Inspiron PCMCIA port...no not really, PSYCHE

I recently purchased an Inspiron 6400 (aka the E1505). I thought that it had a PCMCIA slot neart the hard drive, just like dozens of Dell laptop models before it. It was shaped the same way, and it was called an "Express card" slot.

I thought, "ok, no problem...they simply adapted a PCMCIA slot to also read digital photograph media cards or whatever else...they definetly made it backward compatible...who in their right mind would make a port identical in size and shape to PCMCIA while changing the types of cards that can be fit into it?".

Then I try to insert a wireless WAN PCMCIA card into the port. Won't fit. Ok, no problem, so I call Dell and ask them if there's possibly any debris or packaging materials inside the laptop that I can remove and get this going. I'm DCSE certified, I could have this torn apart and put back together in 20 minutes flat.

Phone tech's response: "no, sorry sir, thats an Express card reader. We no longer provide PCMCIA slots in newer computers. You'll have to get a $250 minimum USB-to-PCMCIA reader device".

I was extremely upset. It was deceptive of Dell to provide a slot that was the same size and shape of a PCMCIA port, while converting it into a completely different interface. Calling it an "Express card" was also deceptive.

Maybe all of you realize this already, and I'm still in the dark ages with computer equipment, but I just wanted to warn anyone who has an older PCMCIA card that it probably wont work on a newer Dell.