A major change is taking place in the way devices communicate with computers, but most users won't even notice it.
By the end of this year, all desktop computers sold will be able to use super-fast universal serial bus (USB) 2.0 -- allowing everyday computers to operate digital camcorders, scanners and hard-disk drives smoothly, the US-based technology research firm In-Stat/MDR predicted on Wednesday.
"PC manufacturers adopted the new standard very quickly," the In-Stat/MDR report said.
From nothing in 1996, by last year 375 million USB devices had been sold worldwide, In-Stat/MDR reported. The research firm predicted the figure will grow at 18 percent a year until 2007 when 863 million USB devices will have been sold.
The first computer with USB 2.0 as the standard connection was launched by Gateway Computers Inc in January last year.
Wide fat plugs for printers, short squat ones for mice, and cables ranging in size from hosepipes to ribbon wires have gradually been replaced since 1996 by the thin-wired one-plug-fits-all USB.
"USB has been the most successful interface in the history of PCs," Brian O'Rourke, a senior analyst with In-Stat/MDR, said in a statement.
The key to USB is a computer chip and standard computer port that allow the computer to talk to external devices. Intel Corp began adding USB 2.0 to its chips last year.
Improved from its first generation, the USB 2.0 standard can send and receive data 40 times faster, meaning that data-hungry devices like CD-burners, digital camcorders and portable hard disks can work as smoothly as printers. Older USB products will continue to work with the new standard, so users do not need to throw out their USB mice. The connectors and plugs are also unchanged.
"With the ability to offer 40 times the speed of [the original] USB, USB 2.0 significantly raises the total amount of bandwidth available," O'Rourke said. "This had been a limiting factor in USB 1.1, and should help to expand the penetration of USB in high bandwidth applications such as external storage."
USB 2.0 faces competition from FireWire, a standard launched by Apple Computer Inc in 1999. Also known as i-Link in Japan and IEEE 1394 to techies, this standard currently transfers data at a rate of 400 Megabits per second (Mbps), slower than USB 2.0's 480Mbps.
But Apple recently announced an upgrade of FireWire to 800Mbps, twice its original speed. Apple users also point out that FireWire does not need a PC to work. Users can connect a digital camcorder directly to a storage disk and download video, whereas USB 2.0 needs a computer to work.
Apple computers currently have first-generation USB and FireWire connectors, but the company has remained tight-lipped on whether future models will be able to use USB 2.0.
USB 2.0 has been developed by a core group of technology companies, including Hewlett-Packard Co, Intel, Lucent Technologies Inc, Microsoft Corp, NEC Corp and Royal Philips Electronics NV.
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