<s>
The	O
Personal	B-Device
Computer	I-Device
Memory	I-Device
Card	I-Device
International	I-Device
Association	I-Device
(	O
PCMCIA	B-Architecture
)	O
was	O
a	O
group	O
of	O
computer	O
hardware	O
manufacturers	O
,	O
operating	O
under	O
that	O
name	O
from	O
1989	O
to	O
2009	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Starting	O
with	O
the	O
PCMCIA	B-Architecture
card	I-Architecture
in	O
1990	O
(	O
the	O
name	O
later	O
simplified	O
to	O
PC	B-Architecture
Card	I-Architecture
)	O
,	O
it	O
created	O
various	O
standards	O
for	O
peripheral	O
interfaces	O
designed	O
for	O
laptop	B-Device
computers	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PCMCIA	B-Architecture
(	O
Personal	B-Device
Computer	I-Device
Memory	I-Device
Card	I-Device
International	I-Device
Association	I-Device
)	O
industry	O
organization	O
was	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
original	O
initiative	O
of	O
the	O
British	O
mathematician	O
and	O
computer	O
scientist	O
Ian	O
H	O
.	O
S	O
.	O
Cullimore	O
,	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
founders	O
of	O
the	O
Sunnyvale-based	O
Poqet	B-Application
Computer	I-Application
Corporation	I-Application
,	O
who	O
was	O
seeking	O
to	O
integrate	O
some	O
kind	O
of	O
memory	O
card	O
technology	O
as	O
storage	O
medium	O
into	O
their	O
early	O
DOS-based	O
palmtop	O
PCs	O
,	O
when	O
traditional	O
floppy	O
drives	O
and	O
harddisks	O
were	O
found	O
to	O
be	O
too	O
power-hungry	O
and	O
large	O
to	O
fit	O
into	O
their	O
battery-powered	O
handheld	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
in	O
July	O
1989	O
,	O
Poqet	B-Application
contacted	O
Fujitsu	O
for	O
their	O
existing	O
but	O
still	O
non-standardized	O
SRAM	B-Architecture
memory	O
cards	O
,	O
and	O
Intel	O
for	O
their	O
flash	B-Device
technology	O
,	O
the	O
necessity	O
and	O
potential	O
of	O
establishing	O
a	O
worldwide	O
memory	O
card	O
standard	O
became	O
obvious	O
to	O
the	O
parties	O
involved	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
led	O
to	O
the	O
foundation	O
of	O
the	O
PCMCIA	B-Architecture
organization	O
in	O
September	O
1989	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
early	O
1990	O
,	O
some	O
thirty	O
companies	O
had	O
joined	O
the	O
initiative	O
already	O
,	O
including	O
Poqet	B-Application
,	O
Fujitsu	O
,	O
Intel	O
,	O
Mitsubishi	O
,	O
IBM	O
,	O
Lotus	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
and	O
SCM	O
Microsystems	O
(	O
now	O
Identiv	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
1990	O
onwards	O
,	O
the	O
association	O
published	O
and	O
maintained	O
a	O
sequence	O
of	O
standards	O
for	O
parallel	O
communication	O
peripheral	O
interfaces	O
in	O
laptop	B-Device
computers	I-Device
,	O
notably	O
the	O
PCMCIA	B-Architecture
card	I-Architecture
,	O
later	O
renamed	O
to	O
PC	B-Architecture
Card	I-Architecture
,	O
and	O
succeeded	O
by	O
ExpressCard	B-Device
(	O
2003	O
)	O
,	O
all	O
of	O
them	O
now	O
technologically	O
obsolete	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
PCMCIA	B-Architecture
association	O
was	O
dissolved	O
in	O
2009	O
and	O
all	O
of	O
its	O
activities	O
have	O
since	O
been	O
managed	O
by	O
the	O
USB	O
Implementers	O
Forum	O
,	O
according	O
to	O
the	O
PCMCIA	B-Architecture
website	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PCMCIA	B-Architecture
stands	O
for	O
Personal	B-Device
Computer	I-Device
Memory	I-Device
Card	I-Device
International	I-Device
Association	I-Device
,	O
the	O
group	O
of	O
companies	O
that	O
defined	O
the	O
standard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
acronym	O
was	O
difficult	O
to	O
say	O
and	O
remember	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
sometimes	O
jokingly	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
"	O
People	B-Device
Ca	I-Device
n't	I-Device
Memorize	I-Device
Computer	I-Device
Industry	I-Device
Acronyms	I-Device
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
recognize	O
increased	O
scope	O
beyond	O
memory	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
aid	O
in	O
marketing	O
,	O
the	O
association	O
acquired	O
the	O
rights	O
to	O
the	O
simpler	O
term	O
"	O
PC	B-Architecture
Card	I-Architecture
"	O
from	O
IBM	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
cards	O
were	O
used	O
for	O
wireless	B-Architecture
networks	I-Architecture
,	O
modems	B-Application
,	O
and	O
other	O
functions	O
in	O
notebook	B-Device
PCs	I-Device
.	O
</s>
