2007-02-15 02:21:10 · 19 answers · asked by Alan N 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Add-ons
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is a serial bus standard to interface devices, in other words an outlet you stick wires into. It was originally designed for computers, but its popularity has prompted it to also become commonplace on video game consoles, PDAs, portable DVD and media players, cellphones; and even devices such as televisions, home stereo equipment (e.g., digital audio players), car stereos and portable memory devices.
The radio spectrum based USB implementation is known as Wireless USB.
Overview
USB was devised as a major component in the transition towards a legacy-free PC. The intention was to let go of all older serial and parallel ports on personal computers since these were not properly standardized and required a multitude of device drivers to be developed and maintained.
A USB system has an asymmetric design, consisting of a host controller and multiple daisy-chained devices. Additional USB hubs may be included in the chain, allowing branching into a tree structure, subject to a limit of 5 levels of branching per controller. No more than 127 devices, including the bus devices, may be connected to a single host controller. Modern computers often have several host controllers, allowing a very large number of USB devices to be connected. USB cables do not need to be terminated.
Because of the capability of daisy-chaining USB devices, early USB announcements predicted that each USB device would include a USB port to allow for long chains of devices. In this model, computers would not need many USB ports, and computers shipped at this time typically had only two. However, for economical and technical reasons, daisy chaining never became widespread. To reduce the necessity of USB hubs, computers now come with a large number of USB ports, typically six. Most modern desktop computers have up to half of their total complement of USB ports on the front panel, to facilitate temporary connection of portable devices.
USB was designed to allow peripherals to be connected without the need to plug expansion cards into the computer's ISA, EISA, or PCI bus, and to improve plug-and-play capabilities by allowing devices to be hot-swapped (connected or disconnected without powering down or rebooting the computer). When a device is first connected, the host enumerates and recognizes it, and loads the device driver it needs.
USB can connect peripherals such as mouse devices, keyboards, PDAs, gamepads and joysticks, scanners, digital cameras, printers, external storage, networking components, etc. For many devices such as scanners and digital cameras, USB has become the standard connection method. USB is also used extensively to connect non-networked printers, replacing the parallel ports that had previously been in wide use; USB simplifies connecting several printers to one computer. As of 2004 there were about 1 billion USB devices in the world.
2007-02-15 02:25:46 · answer #1 · answered by Mark D 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
USB stands for Universal Serial Bus and is a new technology theoretically capable of connecting a very large number of external devices on a computer. USB is intended primarily for low bandwidth (slow) components such as mice, keyboards, modems, joysticks, etc., but not fast devices like hard drives. USB has its benefits and its problems, which I will not go into depth about. Most computers have 2 USB ports. ...
Universal Serial Bus. USB is a "plug and play" interface between a computer and add-on devices such camera and microphone. With USB, a device can be added to your computer without having to turn the computer off. USB supports a data speed of 12 megabit per second. This speed will accommodate MPEG video cameras.
Universal Serial Bus: a protocol for transferring data to and from digital devices. Many digital cameras and memory card readers connect to the USB port on a computer. USB card readers are typically faster than cameras or readers that connect to the serial port, but slower than those that connect via FireWire.
2007-02-15 03:07:14 · answer #2 · answered by Slim Shady 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is a serial bus standard to interface devices, in other words an outlet you stick wires into. It was originally designed for computers, but its popularity has prompted it to also become commonplace on video game consoles, PDAs, portable DVD and media players, cellphones; and even devices such as televisions, home stereo equipment (e.g., digital audio players), car stereos and portable memory devices.Universal Serial Bus (USB) connects more than computers and peripherals. It has the power to connect you with a whole new world of PC experiences.
USB is your instant connection to the fun of digital photography or the limitless creative possibilities of digital imaging. You can use USB to connect with other people through the power of PC-telephony and video conferencing. Once you've tried USB, we think you'll grow quite attached to it!
2007-02-15 02:27:03 · answer #3 · answered by BobC 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Universal Serial Bus
2007-02-15 02:26:13 · answer #4 · answered by Martin14th 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is a serial bus standard to interface devices, in other words an outlet you stick wires into. It was originally designed for computers, but its popularity has prompted it to also become commonplace on video game consoles, PDAs, portable DVD and media players, cellphones; and even devices such as televisions, home stereo equipment (e.g., digital audio players), car stereos and portable memory devices.
2007-02-15 02:33:33 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Universal Serial Bus
2007-02-15 02:23:06 · answer #6 · answered by keith s 5 · 3⤊ 1⤋
'USB' stands for Universal Serial Bus - is a serial bus standard to interface devices, in other words an outlet you stick wires into. It was originally designed for computers, but its popularity has prompted it to also become commonplace on video game consoles, PDAs, portable DVD and media players, cellphones; and even devices such as televisions, home stereo equipment (e.g., digital audio players), car stereos and portable memory devices.
2007-02-15 02:27:43 · answer #7 · answered by ollymorry 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
USB stands for Universal Serial Bus it is used to plug in hardware that u may need as there are many unconventional hardware that dont fit into anyother slots
2007-02-15 02:26:00 · answer #8 · answered by The Pain 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It stands for Universal Serial Bus. It is a serial bus standard to interface devices.
It can connect peripherals like your PDA, camera and MP3 into your computer/TV etc.
2007-02-15 02:28:52 · answer #9 · answered by Chrissy 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Universally Strange Being?
2007-02-15 02:25:12 · answer #10 · answered by Doodie 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋