USB - What Next?
June 2, 2008
There
is no end to the creativity of the technology industry. The USB
(universal serial bus) had the primary goal of creating a more compact, instant,
hassle-free way to connect a keyboard, mouse, printer, digital joystick, scanner,
set of digital speakers, digital camera, or PC telephone to a PC. Prior to the
sleek and simple USB cables we had big and bulky serial and parallel cables.
If you had more than one serial device, then you needed a special box with multiple
cable connections and you ended up with a mess of cables. Adding a non-USB peripheral
device to a PC can be a non-trivial task that requires a lot of technical savvy
and a certain amount of luck. First you have to figure out which port to use
and then, in most cases, you have to pry open your PC to install an add-in card,
set special switches, and figure out various "settings". USB makes
adding peripheral devices really easy. First, USB replaces all the different
kinds of serial and parallel port connectors with one standardized plug and
port combination. With USB-compliant PCs and peripherals, you just plug them
in and turn them on. What's next? (read more)
The latest USB innovations definitely qualify as gadgets. Recently there have been a flood of creative juices flowing toward USB. Innovators have discovered that the USB slot provides 5 volts of direct current and therefore it can be not just a connecting mechanism but a power source. I mentioned the USB fan in an earlier posting about my trip to Funan IT Mall in Singapore. In the latest catalog from Cyperguys, I discovered a tiny USB web camera, a USB massage ball to sooth tense muscles, a USB air purifier which creates hydroxyl radicals to clean the air near your PC, and a USB mug warmer for your coffee. Another new development is the availability of 110 vac and 12 vdc adaptors so you can have USB-powered devices in your car or at any outlet in your house. As the old saying goes, "what will they think of next?".
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