USB Devices Making Computing Easier

IRQs, COM ports, SCSI connectors are frustrating and sometimes a big waste of time. And lots of users trying to connect things that were supposed to be plug and play...began calling them plug and pray. Now...at last comes the promise of USB. Universal serial bus ports are on most late model computers, notebooks, even Apple's new iMac. Support is built into Windows 98....

"Universal serial bus allows for the connectivity of up to 127 devices simultaneously. In addition to 127 they can all be attached and detached without having to turn the computer off and on."

. Keith Renpy of Belkin Components, one of the first companies on the market with a variety of USB devices. A keyboard, mouse, a box that turns a single USB port into four, even a cable that lets you plug a standard printer into your USB port....

"I think that USB is the most significant technological advance since the inception of the personal computer itself."

The promise is that adding devices to your computer will at least be simple enough for everyone. Just plug them in. The technology isn't perfect yet, but almost. We'll be reporting on more USB devices and issues in the weeks to come.