USB Memory Card Readers

Another problem I see mentioned often at Linux forums is that people have trouble connecting digital cameras to their Linux systems to transfer photos over. The problem is that most cameras come ready for Windows or Mac, but not for Linux.

An easy solution: Buy a memory card reader, remove the memory card from your camera, insert it into the card reader, and plug it into a USB port of your computer.

I'm using a Targus SD card reader that I found at Wal-Mart for $8.88, plus tax. When I plug it into a USB port on my computer while using Mepis, I get the following pop-up window:



I click "OK" to "Open in New Window" and the Konqueror file browser opens up, showing the files that are stored on the memory card. Couldn't be easier. Then it's a simple matter to copy the photos over to a directory on my hard drive.

Other distros might not give you a pop-up window when you insert the card reader, but it's usually not much more difficult to access the files than with Mepis. You may have to click on a desktop icon, or mount the file system. I haven't had any trouble getting to my photos using any distro, though.

Memory card readers are great to have even if you don't use Linux. I first started using them with Windows simply to save my digital camera's batteries from getting used while I had it connected to the computer. The thing to remember if you use a card reader in Windows: When you're finished, use the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon at the right side of your taskbar before unplugging the card reader.

In Mepis and other Linux distros, you'll want to unmount the file system before unplugging the card reader. In Mepis, I simply right-click on the card reader's desktop icon and click on "Safely Remove."



Ubuntu and Mint handle all of this automatically, so with those distros you can simply unplug the card reader once you've closed the file manager.