USB (Universal Serial Bus). Its main activities are the promotion and marketing of USB, Wireless USB, USB On-The-Go, and the maintenance of the spe ...
, according to the PCMCIA website.
Name
PCMCIA stands for ''Personal Computer Memory Card International Association'', the group of companies that defined the standard. This acronym was difficult to say and remember, and was sometimes jokingly referred to as ''"People Can't Memorize Computer Industry Acronyms"''.
To recognize increased scope beyond memory, and to aid in marketing, the association acquired the rights to the simpler term "
PC Card
In computing, PC Card is a configuration for computer parallel communication peripheral interface, designed for laptop computers. Originally introduced as PCMCIA, the PC Card standard as well as its successors like CardBus were defined and devel ...
" from
IBM. This was the name of the standard from version 2 of the specification onwards. These cards were used for
wireless networks
A wireless network is a computer network that uses wireless data connections between network nodes.
Wireless networking is a method by which homes, telecommunications networks and business installations avoid the costly process of introducing c ...
,
modem
A modulator-demodulator or modem is a computer hardware device that converts data from a digital format into a format suitable for an analog transmission medium such as telephone or radio. A modem transmits data by Modulation#Digital modulati ...
s, and other functions in notebook PCs.
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Solid-state computer storage media
Motherboard
PCMCIA
Standards organizations in the United States
Computer-related introductions in 1990