xD memory header rewrite
Ok, I've searched far and wide, but can't seem to find any way to complete this task. So here's the problem. Olympus is actively utilizing vendor lock out to simply disable the panorama function (which is pretty cool) on their 1030 camera (which I have) on any memory that isn't their own proprietary brand (xD). This information is contained in the raw memory header per http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XD-Picture_CardWikipedia's xD entry. Because microSD cards are cheaper, and more compatible with everything, I'd prefer to use their included converter which allows you to use them in the camera, but disallows you to use features only because of the brand. If I could simply rewrite whatever header info communicates to the device that its an xD brand card instead of a microSD, then everything should be cool/fully functional with a microSD physical card. That's the mission. Any ideas?

Re: xD memory header rewrite
Sorry to rain on your parade, but your idea probably won't work. xD and SD cards are very different beasts. xD communicates like a low level device (a nand flash chip), and SD cards communicate like a high level device (through the SPI protocol). Since your camera checks a hidden portion of the *raw* flash for the Olympus signature, it's using low level xD code to do that. The camera will have no corresponding low level SD code - the controller on the SD card handles all low level operations. Even if they performed a similar manufacturer check for SD cards, you can't access SD cards in raw mode AFAIK, so you wouldn't be able to change this information. A more fruitful approach would be to try and find a firmware update for your camera, figure out the format along with any checksums, disassemble the code, analyze it, disable the panorama disabling code, and update your camera. And yes, that is a lot of work.