8th February 2002
The Universal Serial Bus. Friend or foe? It depends on who you are and how much you've invested in the technology. USB 2.0 devices have started to hit shelves (and they boast a speed rivaling that of the competing data transfer standard, FireWire). USB 2.0 ports are also backwards compatible with older USB devices. Though, for the moment, most digital video devices are shipping with IEEE 1394, so it's good to have a FireWire port on your system, too. Still, there are "interface" decisions you may need to make in the coming months. Some printers even give you a choice between Parallel or USB. In many cases, you're just as well off with the older (Parallel) connection. What else are you really going to use that port for? You may also have seen a "Legacy USB support" option floating around your system. It's for people who are using USB-based input devices (like the keyboard or the mouse) in non- USB environments. DOS, for instance, won't recognize USB devices on its own. This is only an issue if you're running a Windows OS other than XP. Disable the feature in your BIOS if you're smacking into problems (as documented in MSKB Q282195).