Here's our Windows 95/98 Tip for.. March 19, 1999
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Universal Serial Bus (USB)
USB is the solution for any PC user who has ever dreamed about an instant, no-hassle way to connect a new digital joystick, a scanner, a set of digital speakers, a digital camera or a PC telephone to their computer. Adding an old-fashioned peripheral device can be a scary proposition, requiring a ton of computer savvy and a certain amount of luck. First you had to figure out which port to use from a bewildering array of possibilities. Then in most cases, you had to pry open your PC to install an add-in card and set DIP switches. Then there were those touchy IRQ settings to configure, not to mention other alphabet soup. It was enough to deter most users from even thinking about adding a new peripheral.

USB makes adding peripheral devices so easy, anyone can do it. First, USB replaces all the different kinds of serial and parallel port connectors with one standardized plug and port combination.

With USB-compliant PCs and peripherals, you just plug them in and turn them on. USB makes the whole process automatic. It's like adding instant new capabilities to your PC. You never need to open your PC, and you don't need to worry about add-in cards, DIP switch settings or IRQs.

Thanks to another USB feature known as "hot-swapping" you don't even need to shut down and restart your PC to attach or remove a peripheral. Just plug it in and go. The PC automatically detects the peripheral and configures the necessary software. This feature is especially useful for users of multi-player games, as well as business and notebook PC users who want to share peripherals. USB also lets you connect many peripherals at one time. Many USB PCs come with two USB ports. And special USB peripherals -- called USB hubs -- have additional ports that let you "daisychain" multiple devices together.

Another cool USB feature is that it distributes electrical power to many peripherals. Again, USB lets the PC automatically sense the power that's required and deliver it to the device. This interesting USB features eliminates those clunky power supply boxes. USB connections allow data to flow both ways between the PC and peripheral. This means you can use your PC to control peripherals in new and creative ways. For example, you can use your PC to automatically manage a telephone call center to maintain voice, fax and data mailboxes, screen and forward your calls, and even deliver a variety of selected outgoing messages. Or you can use your PC to tune a set of USB-compliant stereo speakers to match the acoustics of your listening environment.

For those systems that don't already have built-in USB ports, they can be added by purchasing a USB Adapter Card.

Note At the present time, Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 DO NOT support USB, you'll need Windows 98 (and later, Windows 2000, a.k.a. Windows NT 5.0).

For more information on USB, check out http://www.usb.org.