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Yesterday, I faced one of those consumer buying moments when circumstances forced me to go out to buy a little utility item for my digital camera. Not only had I previously had no need for the item in question, but when I got to the store was faced with a rack full of these gadgets, all doing essentially the same thing but each model being different in both functionality and price.

What I needed was a simple gadget into which I could insert the SD memory card from my digital camera and then connect the card to my computer and transfer the pictures. While I have known of the existence and general function of these cards for the past few years, I have never had a need for one until now. I recently purchased my third digital camera a mere four years after purchasing my first one. Previously it took me ten years or more to outgrow a camera and that was due to my photography skills and needs growing up to the next level. The camera technology itself did not change that much over that period and the cameras were sturdy and usually remained usable after I had finished with them.

However, with the digital cameras, the technology is advancing rapidly, prices are falling even faster and, probably due to both the rapid advances in the technology and falling prices, the lower end cameras themselves don't last as long. While they are getting better, digital cameras tend to be cheap when it comes to durability. But I can't really complain as my two previous cameras broke down just about the time I was ready to buy a new one anyway. Because, after a couple of years, the technology had increased significantly thereby allowing people to do a lot more with the camera while, at the same time, prices had fallen to almost the same level as what my far more limited current camera had cost when I purchased it. Thus, I was ready to get rid of the thing anyway and its malfunctioning simply forced me to make my move a few weeks earlier.

My first digital camera came with a cord that connected the camera to the USB port on my computer and allowed my PC to view the camera as if it were simply another disk drive. It was then a simple matter of using the mouse on the computer to drag and drop the photos from the SD card in the camera to the folder I had chosen on my PC's hard drive. My next camera came with software to install on the PC in order to enhance my photo experience. I installed the software but bypassed it and continued to use the drag and drop method to transfer the pictures. With my most recent camera I dutifully followed the instructions and installed the accompanying software on my PC and then attempted my first transfer of the three hundred odd photos on the SD card to the PC only to discover that the software had its own ideas as to how and where the pictures were to be transferred and located on the computer. Since this was not what I wanted, I called my brother for advice and he suggested a card reader as the solution.

So I went to the nearby OfficeMax and found myself face to face with a rack full of various memory cards and readers. The clerk pointed out a very nice reader for about $35 that could read and transfer data and graphics from a dozen or more varieties of cards – this was when I suddenly learned that not only was there a range of card brands and capacities they could hold but there was also a growing range of card types. SD cards are merely one standard. There are others which may or be may not be the same physical size and shape but, depending upon the hardware and/or software being used, may or may not work or even fit into the device one is using. Hence, the beauty of this universal reader which apparently can handle everything that is on the market today. However, at the moment, my camera (and my two son's cameras) along with my Palm Pilot and cell phone all use cards set to the SD standard. Since my current plans don't call for purchasing any new gadgets needing memory in the next year or so, I decided to purchase a less expensive reader for $12.95 and gamble that my household either won't acquire any new gadgets as planned or, if we do, that the new devices will employ the same SD card technology.

Normally, I would think long term and spend the extra money for a reader that could accommodate our growing needs. However, given the rapid pace of technology, memory cards for the gadgets we will be buying in the next couple of years or so may be different than the dozen types that the $35 reader can handle. So, I purchased the less expensive one on the basis that I won't lose as much if I have to upgrade to a newer technology in the near future and end up tossing the $12.95 reader out as obsolete.

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