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| USB - The Universal InterfaceWhat is USB? USB is an acronym for universal serial bus. USB is an interface that is smaller than its predecessors and permits much faster communication between the system and the peripherals, up to 12 million bits per second (bps). It has been around for years, but only began gaining popularity around 1996 after Microsoft added support for it to their Windows 95 operating system. What makes USB so great? For one thing, you can add components while your system is up and running. This is called “hot swapping”. In most cases, these devices will auto-configure themselves too. USB encourages cross-platform compatibility between the IBM clone world and Macintosh systems. If you own both types of computers, you could buy a USB printer or scanner and swap it between the systems!
What does a USB connector look like? There are only 2 types of connectors, which all USB hardware will use no matter what the item. Type A is a small, flat, almost card-edge connector. All ports on your PC will be of this type, as well as cables permanently attached to a peripheral. Type B is a small, square d-like end. It is used on hardware where a detachable cable is required. By daisy-chaining USB devices together, it is said you can add up to 127 items to the same computer! There are over 100 different types of items available which utilize the USB interface at this time, including scanners, printers, mice, keyboards, webcams, and much more. USB peripherals are, in most cases, easier to install, and they utilize the plug n play qualities of Windows to their best capabilities. To run USB items you will have to have at least Windows 95 OEM version 2.11 with USB support, but Windows 98 is recommended.
As new USB add-ons become more widespread, systems that are entirely USB in nature may become popular. However, an entirely USB system can at this time have a down side. There are still many items on the market that are most commonly found as parallel (such as printers and external drives) and serial (digital cameras and trackballs).Some manufacturers have decided to no longer include these standard ports on their systems. If your computer has only USB ports, you may be limited as to what types of items you can add to your system, or finding yourself replacing your 6 month old digital camera. If you have a USB keyboard and mouse, you may not be able to use your system if the Windows crashes, as the USB drivers may be unable to load.If you need to add extra USB ports to your computer, you can purchase a hub. The hub is like a small port multiplier. What if you have no USB ports to multiply? There are cards that fit into a PCI slot that will add 2 ports to your system. There are also converters to allow parallel devices to work on a USB port, but they can sometimes cost more than the device you’re trying to hook up. If you still aren’t convinced that USB is good news, developers are currently working on USB 2.0. USB 2.0 will run at 480 Mbps. That translates to 40 times the current speed, which will leave older interfaces in the dust. USB is a hardware application that is well received and needed in the ever-growing computer industry. |
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