This USB 2.0 and IEEE 1394a (Firewire 400) Cardbus allows Laptop (Windows only) users to have both hi-speed USB 2.0 and IEEE 1394a connection types on one PC Card. With the ability to connect both USB devices at up to 480mbps and Firewire devices at up to 400Mbps the customer is no longer restricted on which devices can be connected.

Product Features include:-
ò Provides 2x USB 2.0 Ports
ò Provides 1x 4 Pin & 1x 6 Pin Firewire 400 (IEEE-1394A) Ports
ò Compliant with 32 bit Type 2 Cardbus
ò Product supplied with a UK Mains power supply

USB 2.0 Features:-
ò VIA Chipset for PC use only
ò Compliant with Universal Serial Bus Revision 2.0
ò Supports Data Transfer Rates of 1.5/12/480 Mbps
ò Compliant with Open Host Controller Interface Specification for USB Revision 1.1
ò Compliant with Enhanced Host Controller Interface Specification USB 2.0 Revision 0.95
ò Provides 2 downstream facing ports. (Type A Socket)
ò Hot-Plug feature allows you to connect/disconnect devices without powering down the system.
ò Supports Windows 98SE/2000/ME/XP (Needs Service Pack 1)

Firewire (IEEE-1394a) Features:-
ò IEEE 1394a (Firewire 400) with data transfer rates of up to 400Mb/s.
ò Complies with Standard for IEEE 1394 High Performance Serial Bus.
ò Works with many DV Camcorders for digital video creating/editing.
ò Hot-Plug feature allows you to connect/disconnect devices without powering down the system.
ò Provides 2x Sockets (1x 4 Pin & 1x 6 Pin)
ò Supports Plug and Play specification
ò Connect up to 63 devices

System Requirements:-
- Notebook or Desktop Computer with a 32-bit Cardbus/PCMCIA Type II slot
- Pentium Pro, III, IV or higher processor
- Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP (requires Service Pack 1)

How to check your system specification:-
Older computers (generally pre-1997) will have legacy 16-bit pcmcia slots, which are not compatible with the 32-bit cardbus specification.

If you are using Windows, you need to find the Device Manager which can be found under Properties of My Computer. There should be an entry for PCMCIA socket or PCMCIA adapter. The text associated with this string should include the term Cardbus Controller which would indicate that it is 32-bit Cardbus compatible. If this term is missing, the pcmcia slot is one of the older legacy sort.

PC Card standards Background
In 1985, the standardizing activity of PC card technology began with the Japan Electronic Industry Development Association (JEIDA). The organization was formed to promote memory cards, personal computers and other portable information products.
The Personal Computer Memory Card International Association PCMCIA) was founded in 1989 by a small group of companies that wanted to standardize memory cards for the classic reasons behind standardization - multiple sources, lower and shared risks, and larger markets. CardBay Ð Next generation of PC card standard PCMCIA in association with JEIDA has worldwide support from more than 500 member companies for its PC card and represents the culmination of various improvements to earlier releases of memory and I/O cards for PCs. The PC card standard encompasses both 16-bit PCMCIA cards and 32-bit CardBus cards for laptops/notebooks. This ensures backward compatibility in the PC card specification.
From the physical specification aspect, the PC Card standard defines a 68-pin interface between the peripheral card and the PC card socket into which it gets inserted. It also defines three standard PC card sizes, called Type I, Type II, and Type III. The difference between Type I, II, and III cards are the mechanical dimensions of the PC Card. All PC Cards measure the same length and width, roughly the size of a credit card. Where they differ is in thickness. Type I, the smallest form factor, often used for memory cards, measures 3.3mm in thickness. Type II, available for those peripherals requiring taller components such as LAN cards and modems, measures 5mm thick. Type III is the tallest form factor and measures 10.5 mm thick. Type III PC Cards can support small rotating disks and other tall components. Whereas, the electrical specification defines three basic classes of PC card: 16-bit PCMCIA cards, 32-bit CardBus PC cards, and newly defined CardBay PC cards.Defined are characteristics of each interface including power, signaling, configuration, and timing requirements.
CardBay is the next generation PC Card Standard being developed by the PCMCIA organization. The new CardBay PC Card standard incorporates the popular Universal Serial Bus (USB) into the PC Card format as the migration path for the most popular add-in card solutions. Just like CardBus and the original 16-bit PC Card standards, CardBay enables plug-in functions to become tightly integrated within a mobile device, such as a notebook/laptop computer or PDA. CardBay standard complements the existing PCI-based PC card technology by allowing the same connector to bring the popular USB serial interface into the PC card form factor. CardBay essentially substitutes USB for the existing PC card interface while retaining the CardBus physical connector and PC card format with USB specification supported. Potential uses of CardBay include USB-based advanced wired and wireless modems; security devices for fast secure encryption/decryption and authentication; and bulk memory devices, such as USB-based memory card-to-PC adapters for video cameras and media players. The desktop industry is moving towards lower and lower profiles, and are currently looking at the PC Card form factor for future adoption. Cardbus and Cardbay technology may soon be common place in the PC as well as in the Notebook/Laptop. CardBay uses will fall right in line with consumer desktop needs at home, as well as commercial uses at work. CardBay is also seen as the next enhancement for mobile markets and will reside along with the current 16 bit PCMCIA card and 32-bit CardBus card technologies. The goals of CardBay technology announced are as follows:
ò Retain ease of use and operating system plug and playcapabilities
ò Opens up a whole new market for USB-based product inmobile devices.
ò Maintain backward electrical and form-factor compatibilitywith 32 bits CardBus and 16 bit PC card technology
ò Provide a growth path for PC Card technology
ò Provide for easily porting desktop technology implementationsto mobile PC card implementation.
ò Open up doors for PC Card uses in the desktop environment as well as notebook/laptops
ò Build on the software and power management base ofUSB specification.

USB Background
The Universal Serial Bus (USB) specification is a standardized peripheral connection developed by leading PC industry companies. USB makes plugging in new peripherals easy with plug and play, is nearly 100 times faster than the original serial port, and supports multiple device connectivity. Because of these benefits, USB is enjoying broad market acceptance today.

USB allows expandability of the PCs capabilities via an external port, eliminating the need for users or integrators to open the system chassis. Since USB supports multiple peripheral devices simultaneously, it allows users to run numerous devices such as printers, scanners, digital cameras and speakers from a single PC. USB also allows for automatic device detection and installation, making connectivity a true plug-and-play experience for end users. USBs quick proliferation as the replacement for the serial port and other PC ports for I/O devices such as digital joysticks, phones, scanners and digital cameras has accelerated the production and availability of such devices. Several hundred of these devices are in the marketplace today, with many more on their way. In addition, virtually every new PC today has one or more USB ports, quickly moving the installed base of USB-capable PCs to the range of hundreds of millions.

Hi-Speed USB v2.0
Hi-Speed USB extends the speed of the connection from 12 Mbps on Original USB up to 480 Mbps on Hi-Speed USB, providing an attachment point for next-generation peripherals which complement higher performance PCs and user applications. Hi-Speed USB is both forward and backward compatible with Original USB, resulting in a seamless transition process for the end user. In fact, Hi-Speed USB uses the same cables and connectors as Original USB. Hi-Speed USB offers a compelling opportunity for peripherals vendors to migrate their USB peripherals to higher performance, while still being able to sell the same peripherals into the huge installed base of USB-capable PCs. Hi-Speed USB is also expected to lead to the development of higher performance peripherals that will bring new applications to the PC.

Original USBs data rate of 12 Mbps is sufficient for many PC peripherals such as telephones, keyboards, mice, digital joysticks, floppy drives, digital speakers, and low-end printers. These peripherals will continue to operate with no change in Hi-Speed USB systems. The higher bandwidth of Hi-Speed USB will permit PC peripherals with more functionality, including higher resolution video conferencing cameras, next generation scanners and printers, fast storage units, and faster broadband Internet connections. It will make todays user applications more productive, such as taking the time to download a ""roll"" of digital photos from a few minutes on Original USB down to a few seconds on Hi-Speed USB. In addition, the higher bandwidth will support the most demanding PC user applications, such as digital image creation and interactive gaming, where multiple high-speed peripherals will be running simultaneously. The higher data rate of Hi-Speed USB will also open up the possibilities of new and exciting peripherals.

As with Original USB, Hi-Speed USB is expected to eventually be in industry chipsets. Once these chipsets reach high volume, it is expected that Hi-Speed USB will be about the same cost as USB is today. Because of this, Hi-Speed USB is expected to supercede Original USB, which is already a ubiquitous connector on PC systems today. Also like Original USB, Hi-Speed USB will satisfy the peripheral-interface needs of desktops, mobile systems and other classes of host platforms. To satisfy the needs of power-sensitive applications such as notebook computers, Hi-Speed USB will provide the same power-management mechanisms as Original USB to allow aggressive management of I/O power consumption. This is expected to allow Hi-Speed USB to find use even in demanding low-power systems.

Comparison of Hi-Speed USB v2.0 and 1394
I/O connectivity is being further advanced with the IEEE 1394 standard. Hi-Speed USB and 1394 primarily differ in terms of application focus. The Hi-Speed USB Promoter group expects Hi-Speed USB to be the preferred connection for most PC peripherals, whereas IEEE 1394s primary target is audio/visual consumer electronic devices such as digital camcorders, digital VCRs, DVDs, and digital televisions. Both Hi-Speed USB and 1394 are expected to co-exist on many consumer systems in the future.

Hi-Speed USB and 1394 differ in application focus because of continuous evolution of the current environment. Today, there is a large and rapidly increasing installed base of USB-capable PCs, and hundreds of USB peripherals in the marketplace that connect to the PC. It is a natural evolution to increase the speed of USB and provide an easy migration path for existing USB peripherals. In the A/V consumer electronics equipment industry, IEEE 1394 is on its way to becoming the dominant connector. Therefore, if a PC wants to connect to one of these devices, it needs an IEEE 1394 connection.

They also support different connection models. Hi-Speed USB continues to use a low cost host-centric connection model, which is the best solution for a PC connection to PC peripherals. The added capability of a peer-to-peer connection enabled by IEEE 1394, however, allows a PC to connect to a cluster of consumer electronics devices, such as one that might exist in the family room.

Firewire background
IEEE 1394 defines two bus categories: backplane and cable. The backplane bus provides an alternative serial communication path for parallel bus devices plugged into the backplane. The bus discussed in this White Paper is the cable bus: a ""non-cyclic network with finite branches"" consisting of bus bridges and nodes (cable devices). ôNon-cyclicö means you cant plug devices together to create loops. A ôbus bridgeö connects between buses: a 1394-to-PCI interface within a PC, for example. The 16-bit addressing provides up to 64K nodes in a system, with up to 16 cable hops between each: thus the term ôfinite branchesö. Six-bit Node_IDs allow up to 63 nodes to be connected to a single bus bridge (the limit for a conventional FireWire-to-PC adapter card); ten-bit Bus_IDs allows up to 1,023 bridges in a system.

Each node normally has 3 connectors (the standard allows between 1 and 27). Up to 16 nodes can be daisy-chained up to 4.5 m through the connectors for a total standard cable length of 72 m (longer using higher-quality ""fatter"" cables). Extra devices can be connected in a leaf-node configuration, as shown in the figure. Physical addresses are assigned on bridge power up (bus reset), and whenever a node is added to or removed from the system. No device ID switches are required, and the nodes are hot pluggable, meaning that FireWire is a true plug-and-play bus.

The FireWire cable standard defines three signalling rates: 98.304, 196.608 and 393.216 Mbits/s. These are normally rounded up to 100, 200, and 400 Mbit/s, and often referred to as S100, S200 and S400. The signalling rate for the entire bus is usually governed by the slowest active node, but the bus can also support multiple signalling speeds between individual pairs.

The IEEE 1394 protocol covers layers 1, 2 and 3 (physical, link and transaction) of the ISOÆs seven-layer OSI model. The standard 6-conductor cable has two separately shielded twisted-pair transmission lines for signalling (crossed for transmit-receive), two power conductors (8 to 40 V, 1.5 A max.), and an overall shield. Transformer or low-cost capacitive coupling provides galvanic isolation (500 and 60 V respectively).

FireWire provides a flexible bus management system that connects between a wide range of devices, which do not need to include a PC or other bus controller. FireWireÆs isochronous data transport provides the guaranteed bandwidth and latency required for high-speed data transfer over multiple channels.

USB v2.0 / Firewire Combo PCMCIA Card