There's more to it than that, Ash. Non-cardbus cards are 16-bit. USB requires a 32-bit interface. The 32-bit interface coincidentally evolved at about the same time as USB did - perhaps because of it.

One of the reasons that Cardbus USB adapters are not as popular as they should be is the one you pointed out - only laptops that already have USB can host these adapters. Nevertheless, many are sold because either the user has problems with onboard USB or they need port expansion. Hubs do not work well for many USB devices and an adapter becomes necessary.

Bill

: Hi,

: Does anyone know if a non-cardbus PCMCIA USB card exists? Every PCMCIA USB card I can find is carbus. I realise this is due to the multiple device support but since I only wish to connect one device at a time to my laptop this isnt an issue.

: It seems a bit stupid (to me) that all the cards are cardbus when there appear to be very few cardbus-enabled laptop that dont come with USB interfaces built it.

: Cheers

: Ash