Essential Guide to Computer Data Storage: From Floppy to DVD, The

Universal Serial Bus (USB)

The USB interface is a revolutionary multidevice interface designed for easy, hassle-free, and relatively inexpensive low- and medium-speed applications. USB is a peripheral bus specification developed by PC and telecom companies including Compaq, DEC, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, NEC, and Northern Telecom. At the low end, USB can sustain a rate of less then 0.2 MB/sec; in its fastest mode USB is capable of about 1.5 MB/sec.

A growing variety of devices with USB support (USB 1.1 standard) is currently available: printers, scanners, modems, digital cameras and camcorders, keyboards, mice, joysticks, audio speakers, and so on. The main reason for this popularity is the set of attractive features the USB possesses (Table 2-3 ...