plus sign (e.g. PC104+). Such abbreviations are not officially recognized in any PC/104 Consortium specifications or literature, however they have been in use for some time. Storage PC/104 systems often require small, non-volatile storage, such as that afforded by compact flash and solid state disk (SSD) devices. These are often more popular than mechanical (rotating) hard drives. Compared to rotating disks, flash-based storage devices have limited lifetimes in terms of write cycles, but they are faster and draw less power. Additionally, their compactness and physical durability is often better-suited to rugged PC/104 applications; the size of magnetic hard drives can be cumbersome and their many delicate parts are more susceptible to failure in harsh environments. See also VMEbus VPX CompactPCI SUMIT References External links PC/104 Consortium Motherboard form factors Computer buses Embedded systems