Editing PCMCIA (section)

== History ==

PCMCIA was based on the original initiative of the British mathematician and computer scientist [[Ian Cullimore|Ian H. S. Cullimore]],<ref name="Strass_1994_PCMCIA">{{Cite book|title=PCMCIA optimal nutzen|trans-title=Using PCMCIA optimally|first=Hermann|last=Strass|publisher=Franzis-Verlag GmbH, Poing|date=1994|isbn=3-7723-6652-X|id=9-783772-366529|language=de}}</ref> one of the founders of the [[Sunnyvale, California|Sunnyvale]]-based [[Poqet Computer Corporation]],<ref name="Strass_1994_PCMCIA"/> who was seeking to integrate some kind of [[memory card]] technology as storage medium into their early [[DOS]]-based [[palmtop PC]]s,<ref name="Strass_1994_PCMCIA"/> when traditional floppy drives and harddisks were found to be too power-hungry and large to fit into their battery-powered handheld devices.<ref name="Strass_1994_PCMCIA"/> When in July 1989,<ref name="Strass_1994_PCMCIA"/> Poqet contacted [[Fujitsu]] for their existing but still non-standardized [[Static random-access memory|SRAM]] memory cards, and [[Intel]] for their [[flash memory|flash]] technology,<ref name="Strass_1994_PCMCIA"/> the necessity and potential of establishing a worldwide memory card standard became obvious to the parties involved. This led to the foundation of the PCMCIA organization in September 1989.<ref name="Strass_1994_PCMCIA"/><ref name="Mielke_1997_PCCard">{{Cite book|title=PC-Card Anwender-Lösungen|trans-title=Solutions for PC Card users|first=Bernd|last=Mielke|publisher=Franzis-Verlag GmbH, Feldkirchen|date=1997|isbn=3-7723-4313-9|id=9-783772-343131|language=de}}</ref>

By early 1990, some thirty companies had joined the initiative already, including Poqet, Fujitsu, Intel, [[Mitsubishi]], [[IBM]], [[Lotus Development Corporation|Lotus]], [[Microsoft]] and <!-- the German -->[[SCM Microsystems]] (now [[Identiv]]).<ref name="Strass_1994_PCMCIA"/>

From 1990 onwards, the association published and maintained a sequence of standards for  [[parallel communication]] peripheral interfaces in [[laptop]] computers, notably the PCMCIA card, later renamed to [[PC Card]], and succeeded by [[ExpressCard]] (2003), all of them now [[technologically obsolete]].

The PCMCIA association was dissolved in 2009 and all of its activities have since been managed by the [[USB Implementers Forum]], according to the PCMCIA website.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.usb.org/press/USB_IF_01212010.pdf | title=USB-IF Announces Intent to Acquire PCMCIA Assets | editor=USB Implementers Forum | access-date=2016-08-10 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304121938/http://www.usb.org/press/USB_IF_01212010.pdf | archive-date=2016-03-04 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

As of 2023, PCMCIA is now little used in new hardware, with most removable devices using USB instead. The [[Linux kernel]] project is now moving toward removing obsolete PCMCIA drivers from the mainline kernel.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Larabel |first=Michael |date=2023-03-11 |title=Linux 6.4 Slated To Start Removing Old, Unused & Unmaintained PCMCIA Drivers |url=https://www.phoronix.com/news/Linux-6.4-PCMCIA-Char-Dropping |access-date=2023-06-26 |website=www.phoronix.com |language=en}}</ref>