Microdrive Technology
If you prefer magnetic storage for digital camera data storage, consider the Hitachi Microdrive, originally developed by IBM and now manufactured and sold by Hitachi Global Storage Technologies. The Hitachi Microdrive is also sold by various other companies under OEM agreements.
When first introduced by IBM, the Microdrive was released in a 170MB capacity. Current models, though, have capacities of 340MB, 512MB, 1GB, and 4GB. The 4GB model uses a new five-layer version of the Pixie Dust AFC media technology originally developed by IBM. Microdrives can be used with several digital cameras, many notebook computers, and other devices. The Microdrive is a true hard drive at 1'' wide and works in CompactFlash+ Type II slots, enabling it to be a direct replacement for standard CompactFlash memory cards on compatible equipment. The Microdrive is also available as part of a Travel Kit containing a PC Card adapter, and the drive is compatible with many standard CompactFlash card readers. See the www.hgst.com/ Web site for more information about Microdrive products, a compatibility matrix, and other information. Figure 12.7 shows how Microdrive's mechanism compares in size to a standard U.S. quarter.
Depending on the version of Windows you use and the type of removable-media storage you select, you might see changes in existing drive letters when you install a new removable-media drive or flash memory device into a system. To learn more about these changes and how to control drive letter assignments, see "Removable Drive Letter Assignments," p. 787.
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