The Personal Computer Memory Card International Association has approved two standards for Flash File Systems: Flash Translation Layer and Flash File System. Software in the form of a Flash file system is required for the Flash memory to be accessed by the operating system. This software should be pre-installed and invisible to the end user. Hedging its bets in what is still a fledgling market, Datalight Inc, of Arlington, Virginia, has produced software, CardTrick, that supports both in one package. Datalight says the dual standard provides instant Flash system exchangeability for vendors of Flash Cards, Card Services software and sub-notebook systems. For Flash card manufacturers, CardTrick has a Direct Card Services Layer that will enable it to work with any Card Services. This means that if CardTrick is bundled with the Flash card, the installed Card Services will not have to be unloaded to activate the CardTrick driver. It is available now, and prices range from $6 a copy for 500 units to $1.50 for 25,000 units. The Flash Translation Layer standard those that are using Flash memory cards that have been formatted by any of its developers to be read or written to by any other software that follows the standard. However, Microsoft Corp has developed and is proposing its own Flash file system, called the MS-FFS2 standard. While it is not compatible with the Flash Translation Layer standard, Microsoft has the highest volume of any Flash file system in the market, creating a de facto standard, so the PCMCIA has had to approve it.
