A desktop machine will require a CompactFlash dongle that plugs into a USB port, while a notebook requires a PC Card adapter. Both gizmos are cheap and easy to find. Either way, your Mac or PC will mount the Microdrive as an ordinary hard drive. Naturally, it'll work as-is in any PDA or digicam with a CompactFlash Type II slot. It seems like a lot of hassle.
Many companies make larger but still pocketable drives that are straight, simple USB devices.
Their capacities are far greater, and they cost a lot less per megabyte. But just putting so much storage into a CompactFlash card has a huge impact. A Microdrive means carrying your entire world with you from machine to machine and into your pocket. And it means saying goodbye to trying to keep the contents of four different hard drives synchronized across three operating systems. But I still come back to the cool factor.