Re: PCMCIA, EZPLAY and 3COM 3c589

[uwe@odb.rhein-main.de (Fraass)]

>	The point is--does it *function*?  If so, who cares what EZPlay has to
>say about the 3Com card?
>
>	Just FYI, the 3Com card doesn't require or use any of the EZPlay or
>PCMCIA card services drivers.  In fact, sometimes these drivers cause it
>problems.  At any rate, as long as it functions, don't be concerned what
>EZPlay has to say about the 3Com card.

Except for three points, if I understand things correctly.  One, EZPlay
supports hot-plugging, so you can swap out cards on the fly.  Not a big deal
for me now, as I only have two cards, but I've been dreaming about an
external SCSI for a while, so maybe soon ...  Second, with EZPlay the cards
are functional after the machine returns from hibernation;  with my
(non-EZPlay modem driver) hibernation is pretty much useless to me if I'm
making regular use of the modem as I have to cold start the machine again
anyway.  Third, I suspect (haven't verified it, though) that the card
manufacturers' drivers duplicate card and socket services functionality, so
that they will eat up more DOS memory than the combination of EZPlay card &
socket + the card enablers.

As I posted earlier, I'm thinking seriously about moving to Daytona (the OS,
not the city) when it's released, which is rumoured to be imminent.
Allegedly it has transparent PCMCIA support for lotsa cards, and will end
all this fiddling.  I wouldn't bet the farm on it, though.

Tim Vetter
Frankfurt