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-- Matchbook drive idea poorly executed, anything better? (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=12209)

I've checked out the matchbook drive website at

http://www.matchbookdrive.com

When one reads the following disclaimer on their website:

================================
5. The MatchBookDrive Adapter housing snaps together. It will not be glued when you receive it. That way, if you want to change housings, you can easily do so. If you accidentally bend the pins on your adapter, you can open it up to straighten them out. Do not open your adapter more than necessary. If the snaps break, you will need to glue the two halves of the housing together.

=================================

...one has to wonder if another company out there is planning on designing something similar that is actually plug-and-play. I have a 192MB sandisk CF card I'd love to deploy in a visor, but not with matchbookdrive -- it's too risky. I can hardly believe they're asking people to pay for something that is still essentially in the testing stages. Gotta rush to market, I guess.

Anyone know if it works with the sandisk 192 CF? :-)

quote:

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Originally posted by steelkilt
I've checked out the matchbook drive website at

http://www.matchbookdrive.com

When one reads the following disclaimer on their website:

================================
5. The MatchBookDrive Adapter housing snaps together. It will not be glued when you receive it. That way, if you want to change housings, you can easily do so. If you accidentally bend the pins on your adapter, you can open it up to straighten them out. Do not open your adapter more than necessary. If the snaps break, you will need to glue the two halves of the housing together.

=================================

...one has to wonder if another company out there is planning on designing something similar that is actually plug-and-play. I have a 192MB sandisk CF card I'd love to deploy in a visor, but not with matchbookdrive -- it's too risky. I can hardly believe they're asking people to pay for something that is still essentially in the testing stages. Gotta rush to market, I guess.

Anyone know if it works with the sandisk 192 CF? :-)

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matchbookdrive

I also have the matchbookdrive module and have no complaints about the construction if it. One reason they might have made it with snaps is so you can buy a new housing. One the website it says there will be color housings avail. soon. I for one hate the clear housing. It makes it look cheap. My matchbookdrive came yesterday morning and after testing my 64mg CF card, I immediately slapped a TeVa sticker on the back.

positive reports are encouraging

sounds like matchbook has some pleased customers. that's encouraging. More questions for matchbook owners:

1. can one run programs directly from the CF card?

2. Is it really true that the only way to get stuff on the CF card is to place it on the visor RAM first? If this is true, someone must have a software patch to allow for direct copying from PC to CF card during sync. I mention this because, on the IPAQ, for all its faults, it has a nice copy operation that allows you to view the CF card as simply another storage area. You just place the IPAQ in the sync cradle, then copy files to the card (at least this is possible using Windows media player to copy WMAs and MP3s).

thanks.

/Steelkilt

Re: positive reports are encouraging

quote:

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Originally posted by steelkilt
sounds like matchbook has some pleased customers. that's encouraging. More questions for matchbook owners:

1. can one run programs directly from the CF card?

---

quote:

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2. Is it really true that the only way to get stuff on the CF card is to place it on the visor RAM first? If this is true, someone must have a software patch to allow for direct copying from PC to CF card during sync. I mention this because, on the IPAQ, for all its faults, it has a nice copy operation that allows you to view the CF card as simply another storage area. You just place the IPAQ in the sync cradle, then copy files to the card (at least this is possible using Windows media player to copy WMAs and MP3s).

thanks.

/Steelkilt

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"Topic: Matchbook drive idea poorly executed, anything better?"
This is a pretty unfair "assessment" from someone who doesn't even seem to own one.
"Topic: Matchbook drive SEEMS idea poorly executed, anything better?"
...would be better.
But, generally, this just reveals a lack of cognizance of HS, SBs, PDAs, the Palm economy, etc.
For what you get, and the price of the products (HW & SW), having ANY CF option on the Visor at this point in time (its prudent to try to walk before you try running) BORDERS ON A MINOR MIRACLE.
Sophisticated users have taken the bull by the horns and dev. their own VERY REASONABLE solutions to what has only recently become A SERIOUS MEMORY PROB. (Due to the advent of SBs like EM2, which uses huge chunks of mem. for video; the MP3 players [can you "swap out" songs to & from CF & these SBs via Visor's RAM?], it has become more and more necessary yet onerous for people to lay out $79/8Mb or $130/16Mb. Still, I don't expect HS or other vendors to "do us a big favor" by charging as little as is charged for an open standard mem. solution, if they can get more for in their proprietary SBs -- and, of course, you can run apps right off them if that's what you're looking for, so it's not like the extra money doesn't get you something extra for the time being.)
These user-devs. have come before the Visor community w/great grace & humility (esp. for the great achievement they have provided; this in stark contrast to InnoGear's showing fake products on their site w/their false promises that they were forthcoming -- and complete lack of comm. w/their potential customers), and keeping the Visor community informed at every turn. It's essentially a textbook case of how to go about this the right way.

As we all know, generally (w/out sophisticated apps like GPS maps, MP3s, video, etc.), the Palm O.S. can go a long, long way on microscopic memory -- so the CF solution is more a gift to us all, rather than a crucial necessity.

But, for my money, you'd essentially have to be crazy to own ANY Visor model and not indulge in this INCREDIBLY INEXPENSIVE solution to have essentially unlimited storage. (And if 192Mb cards don't work, presently, you might re-think the old adage: "Don't put all your eggs in one basket," and buy two 96Mb cards -- esp. if you'll be creating "orig. material" like important pix and/or video.) If you ask me, this even tops the much-lauded HS BackUp SB, which is $39 (and usu. gets kudos as being the most cost-effective SB).

As is well known by now, "full" CF req. more voltage (or was it amps? -- it's the amps that kill you, right?) than the Visors currently supply. So if you want all the "wonderful" (read: LIMITED) solutions CF can provide (nowhere NEAR what the SB community has produced IN JUST ONE YEAR ... after, what, about 5 YEARS for CF?), you'd prob. be happier w/another platform.

But for the rest of us -- everybody go out and buy the CF SB HW/SW solution today!
(P.S. I'm not affiliated w/any of the HW or SW dev.)

It appears the InnoPocket is to be of better build quality.

The pin thing was what kept me from purchasing a MatchBook.

__________________
Matt Nichols
[email protected]

I have the MatchBookDrive and I wasn't too pleased with it. The unit is loose, the case is cheap and the slot that was milled in the top for the CF Card to enter was uneven and scored. Also the posts should be longer so you can just drop the card in and push down to set it in the pins (like a PC Card CF Adapter).

I just ordered an InnoPocket CF Adapter after reading the review (and emailing the Reviewer), so I'm hoping that'll be what I'm looking for. If it is I'm selling my MatchBookDrive.

Re: positive reports are encouraging

quote:

---

Originally posted by steelkilt
sounds like matchbook has some pleased customers. that's encouraging. More questions for matchbook owners:

1. can one run programs directly from the CF card?

---

quote:

---

2. Is it really true that the only way to get stuff on the CF card is to place it on the visor RAM first? If this is true, someone must have a software patch to allow for direct copying from PC to CF card during sync. I mention this because, on the IPAQ, for all its faults, it has a nice copy operation that allows you to view the CF card as simply another storage area. You just place the IPAQ in the sync cradle, then copy files to the card (at least this is possible using Windows media player to copy WMAs and MP3s).

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__________________
<ul><li>Dave Kessler<br>President - Kopsis, Inc.</li></ul>