E-Scribe News : a programmer’s blog

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PBX My name is Paul Bissex, and e-scribe.com is my consulting business. I build web applications using as much open source software as possible. From September to June I teach web design and other important non-photographic professional skills to photographers. In the '90s I wrote technology commentary and reviews for magazines, newspapers, and web publications, including Wired, Salon.com, FamilyPC, the late lamented Web Review, and the Chicago Tribune. Feel free to email me.

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I'm co-authoring a book, "Python Web Development with Django", with Jeff Forcier and Wesley Chun. It will be published by Prentice Hall in July 2008, but is available for pre-ordering on Amazon now.

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This site is built on a fresh trunk checkout of Django, running on Python 2.5.1, served by Apache and mod_python. The database is SQLite. The operating system is FreeBSD, on a VPS hosted at Johncompanies.com. Comment-spam protection by Akismet. Vintage topo imagery from the Maptech archive.

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Copyright 2008
by Paul Bissex
and E-Scribe New Media

ExpressCard: what it is

expresscards Apple's new MacBook Pro doesn't have a PC Card slot. Instead, the specifications tell us, it has an ExpressCard/34 slot.

What?

If you're a Windows notebook nerd you probably know all about ExpressCard, as many models already support it, but I suspect most Mac-o-philes have never heard of it before; I hadn't, anyway. It's a replacement for the venerable PC Card (formerly PCMCIA card), designed to be smaller, simpler, faster, and more power-efficient. The "/34" suffix refers to the smaller 34mm version. There's also a /54 version, which is 54mm wide just like the PC Card, with an awkward notch on one side. That size seems to be aimed at transition devices that can't yet be squeezed into the smaller package.

The expresscard.org site will tell you more than you ever wanted to know about the standard, including whitepapers, schematics, and details of its relation to PCI Express and USB 2.0.

They need to update their news page, though. News of the MacBook Pro doesn't seem to have reached them!

Tuesday, January 17th, 2006
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Some related posts: The iPhone keyboard doesn't suck • iPod touch: one week down, one week to go • A farewell to Palms (hello, iPod touch) • iPhone, youPhone, weallPhone • Was the old Mac a hacker's machine? • What is the iPhone running, really? • New MacBook Pro • Obsolescence • Apple battery recall • Best feature of the new MacBook Pro

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