multimedia gear

Hexa 6-in-1 Media Drive

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By Joel Shore

Sometimes, a product comes along that is so simple, so elegant, and so useful, we're blown away. The Hexa media drive is one of them. It reads six types of memory cards and does it so beautifully, we couldn't find a single bad thing to say.

Installation couldn't be easier: If you're running Windows Me, Windows XP, pr Mac OS X, just plug the drive into any available USB port. In less than a minute, the appropriate drivers are installed and the drive is ready for use. If you want to see pretty icons for the drive, you'll need to install the driver on the accompanying CD-ROM. The CD is required if you're running Windows 98, Max OS 8.6, or Mac OS 9.x. Older operating systems, including Windows 95 are not supported.

The business end of the media reader contains two slots. The upper slot has a narrow slit that accepts SmarMedia cards; the lower portion accepts Memory Stick and SecureDigital cards, along with a MultimediaCard. The bottom slot can receive a Compact Flash card or a Microdrive (Type I or Type II). Simply insert the media and the operating system instantly recognizes it. You can read from or write to the memory device just as any other disk drive.

So, if you have a digital camera, are you better off using the Hexa drive? Maybe not. The application software that came with your camera allows you to change camera settings, and maybe to place your pictures in folders sorted by date on which the pictures were made But if simply getting files into your PC is all you need, the Hexa drive does it quickly and easily. You won't spend a more useful $60 on any computer peripheral.<