So there you are with your shiny new notebook computer with its super – insofar as any liquid crystal technology can be super – display and inviting PCMCIA Type II slots. It’s so wonderful that it does everything except sing and dance. Shame about that last bit, but then Shazam! Up jumps New Media Corp with the PCMCIA add-on to let your joy be unconfined. The Irvine, California company has come up with CD Sound Studio, a portable multimedia peripheral combining all of the components for on-the-go multimedia into one streamlined package. Features include a double-speed CD-ROM drive, built-in microphone, 16-bit stereo sound board and dual stereo speakers, and the ACS3000 sound system from Altec Lansing Inc. The ACS3000 uses proprietary sound technology, dynamic compensation circuitry and an amplifier system to provide theatre-quality sound. The CD Sound Studio is claimed to offer 100% compatibility across the full range of laptops and subnotebook computers available today and costs $800. It comes with New Media’s PCMCIA true Plug-&-Play device drivers, and users can exchange, remove or insert the CD Sound Studio into and out of their mobile system without the need to reconfigure, reboot or power up the machine. It measures 9.1 by 11.9 by 2.1 and weighs 4 lbs 8 oz including internal power supply. Dual Altec Lansing speakers are on the front and side corners of the CD Sound Studio, which ships with Microsoft Sound System software, including speech recognition. It draws 180mA from the laptop, 21mA in stand-by mode, and is out next quarter.
