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Plug and Play
BY
Cha
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The USB bus technology has been around for almost ten years. It has come a long way but two little rectangular USB sockets for one computer are just insufficient.
The Universal Serial Bus was originally developed for PCs and the Macintosh, but its popularity has taken it to almost every other gadget at the electronic store. Digital Cameras, MP3 Players, Cellphones, Storage Devices, all of them come with USB cables and software to facilitate ease of use.
Look Ma, So Simple
One of the earliest applications of the port, which actually made it popular, was the simplicity of having one common port on your computer to connect peripherals like the mouse, keyboards, scanners, printers, etc. Every device other than the monitor, which requires higher data transfer, were able to connect to the computer via the USB. Additional USB hubs can be connected to the main port allowing branching into a tree structure. Each controller has a limit of five levels. Now if you do the math, that’s like more than a hundred devices.
The design of USB is standardized by the USB Implementers Forum, an industry standards body incorporating leading companies from the computer and electronics industries. This has made the word USB almost synonymous with universal connections.
USB 2.0 = High Speed
In April 2000, after almost two years of USB 1.1, the USB 2.0 was released. Boasting high speeds of a massive 480 Mbps, it is forty times faster than its predecessor which tops at 12 Mbps. All peripherals coming out from computing manufacturers have USB 2.0 versions. So even if you have an all-in-one multimedia PC, you’re still going to need some USB to help you out.
USB… Everywhere
Storage devices are the ones that benefited most from the technology. Thumb Drives, Flash Drives, External hard disks connect to the computer through the USB and these devices made it easier to transport data from home to office. And every year, they became smaller and smaller while their storage capacity went the opposite way, and then they kicked zip drives out of existence.
The technology also led to countless useful and sometimes weird products like the portable USB lamp for laptop keypads, USB fans, and get this, USB heated gloves for those stuck in a centralized air conditioning building(!) Ordinary storage USB drives are more of office stationery than storage devices. Employees are given customized USB’s with company logos or are shaped like one of their products and distributed to employees like pens and pencils. And MP3 players, are what they are today because of the ease of plugging them in and copying music right away without fuss.
USB Art
It wasn't long before this fast growing technology was adopted by artists and incorporated into their work. Universal Connections, an exhibition by dialog05 in Munich presented a collection of USB art designed to make us think about technology in contemporary times. The collection includes a number of everyday objects, which have been augmented into USB devices. Though most of them were merely concepts, they were nonetheless amusing. Some of the highlights were Data Injection, a syringe with an USB instead of a needle. Other head turners at the exhibition were the USB brassiere, USB tie, USB belt, USB stethoscope and matching USB couple rings.
The Universal Serial Bus has remained a Universally Stable Bus technology for more than ten years now and with millions of USB devices in the world today, it’s time for USB to jump a step further and go wireless. The Wireless USB (WUSB) is slowly catching up and industry insiders believe the new technology will see an encore in the years to come.
So let's plug and play all we can before they go completely wireless.
Cha
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The above banner was taken by dialog05 during their recent exhibition on USB product concepts, called Universal Connections.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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© 2006 by TAXI Design Network. All rights reserved.
The Universal Serial Bus was originally developed for PCs and the Macintosh, but its popularity has taken it to almost every other gadget at the electronic store. Digital Cameras, MP3 Players, Cellphones, Storage Devices, all of them come with USB cables and software to facilitate ease of use.
Look Ma, So Simple
One of the earliest applications of the port, which actually made it popular, was the simplicity of having one common port on your computer to connect peripherals like the mouse, keyboards, scanners, printers, etc. Every device other than the monitor, which requires higher data transfer, were able to connect to the computer via the USB. Additional USB hubs can be connected to the main port allowing branching into a tree structure. Each controller has a limit of five levels. Now if you do the math, that’s like more than a hundred devices.
The design of USB is standardized by the USB Implementers Forum, an industry standards body incorporating leading companies from the computer and electronics industries. This has made the word USB almost synonymous with universal connections.
USB 2.0 = High Speed
In April 2000, after almost two years of USB 1.1, the USB 2.0 was released. Boasting high speeds of a massive 480 Mbps, it is forty times faster than its predecessor which tops at 12 Mbps. All peripherals coming out from computing manufacturers have USB 2.0 versions. So even if you have an all-in-one multimedia PC, you’re still going to need some USB to help you out.
USB… Everywhere
Storage devices are the ones that benefited most from the technology. Thumb Drives, Flash Drives, External hard disks connect to the computer through the USB and these devices made it easier to transport data from home to office. And every year, they became smaller and smaller while their storage capacity went the opposite way, and then they kicked zip drives out of existence.
The technology also led to countless useful and sometimes weird products like the portable USB lamp for laptop keypads, USB fans, and get this, USB heated gloves for those stuck in a centralized air conditioning building(!) Ordinary storage USB drives are more of office stationery than storage devices. Employees are given customized USB’s with company logos or are shaped like one of their products and distributed to employees like pens and pencils. And MP3 players, are what they are today because of the ease of plugging them in and copying music right away without fuss.
USB Art
It wasn't long before this fast growing technology was adopted by artists and incorporated into their work. Universal Connections, an exhibition by dialog05 in Munich presented a collection of USB art designed to make us think about technology in contemporary times. The collection includes a number of everyday objects, which have been augmented into USB devices. Though most of them were merely concepts, they were nonetheless amusing. Some of the highlights were Data Injection, a syringe with an USB instead of a needle. Other head turners at the exhibition were the USB brassiere, USB tie, USB belt, USB stethoscope and matching USB couple rings.
The Universal Serial Bus has remained a Universally Stable Bus technology for more than ten years now and with millions of USB devices in the world today, it’s time for USB to jump a step further and go wireless. The Wireless USB (WUSB) is slowly catching up and industry insiders believe the new technology will see an encore in the years to come.
So let's plug and play all we can before they go completely wireless.
Cha
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The above banner was taken by dialog05 during their recent exhibition on USB product concepts, called Universal Connections.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
© 2006 by TAXI Design Network. All rights reserved.