In 1989, with the
mobile computing industry kicking at the seams of its
infancy, a number of portable
storage cards were appearing on the
market.
John Reimer an
executive and
engineer then working at
Fujitsu on
mobile computing solutions, recognized that different,
incompatible cards were being produced by different
companies. In order to avoid complete
chaos and to
insure that anyone buying a
mobile device would be able to choose from a variety of companies for their removable
media, Mr. Reimer decided, there would have to be an established
standard to protect both
consumers and
businesses.
He soon found that he wasn't alone, and, with the
assistance of his colleagues working at other companies, he successfully secured funding and agreements from a small number of
corporations that would
spearhead the non-profit organization
PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association), run by a
board and a group of elected officials, and chaired for a number of years by the founder, John Reimer.
The
idea caught on quite well. "By 1991, PCMCIA had defined an I/O
interface for the same 68 pin connector initially used for
memory cards. At the same time, the
Socket Services Specification was added and was soon followed by the
Card Services Specifcation as
developers realized that
common software would be needed to enhance compatibility." Today, anyone would be hard pressed to find a
laptop computer or a PDA without a
PCMCIA slot or a
Compact Flash slot, (Compact Flash] cards being adaptable to PCMCIA slots with a simple adapter). PCMCIA now boasts over 200 member companies and
affiliates.
for more: http://www.pcmcia.org/about.htm