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PC Q&A
by Jim Sanders, NOCCC - July 08, 2002 at 21:24:45:
This month’s SIG started off with no questions. Now a question and answer SIG that starts off with no questions has an hour of a dead time to fill. Conveniently I brought along and a couple of different items to talk about. A compact flash memory card reader/writer that uses a USB interface and the IBM ViaVoice Advanced Edition speech recognition software (www-3.ibm.com/software/speech/).Last Christmas I received a "Diskonkey" (www.diskonkey.com). This product takes its name from the fact that it has a key ring attached. The idea being that you can have your keys on its ring and always have with you a USB storage device that has anywhere from 8 Mb to 128 MB of mass storage. Though the one that I received was only 8 MB. However, I found it very useful to use in a modern "Sneaker net " mode (check Google if you need a definition). I quickly found however, that I really would have enjoyed the device more if it was 64 MB of storage. At a list price of $100, that size was more money than I wanted to spend.
Then I noticed an ad for a compact flash memory reader/writer for $19.95 (http://www.siig.com/ products/usb/features/CFCardReader.html). In the same ad, a 64 MB compact flash memory card was on sale for $19.95. Now the form factor of the compact flash memory card reader is not as nifty as the "DiskonKey", but the byte for the buck is sure more appealing. It is worth noting that the "throat" of the reader/writer is not near as deep as it is on my camera. This means that you must be much more careful when inserting the compact flash card to get it straight and not damage any of the tiny pins. The "DiskonKey" is truly something that you could carry in your pocket at all times. It’s design protects the USB connector from contamination, has no tiny pins to worry about, and is far more compact.
It was interesting when I went to purchase the reader/writer, that there were many different units available at the store. Some of them were single function in units such as the one that I bought. And then there were multiple functions units that ranged anywhere from two different types of media to six different types of media. The above SIIG web site offers 10 different models of memory card readers. It is kind of a shame that so many different standards have proliferated, but when you purchase a device today it may have a Compact Flash memory card, a Smart Media card, a Secure Digital media card, a MultiMediaCard, an ATA Flash Card, a Memory Stick, or a Micro Drive. Most of these devices will have a cable connection of either the USB or Firewire type built in, but it is often more convenient to remove the media and utilize a reader/writer than hooking up the device directly.
By the time we finished talking about the various aspects of USB reader/writer units, there was not much time left to speak about the VIA Voice Advanced Edition. So I will try and touch on that some more at next month’s SIG. One of the main reasons that I went ahead and upgraded to the Advanced Edition was it was such a deal. Circuit City had a sale on that version for $99, with a $40 store mail in rebate and a $40 IBM upgrade mail in rebate. Since the Personal Edition has been on sale for $20 with a $20 mail in rebate, a significant upgrade only cost me $20 plus sales taxes, time and stamps. The IBM rebates are good until July 6, 2002 so you too can play this game. The advanced version has more features than the standard version and includes a far nicer headset microphone combination. I did think the labeling on the box that mentions a USB adaptor and microphone headset included, was a little misleading. It turns out that, yes, there is a USB adaptor, which takes care of the microphone input, but the audio out to the head set is through the sound card and to a audio jack on the USB adaptor. Still, it appears to be a much higher end headset and I think it has improved the recognition percentage.
See you next month.
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