Universal Serial Bus (USB) is a serial bus standard to interface
devices. A major component in the legacy-free PC, USB was
designed to allow peripherals to be connected using a single
standardized interface socket and to improve plug-and-play
capabilities by allowing devices to be connected and disconnected
without rebooting the computer (hot swapping). Other convenient
features include providing power to low-consumption devices
without the need for an external power supply and allowing
many devices to be used without requiring manufacturer specific,
individual device drivers to be installed.
USB
is intended to help retire all legacy varieties of serial
and parallel ports. USB can connect computer peripherals such
as mouse devices, keyboards, PDAs, gamepads and joysticks,
scanners, digital cameras, printers, personal media players,
and flash drives. For many of those devices USB has become
the standard connection method. USB is also used extensively
to connect non-networked printers; USB simplifies connecting
several printers to one computer. USB was originally designed
for personal computers, but it has become commonplace on other
devices such as PDAs and video game consoles. In 2004, there
were about 1 billion USB devices in the world.[1]
The
design of USB is standardized by the USB Implementers Forum
(USB-IF), an industry standards body incorporating leading
companies from the computer and electronics industries. Notable
members have included Apple Inc., Hewlett-Packard, NEC, Microsoft,
Intel, and Agere.
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