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USB IDE emulator

As time 'T' approaches infinity, the availability of PATA devices and SD cards/adapters will always be less than the availability of USB mass and optical storage devices. ie. while now you can easily find a SD/MMC flash card option today to plug into a PATA port, you simply can not find a new optical drive that does the same (that's not being sold from excess production stock). And as most vintage computer enthusiasts know, anything will mechanical movement will eventually wear-out and fail. So will your SD cards.

The idea was only about keeping up with interfacing technology readily available at your local Walmart or BestBuy with older devices. So long as SD cards are stocked there, I guess the demand will be small.

The project scope also covers USB->SATA bridges. I have one on my bench atm connected to a VNC2. I have yet to find a PATA->SATA bridge that works with older ISA IDE controllers. Though I'm not sure why.
 
Ah, OK; I finally get it; you're anticipating that USB sticks will still be around (and not wear out) after cameras, cell phones, MP3 players etc. all stop using SDHC cards, and that you will not be able to purchase an internal PATA/SATA optical drive any longer, just external USB versions. Makes sense I suppose, but you're probably a little ahead of your time ;-)
 
I'll state it again for enhanced clarity:

Yeah, my only goal was 'just because'.

It's an open project. I'm not forcing you to use it. For whatever reason people have asked for it (in this thread even). I'm not sure what more I need to say.

Edit: And yes, I can see OTG/USB cameras + USB flash devices gradually replacing SD/MMC cards. They already have taken over the smartphone/MP3 player market.
 
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you don't have to justify your actions. I find it very interesting, and it certainly is from a technical point of view. just keep us tuned :)
 
you don't have to justify your actions. I find it very interesting, and it certainly is from a technical point of view. just keep us tuned :)
And you don't have to get so defensive either; I agreed that it is an interesting project and (along with a couple of other posters) have just been trying to better understand what it has to offer, and I wasn't arguing your point about SD obsolescence at all (although as it happens my brand-new MP3 player uses a uSD card for extended storage ;-) )

Excuuuse me for showing interest and commenting in response to your complaint that you were talking to yourself and asking for input.

Sheesh!
 
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Sorry. One of those things where meaning really doesn't come through in typed Internet text very well. I actually do appreciate the input!
 
Sorry. One of those things where meaning really doesn't come through in typed Internet text very well. I actually do appreciate the input!
As in the current threads about floppy emulation on USB sticks and/or SD cards, the devil's in the details and it's not always clear exactly what's being discussed. Just the direction alone, i.e. whether it's USB/SDC/etc to SATA/PATA/FDD/etc or the other way around is confusing enough, especially since they're used so interchangeably...

Anyway, good luck and keep us posted on this and your other projects.
 
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