PCMCIA

PC/PCMCIA Card

Formerly called a PCMCIA card, a detachable card that can be connected to the motherboard inside a personal computer. It is used to link the PC to other devices to carry out a special function. (Cingular)

A credit card-sized PC Card that allows a computer to send messages over the GSM/DCS 1800 mobile phone networks using a mobile phone. For a GSM/DCS 1800 Data Card, you need a Class II or Class III card slot in your computer. (Motorola)

Portable Computer Cards (PC cards) are interchangeable peripherals designed to be inserted into laptop computers in order to enable extra hardware functions. Such cards include (but are not limited to) flash memory, modems, network interface cards, and SCSI disk controllers.

They were first called PCMCIA cards as the original standards were set by the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association. This awkward initialism was jokingly expanded as "People Can't Memorize Computer Industry Acronyms" or "Personal Computer Manufacturers Can't Invent Acronyms". A later revision of the PC card is known as CardBus. The PCMCIA is also developing a new notebook peripheral specification called ExpressCard.