Now, in 2021, its set to make a glorious return.
But why do we love SD cards so much?
And can they do anything else?
blocks / Unsplash
Down With Dongles
In part, its not only that we love SD cards.
Its that we hate dongles.
Plus, cards inserted into the computer seem to always just work.
Denise Jans / Unsplash
Photographers and video makers love the SD card.
Its cheap, robust, fast, lasts forever, and its easy.
But it doesnt stop there.
Flexible
SD cards are primarily known as removable storage for photos and videos.
But you also can use them for audio.
Many pro and semi-pro audio devices, including hand-held voice recorders, record directly to SD cards.
Consumer gadgets, like the Nintendo Switch, often use them too.
And lets not forget microSD cards.
Drones, for instance, use microSD cards for photo storage.
One of the best uses for SD cards is for general storage.
If all the computers around you have SD slots, you easily can move huge files between them.
AirDrop and other wireless transfer systems are fine, but they require both parties to act simultaneously.
Its not only that we love SD cards.
Its that we hate dongles.
An SD card can be handed over, left on a desk, or even dropped in the mail.
A mailed 128GB card might transfer data faster that uploading and downloading that much data.
What about packing a vacations worth of movies onto a single sliver of plastic?
Another neat trick is to expand the storage of a laptop computer.
This is especially good if the card sits flush inside the slot.
It wont be as fast as the built-in storage, but thats no problem.
