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Discovery
USB Technology:
• Hard Drives • CD-RW •
MO & Optical • USB Hubs •
•
USB Adapters & Cabling • USB
Cameras • USB Printing
|
Simple
to Connect
| Integrated Power | Maximum
Distance | Performance | Devices
on Demand
USB
technology is the result of an industry consortium effort, that
for once, actually managed to produce a standard without splitting
up into several different factions. It combines all of the advantages
of a multi-platform industry standard, including decreased cost,
increased compatibility, and a greater number of available peripherals.
In short, USB meets key criteria for technology adoption by
most users. It’s easy & powerful, and it provides users
with the type of simplicity that has been urgently needed.
Simple to Connect
With USB, connecting a device genuinely is as
simple a task as plugging it in. USB connections require no
terminator settings or ID numbers as SCSI devices, need no individual
configuration and settings as IDE devices, and they don’t require
users to know about hexadecimal memory addresses or interrupt
settings, often required to make external and internal peripherals
work with Microsoft Windows operating systems and standard PC
architecture.
The only things required are a USB port, and an operating system
that acknowledges the existence of USB devices and can use them.
After that, the device is ready to use as soon as it’s plugged
in.
Operating Systems manufacturers such as Microsoft and Apple
already include software drivers for USB keyboards and USB mice
(and other pointing devices like trackballs) with many of their
systems such as Windows 98, ME, and MacOS 8.x.
Windows
2000: supports USB and should therefore
fully support all USB devices. Win95 (OSR1) does not
support USB but later version (OSR2.5) do have sporadic support.
However it is not really recommended to use USB on Win95. Microsoft
have also withdrawn the patch that helped provide USB support
to Win95 systems.
NT
4.0: (and older NT versions)
systems are not too favourably disposed towards USB - in other
words it isn't supported - nor do Microsoft intend to provide
support in any future service packs or patches.
Integrated Power
Have you ever been frustrated trying to find
an AC power outlet near your computer so you can plug in your
favorite peripheral? If you’re like most computer users, chances
are you have too few outlets, far too many devices demanding
power, and a wiring mess that only the brave or foolish would
attempt to reconcile.
USB addresses this age-old problem too, by offering power to
devices through the USB data cable. For example, devices such
as removable disk drives and cameras can be connected through
a single cable, and receive both power and data directly from
the system. With USB, there are fewer cables to worry about
than with other types of devices. In summary, attaching devices
through USB is simple. There’s only one kind of cable and each
end is different, so you can’t make a mistake. As idiot proof
as computer systems ever get.
What
is the maximum distance?
Five metres is the maximum cable length allowed
by the USB specification. You can achieve longer cable runs
by inserting a hub every five metres or you can chain Active
Extension cables to attain the needed distance.
Performance:
How fast is USB?
USB has two speed modes: High speed, operating
at 12Mb/s and low speed, operating at 1.5Mb/s. High speed devices
include scanners & printers, while low speed devices include
mice & keyboards. A new USB 2.0 specification is under constructtion
which should raise this to a higher speed if and when it is
released and products follow.
USB devices can transfer data at up to 12 megabits per second
- almost 50 times faster than traditional serial connections.
Better performance means increased productivity. For example,
USB desktop conferencing cameras can provide larger pictures
and smoother motion, scanners can scan faster, and graphics
tablets can track pen movements more accurately. Even USB joysticks
can provide faster feedback when playing action games. Increased
performance also means you can do things you couldn’t do using
serial ports, such as attaching mass-storage devices and in
the future, even digital speakers and microphones.
In fact, for Macintosh users, USB may seem even better. USB
offers great performance. It’s over 1,000 times faster than
the Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) and over 50 times faster than previous
Macintosh serial ports.
Suitable for Everything?
There is one area of doubt over USB devices,
and that is in the CD recording arena. If you are an old hand
at CD recording you will probably be fully aware of the Coaster
Factory Scenario. This is where, despite your best efforts and
greatest patience, your system insists in turning out countless
useless coasters instead of the CDs you requested. In most occasions
this problem can be isolated to a single factor: data transfer.
Something is preventing the writer from receiving the smooth
flow of data is requires.
Many
different aspects of your system can cause this problem - from
software such as applications running in the background, screensavers,
email clients, TSR programmes etc. The second main area is system
performance - memory leaks, hardware interrupts, inadequate
data transfer rates etc. See our technical section for more
details on CD recording
problems. It remains to be seen whether USB is an ideal
platform for intensive data transfer applications such as this.
It is a matter of personal choice.
Devices on Demand
With USB, users can plug in or unplug a device
at any time, as needed, without ever having to adjust hardware
settings or even turn off the computer. This capability, known
as “hot-plug” and “hot-unplug,” is a radical new way to use
devices with the vast majority of systems.
For
example, a user could easily swap out a digital camera for a
printer—without experiencing any inconvenient downtime. Users
can share their devices with a friend or colleague without stopping
their work, and because USB is industry standard, the same device
can be used on another PC, Macintosh, or any other OS and system
that supports USB. The devices are all identical.
From
USB Storage: Hard Drives, CD-RW, MO & Optical, USB Hubs,
USB Adapters & Cabling
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