Blast from the past - What's the best use of the ExpressCard 34 slot in macbook?

Seems I'm learning more about computers than photography... At any rate, now that I have external drives, I decided to explore the purpose of this ExpressCard 34 slot on the side of my late 2008 macbook pro. What's the best use for this; sonnet 21-in-1; dual USB ports, something else? My computer has USB 2.0. My external drives only get connected when I transfer files or backup. Backing up takes an eternity. I process photos using smaller files (Smart Previews), somworkflow isn't a real issue. To transfer photos from camera, I leave card in the slot and connect camera to computer using the canon-provided USB cable. Should I get a reader for the 34 slot or does removing the card from camera often result in shorter lifespan of card. I now primarily use compact flash card, but have SD cards.

Larry Johnson wrote in post #17948385
Seems I'm learning more about computers than photography... At any rate, now that I have external drives, I decided to explore the purpose of this ExpressCard 34 slot on the side of my late 2008 macbook pro. What's the best use for this; sonnet 21-in-1; dual USB ports, something else? My computer has USB 2.0. My external drives only get connected when I transfer files or backup. Backing up takes an eternity. I process photos using smaller files (Smart Previews), somworkflow isn't a real issue. To transfer photos from camera, I leave card in the slot and connect camera to computer using the canon-provided USB cable. Should I get a reader for the 34 slot or does removing the card from camera often result in shorter lifespan of card. I now primarily use compact flash card, but have SD cards.

MacBook? Hard to say. I got a dual-slot USB3.0 card for the ExpressCard slot of my ThinkPad, but doing that for a MacBook would require finding one with MAC OS drivers.

For my ExpressCard-equipped computers, I got a CF reader and an eSATA card. You may have a hard time finding them any more though since USB 3.x seems to be taking over.

RDKirk wrote in post #17948387
MacBook? Hard to say. I got a dual-slot USB3.0 card for the ExpressCard slot of my ThinkPad, but doing that for a MacBook would require finding one with MAC OS drivers.

Jon wrote in post #17948481
For my ExpressCard-equipped computers, I got a CF reader and an eSATA card. You may have a hard time finding them any more though since USB 3.x seems to be taking over.

I like the idea of at least one 3.0 USB slot for faster file transfer during RAW upload and backups. Sonnet makes one that appears to be compatible with mac OS. https://secure1.sonnet​tech.com …_info.php?produ​cts_id=525

I also like the idea of more overall computer speed with the addition of an small SSD drive inserted into the expresscard slot. Not exactly sure how this would work though. https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=41K6Wf6sAmQ

What's eSATA?

eSATA is an "e"xternal SATA (hard drive) port.

I think eSATA is more of a PC vs Mac thing, since I had to buy adapters for my old eSATA drives when I switched to Macs.

I connect external drives to my late 2011 MBP through an Akitio Thunderdock that has eSATA and USB 3.0 ports, but it only works with newer Macs with thunderbolt ports. If that USB 3.0 card gets good reviews, I'd probably go with that for a 2008 MBP. You can get adapters for just about anything to work with USB 3.0.

Lyndön wrote in post #17948689
I think eSATA is more of a PC vs Mac thing, since I had to buy adapters for my old eSATA drives when I switched to Macs.

I connect external drives to my late 2011 MBP through an Akitio Thunderdock that has eSATA and USB 3.0 ports, but it only works with newer Macs with thunderbolt ports. If that USB 3.0 card gets good reviews, I'd probably go with that for a 2008 MBP. You can get adapters for just about anything to work with USB 3.0.

Yeah, I was going to buy a Sonnet dual 3.0 USB expresscard 34 adapter, but the reviews on amazon are extremely poor.