Earlier this year the people that standardize things in the computer world, have finalized the USB 3.0 (SuperSpeed) standard. You might not have known there was a USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 standards, but you probably use them every day.
USB stands for Universal Serial Bus. It is a standard in computers for how equipment connects to your computer. Your Printer, Mouse, Keyboard, Camera, Flash drive, External hard Drive and even your speakers can connect to your computer through a USB interface. The first USB standard was used by MAC computers and not far behind were PCs. It began development in 1994 by a group of seven companies: Compaq, DEC, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, NEC and Nortel. USB was intended to make it easier to connect external devices to PCs by replacing the multitude of connectors at the back of PCs with one simple interface that did not have screws. Faster speed and simplifying software connections were also goals.
The first widely used standard USB 1.1 was released in September 1998. It allowed for a 12 Mbps data rate. The USB 2.0 specification was released in April 2000 with the resulting specification achieving 480 Mbit/s, a fortyfold increase. The latest version, 3.0, has a maximum speed of 5Gbps or about 10 times faster then USB 2.0. It also has more power eliminating the need for 2 USB cables for external hard drives.
For USB 3.0 to work you need to have a device that support USB 3.0 and a computer that supports it. Presently the only way you can do that for an existing PC is to buy an adapter card for your PC or laptop (around $40-$45). USB 3.0 will be on most new computers coming out later this year and on more items (flash drives, external hard drives and cameras) this summer.
USB stands for Universal Serial Bus. It is a standard in computers for how equipment connects to your computer. Your Printer, Mouse, Keyboard, Camera, Flash drive, External hard Drive and even your speakers can connect to your computer through a USB interface. The first USB standard was used by MAC computers and not far behind were PCs. It began development in 1994 by a group of seven companies: Compaq, DEC, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, NEC and Nortel. USB was intended to make it easier to connect external devices to PCs by replacing the multitude of connectors at the back of PCs with one simple interface that did not have screws. Faster speed and simplifying software connections were also goals.
The first widely used standard USB 1.1 was released in September 1998. It allowed for a 12 Mbps data rate. The USB 2.0 specification was released in April 2000 with the resulting specification achieving 480 Mbit/s, a fortyfold increase. The latest version, 3.0, has a maximum speed of 5Gbps or about 10 times faster then USB 2.0. It also has more power eliminating the need for 2 USB cables for external hard drives.
For USB 3.0 to work you need to have a device that support USB 3.0 and a computer that supports it. Presently the only way you can do that for an existing PC is to buy an adapter card for your PC or laptop (around $40-$45). USB 3.0 will be on most new computers coming out later this year and on more items (flash drives, external hard drives and cameras) this summer.
Faster is generally better in computers and PCSS is looking forward to the new USB 3.0 devices. Transferring pictures and music will be 10 times quicker and that is a good thing!
No comments:
Post a Comment