USB/PCMCIA adapter?

Wow. Thank for your help!

Yes, and while there are some USB to PCMCIA (or Express Card to PCMCIA) adapters, they do not work all PCMCIA cards, and they're not inexpensive - it may be less expensive to replace whatever device you have in PCMCIA format with a newer one in Express Card form.

USB to PCMCIA

http://sewelldirect.com/usb-to-pcmcia-wireless-adapter.asp

Express Card to PCMCIA

http://sewelldirect.com/Duel-Systems-ExpressCard-to-PCMCIA-Adapter.asp

Yes, there are plenty of those. One example: http://www.xpcgear.com/proexp7.html

What exactly is an express card/slot? I mean to me it looked like an ordinary PCMCIA slot.

It is the PCI Express-derived replacement for the PCI-based PCMCIA card.

The increased bandwith and lower overhead of the PCI Express design makes much faster cards possible with Express Card than with PCMCIA.

There are some machines with both slots (many of the current Latitudes). The budget line (Inspiron) doesn't have PCMCIA any longer - and in fact hasn't for a couple of years now.

Well in my old Inspiron 5150 I used a PCMCIA card to read my digital camera memory card, but now I have to use a USB "external" type card reader instead. Is there an card reader that I can simple "plug" into my express card slot like I used to do on my 5150?