A Clever Idea

Saw this in David Pogue's column today . I agree with him, it's pretty neat device. It twists and you can plug it directly into a usb port without needing a card reader or having to plug your camera into the computer.

It turns out that SanDisk's SD Plus is a card with a twist--or, rather, a fold. Even though the card itself is smaller than a postage stamp, it's been built with teeny, tiny hinges. And when you fold it back on itself, you reveal a set of metal contacts that you can insert directly into the U.S.B. jack of your Mac or PC.

The card doesn't have an actual U.S.B. connector of the sort you find at the end of your camera's cable; it dispenses with the outer rectangle frame. All that really counts, it turns out, is those metal contacts.

That's it. The computer sees the card as an external drive--a flash drive, just as though you'd inserted the card into a card reader--and you can download the photos just as you always do. Except you've completely eliminated the need for an additional piece of gear that bridges your camera and your computer.