microSD vs. SD

A very common format, harder to lose if dropped, easier to manipulate and, as you say, you can use microSD with an adaptor :)

I use a mixture of both.

Very probably cost - a non-latching SD card holder will be cheaper than one of the little µSD latching type holders. Important with the magic $35 budget for the device.

I bought some SD cards a while back, not realising that they were µSDs with full-size holders. Seem to work just fine...

Gordon

I don't know the former prices, but digikey values are about $0.86 for microSD and $1.20 up to more than $2 for SD.

Yes, the latching might be more complicated, but instead you do save board space - and do not need an outside slot.

- Martin

I believe Eben's said that people are more likely to have SD cards lying around in drawers from cameras etc than they are microSD.

Theo

Because they're harder to lose/easier to swap?

How many times do you swap the SD of your raspi?

Every time I want to boot a different image, from the assortment that's backed up on my PC - alternative OSs/configs or different users.

SD adaptors (and, I think, SD cards) have a write-protect switch. It doesn't seem to be possible to boot a standard Pi OS with the switch in the 'write disabled' position, but could it be that that was at one time the intention? You could put /var first of all on a small ramdisk which could then be moved to a mem stick.

yesterday: 4 times.

Full-sized SD makes it easier to put a label on too. Because if you're swapping you want to know what.

My Pi boots with the switch in either position and gleefully ignores it as it writes to the card.

Awww... C'mon, where's the fun in that?

bill

Yes, the switch in the socket for detecting write-protect isn't connected to anything on the Pi

Not very often, as mine has a fixed role as my phone system.

But, if I was using them for what is arguably their primary purpose viz. education I would have many pre-prepaired cards, as swapping the cards is the quickest way to prepare the Pis for a given lesson.

I thought Eben and co said SD cards were cheaper, which they were then.

SD cards are cheaper for the highest densities because they can be built with more than one chip and so don't need to use the latest and greatest chips. The microSD card however tops out sooner because it only has room for one die and at the max capacity has to be the latest parts out of the chute and so get a bit of a price premium. For the smaller sizes this disappears. At least this is what I have seen regarding the prices and so I am speculating about the reasons.

When I'm experimenting, quite often. Once the image is how I want it, I've start using microSD cards and adaptors (so the SD card isn't sticking out).

At school, pupils each have their own SD card so the R Pi is "theirs" when their insert it. I could be done with a microSD card but it is bad enough when they can't find A4 books sometimes. let alone an even small SD card ;-)