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USB—IT'S NOT JUST A BUS, IT'S AN ADVENTURE

by Tom Cantrell

Start ý Nearvana ý Waiting for Baudot ý Not So Fast ý VolksPort ý Going Mobile ý Sources and PDF

NEARVANA

All the better that the PC, Mac, and even Linux boxes have gotten on board. I wish the United Nations worked half as well as USB. The computer stores and catalogs are filled with just about any USB gadget your heart could desire (see Figure 1).

Besides desktop and laptop PCs, USB is finding its way into PDAs, hand-held phones, digital cameras, and others, bringing some much needed compatibility to those markets as well.

With hundreds of millions of USB sockets waiting to mate, itýs an attractive proposition for add-on suppliers, leading to the emergence of some novel products. Consider the Star Trek-like data orb from Interactive Media (see Photo 1).

Photo 1ýStyle mates with substance in the 3ý, 18-g KanguruMicro Drive with up to 1 GB of storage. Thanks to a USB interface, it works with most PCs without needing any special drivers installed.

Even the skeptical, obstinate industrial and embedded types are starting to be won over. For instance, more than a few suppliers are incorporating USB into their data acquisition gear (see Photo 2).

Photo 2ýUSB goes blue collar with B&B Electronicsýs UD128A8D data acquisition module. It has a plug-and-play interface, and power is derived from the bus for easy installation.

No matter that it has ostensible blue-collar limitations such as short cables, lack of isolation, non-locking connectors, and such. The draw of all those ready-and-waiting USB sockets is too compelling.

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