Why not take something good and make it even better? That’s just what the computer industry did with USB 2. With a maximum transfer rate of 480 mbps, or 60 mb per second, USB 2 is 40 times faster than USB 1. Better yet, it is backwardly compatible with USB 1. That means that if your new computer comes with USB 2, you can still use your old USB devices. Of course, they will perform at USB 1 speeds, but they will still work properly. To take full advantage of the speed of USB 2, the devices that you purchase must be USB 2-enabled and must be run from a USB 2 port. These speedy devices have already made their appearance and are sure to be plentiful in the future. The speed of USB 2 will be beneficial to many devices including digital cameras, hard drives, and DVD drives.

Although USB 2 support was not originally built into any of the current Windows operating systems, USB 2 will work with Windows 98 or better. If your new computer has USB 2 ports, Windows XP will have the necessary support. If you are adding a USB card to your current Windows XP computer, support is available through the Windows Update feature. In most cases, if you upgrade your computer with an add-on card, it will come with a USB 2 installation CD that will work with Windows 98 and Windows Me.

Stackable & Swappable

USB has other advantages as well. Although I can't imagine why anyone would want to, you can attach up to 127 devices to one USB port. USB ports are self-powered, so you can say goodbye to those big chunky power blocks. However, if you attach more than a few devices, you will need to add a self-powered hub, which is a small mechanism that provides extra power to the attached devices.

The idea behind USB is that the devices will be daisy-chained together. The USB device  you purchase should have another built-in USB port so you can hook other devices to it. Many of the USB monitors  I've seen come with three USB ports for attaching other devices. Some USB keyboards also have several built-in USB ports where you can hook up other devices. For instance, your mouse might connect to your keyboard, your keyboard to your monitor, and your monitor to your computer. This eliminates the mess of power cables that often accompany a computer system.

USB devices are hot swappable. You can plug in and remove any USB devices without turning the computer on and off. This is a great feature for those of us who want to purchase only one peripheral to use on two or more computers. It’s also great for devices like cameras that are attached and removed from the computer often.

USB Devices

You can plug just about anything into a USB port: keyboards, cameras, mice, joy sticks, modems, zip drives, floppy drives, printers, and scanners. You can even purchase USB speakers to produce great digital sound on your computer. As you read this, more and more USB devices are becoming available. Eventually serial and parallel ports will disappear on new computers. So if you are adding a new device to your computer, you really should consider a USB device. By the way, USB devices do not cost any more than other peripherals.

Adding a USBPort

If your computer doesn't have a USB port or you want to add the newer USB 2 functionality, you can add USB or USB 2 by buying an inexpensive adapter card that fits into a PCI slot in your computer.

Those of you who use a notebook computer can purchase a USB port that fits into the card slot. You should, however, be aware USB devices can use a lot of your computer's power. This is not a problem if you have a desktop computer or are using your notebook computer with an A/C power cord. If, however, you plan to run your portable computer on its batteries, a USB device can be a power drain on the batteries.