Parts-USB


USB

PartsOfaComputer-Web - PartsOfaComputer-Topics

Universal Serial Bus

The USB is a system for getting data and devices to connect to the computer's motherboard.

Older computers had a variety of connectors and ports for adding devices.

Mice, keyboards, printers, scanners, and other devices each had a different type of connector.

Mac OS and Windows machines had different connectors, so you couldn't use a mac mouse on a pc or vice versa.

Older connectors depended on pins and ports that were often fragile and easily bent.

USB connectors are more robust, and harder to break.

The specifications for USB were released in 1995, but it took a few years for the hardware to come out to the general public.

The USB gives a simple, easy to use way to connect up to 127 devices to the computer.

USB flash drives are solid state meaning they have no moving parts, and are made of silicon microchips. They are different in their storage than magnetic hard drives.

External devices like hard drives and DVD drives can be connected with the USB, provided they have the correct USB controller circuit.

USB 1 and USB 2 are the common specifications for our ports. USB has a faster data transfer rate.

Some devices that are designed for USB 2 won't run well on USB 1, but USB 2 should handle old devices just fine.

In the future, devices will use USB 3

Some cable modems and network routers have a USB port on them, allowing you to connect your network through the USB, but this seems to be an unusual way of connecting.

There are a number of USB connectors. The standard connector is called the USB A. The big square one is called USB B. There are also a number of smaller ones, each with a name. Mini A and Mini B are the most common, but there are others.

The USB power output is 5 volts, 500 milliamps or 500 mA.

In the connector, there are 4 wires. Two wires carry +5 volts and ground. The other two wires carry data.

Devices that have rechargeable batteries can get their charge through the USB connector, and chargers have been developed to provide this charge in another form like the Minty Boost or hand crank cellphone chargers.

People have done a variety of hacking projects with the USB port, from meat cookers to neat looking flash drives.

 

Written assignment:

Write at least 3 paragraphs of at least 6 sentences to demonstrate your understanding of this topic. Use your own words, and do not copy any text from any online sources. You should provide links to web pages that have been helpful in understanding this system. Place the text on your Ning blog and print a copy to hand in. You can include photos in your post. Print this and hand it in with your notes from researching the subject.

 

Links

How Stuff Works - http://www.howstuffworks.com/usb.htm

Minty Boost - http://www.ladyada.net/make/mintyboost/

USB.org is the NGO overseeing the USB - http://www.usb.org/home

USB Flash drive - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_flash_drive

USB page on wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Serial_Bus

USB hard drive circuit used to make a portable dvd drive - http://hackaday.com/2010/02/02/usb-hdd-enclosure-to-dvd-connector/

USB projects on Hackaday - http://hackaday.com/?s=usb

http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=navclient&gfns=1&q=meat+cooking+usb