...if you notice i did say that the READERS have this issue.
Actually, you said, "
windows 7 and vista have issues" and my comment was primarily in response to you saying, "
one thing every one agrees on...". No big deal and no apologies necessary - my goal is simply to ensure the blame, if there is any, is put where it belongs. It is easy to blame the OS when something fails, but so often it is not really the OS that is at fault.
Since Vista and Windows 7 supports millions of readers with no problems
using industry standard protocols, Windows cannot be blamed for not supporting a few (relatively speaking) that don't work. I note too that Vista, and to a much greater degree, Windows 7 was NOT designed to support legacy hardware - hardware designed to run with XP (a legacy OS), and earlier operating systems.
did the standard for the drive readers change when vista came out?
I don't think that is how it works. Card readers connect via USB, or PCIe, or PCI or Firewire. There have been several standard updates for these interfaces over the years, and Windows has been updated to communicate via them. It is up to the device makers to ensure their devices do the same.
Unlike early Macs when everything and anything (hardware and the OS) you wanted to connect to your Mac was made and controlled by Apple. Microsoft does not make computers. 1000s and 1000s of hardware makers make computers and they all must comply to the same basic standards. Any deviation from the basic standard MUST be addressed by a unique driver, the responsibility of the hardware maker - not Microsoft. Before USB, Windows included specific drivers for 1000s of unique hardware devices and it became a nightmare for MS to manage. USB has made Windows hugely flexible - great for consumers but it opens up tons of opportunities for problems too.
I'm with Ztruker and think this is a driver issue. Of course the card reader is but one piece of the puzzle. The card itself must be good and readable by the reader.