I’m working on a project that requires me to, among other things, transfer data between non-networked machines. I’m thinking of using SmartMedia cards along with a USB SmartMedia Reader/Writer as an inexpensive solution. The size of the files/directories are in the three to fifteen MB range. I can get two 32 MB SmartMedia cards for about $30 bucks and a reader/writer for about $45.
Is there some major drawback to using SmartMedia in the aforementioned way that I’m overlooking?
[sub]Yes, I’m aware of CD-RWs but I’m not interested in using them for this project.[/sub]
I have A USB SmartMedia reader and use it for several purposes. One is to keep a few files I do not want to keep in my hard disk (Encryption keys and other sensitive stuff) It works fine for me although I did have one card fail. I can’t see any reason for not using it. It is small, cheap and convenient.
How often are you going to write to it? A flash memory has a limited number of writes before the chip burns out. The number is rather high (in the 10,000 range IIRC) so unless your filling and wiping the card multiple times a day you should be fine but it’s still something to take into your plans
10,000 read/write cycles? That’s a couple magnitudes better than you can safely expect out of a ZIP disk. Using SD sounds like a good plan to me.
Another option is USB-based storage - they’re often called key or thumb drives - they’re little more than a flash chip wrapped up in a housing to make them a little more physically robust and harder to lose - they’re usually intended to be put on a keyring.
LOL, I can attest to that. Like I said the number is rather high. Lower then a hard drive of course but still good enough for most uses.
I use the 8mb SM card that came with my camera to move my gpg keys, some small useful utilities (like putty, winscp, etc), and other small files around. I’ve been doing this for a couple of years, adding and deleting files all the time, without a hitch. I do have everything on it that’s important backed up for the day when it does crap out (or I brake it. Who thought that postage stamp sized waffers of plastic were a good idea…)
I can’t imagine transferring files this way very often (BTW, Is there a reason for not networking the machines? ) but, in any case, the read / write life is high enough that the cards will be lost/broken/destroyed before the limit is reached. BTW, I paid something like $20 for a Sandisk reader.
I do this. It’s a convenient way to transfer files from computers at work to computers at home, to my laptop, to my brothers’ computers and what not. They can’t all be networked conveniently, and I can only burn CDs at home and on my laptop.
I use the Zio! SmartMedia reader. It’s about the size of a fat key chain. It’s just lumpy enough that I feel it im my pocket when I’m sorting laundry, so it hasn’t met the washing machine yet. They also make readers for SD, CompactFlash and Memory Stick. And JuanitaTech, yes, the readers are also writers. You just plug them into a USB port and they show up in My Computer as the F: drive, or whatever the next drive letter is.
The downside with mine is the fact that I must load drivers on each machine I want to use it on, but I understand some similar devices work with the generic Windows drivers.
If you’re going to request a budget for the purchase of this stuff, uh, why don’t you try to get a Sony Clie out of it? You know, one of the models that accept a memory stick. The memory stick mounts nicely in “My Computer” on a Windows box, mounts nicely on the desktop on a Mac (with “The Missing Sync” needed, unfortunately), and has all of the other advantages of a smart media reader. But, you get a Clie out of the deal.
If you are going to buy a reader/writer, I’d advise spending a little extra and buying one that has slots for various media. SanDisk makes one that handles five or six kinds. It’s $49 at Best Buy and $29 at Costco.
That way you’d be prepared for most any media type. I’d also venture to point out that “some folks” think that because Smart Media has the contacts on the surface of the card, rather than sockets on the edge, that they are not as sturdy as Compact Flash or other similar media.
Thanks for the replies, guys. I didn’t know the readers were writers, too! I thought the name had to specifically say reader/writer. Live and learn, I guess.
I already purchased it yesterday. Maybe I can cancel the order because it probably hasn’t shipped yet.
Darn. I received the confirmation email this morning at 4 a.m. that the order’s already been shipped. Oh well.
Balthisar, it’s my budget and I’m no where near creative enough to fineagle (sp?) a Clie out of it. Besides, I’ve got my eye on this.
That depends a bit on what kind of system you’re using.
In my (admittedly limited) experience, combo drives more often require specific drivers. (At least if you try to use them under less-frequent Oses, such as Linux and NT4.)
I have had the best success with really simple drives, with only the required functionality.
I would, however, second the recommendation to use Compact Flash. They are by far the cheapest solution per Mb, even though they are a bit chunkier. They also support a wider variety of sizes. MMC is capped at 128Mb (I believe) and so is the original memory stick. CF, on the other hand, exist up to 3Gb, and I don’t think that’s the limit (It oughtn’t be, considering that the interface is pretty much the same as for a hard disk.)
And when it comes to the limited lifespan of a flash chip, I believe that most modern storage solutions use some kind of load averageing, so that the FAT (for example) doesn’t get written 100 times as often as some data sectors.
There are other filesystems that can be used to improve performance, such as JFFS2, but for the moment support is rather limited.
I was at Costco on Sunday and they had 256 Meg CF for under $60 US. Memory sticks and SmartMedia were similar values. but I think the SM and Memory sticks were 128Meg. But a nice low price.
Popup I have a multislot unit here at work and it requires no drivers under Win 2K
This may sound like the epitome of laziness, but so be it. The reason I didn’t go with the USB drive is because I’d have to plug it in the back of the machine each time I need to use it. The machine is situated in an awkward place and can’t easily be turned around. This is the machine that has a SmartMedia drive in one of the bays.
Word of warning - you can’t mix brands of SmartMedia readers and cards. Although all of them are compatible with different camera maker’s cards, each brand recognizes cards made by their competitor and rejects them as bad.
At least, that’s what the clerk at BestBuy told me when I tried to return a SanDisk brand card that wouldn’t work in my non-SanDisk reader. So I took a chance on a SanDisk reader, and it worked with SanDisk cards, though not with the other brand of cards. All the cards worked with their own brand of reader, or with my 2 Olympus cameras, but all were labeled as defective when I tried to read them on the opposite brand of reader.
The poster’s had their question answered, but this seems to be turning into a post for general SmartMedia advice, so what the heck.
You can safely buy a third-party reader, as in, one made by a company which does not manufacture any of the cards, and not have this competition issue. I have a generic flat “multi-card reader/writer” (I don’t know the manufacturer, unfortunately - it was on special at Fry’s) with slots for the four standard SmartMedia cards, and it hasn’t had a problem with clone brands yet. You sacrifice customer service and the warm, comforting feeling you get from knowing the manufacturer will still be there when you wake up tomorrow, but for a $30 gewgaw, I’ll live.
