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Please do find a reference to it being standard. From the pictures I've seen, it is not the USB 3.0 version of the B connector. (The B connector is the one that you find on the back of most ink-jet printers.) That one has the bump on top centered over an old B connector, while the Xbone Kinect plug has its bump off to one side, over something that looks like an A jack on the back of the console. USB 3.0 didn't need a special A connector, because it was already backward-compatible with the extra pins.

The adapter which Microsoft is discontinuing provides power and a standard USB 3.0 B jack.

Here is a guide to the various official (and some unofficial) USB connectors:
https://www.cablestogo.com/learning/connector-guides/usb

Wait, what?
A harddrive/flashdrive with a micro-USB connector? Where and why the hell are you buying those?

I can confirm this. Seagate USB3 portable HDDs switched to a USB micro B cable. It has extra pins for power, but the data part is a normal USB micro. http://www.cablestogo.com/static/content/images/resources/connector-guides/450/usb_3.0_MicroB_Male_Tri.jpg

Fit okay when I first bought it, but after some use it got sensitive. Otherwise I liked the drive because the HDD comes apart from the USB section with normal SATA power/data cables exposed so you can plug the HDD in with SATA or use the USB half of the unit to hook up (power and data) other laptop HDDs to USB.

Since I liked the other features I ended up buying another one which is at least 1 gen newer and it seems to be a better connector now.

Yeah that's what I use, it's dirt cheap and you can just buy a roll and cut the lengths you need. My home office desk I screwed some longer strips to the back underside of the desk so everything stays up high, out of the way and out of sight, then it's easy enough to redo since you're working with velcro. Being able to get behind the desk I highly recommend as well.

For Wall warts, I use these guys ( http://www.cablestogo.com/product_list.asp?cat_id=1020 ), power squid type power strips, you can attach them high underneath your desk then coil up the excess cable length near them so you don't have hanging wires. Additionally then you dont have to worry about them blocking recepticles on your good power strips (I'm still an isobar fan for those http://www.tripplite.com/en/products/product-series.cfm?txtSeriesID=825 )

Also dont be afraid of physical separation, I have my cable modem, firewall, and a switch on one side of the room on a cabinet where printer, mfd etc are, along with a small nas, then gig isl's over to the other side of the room where workstations on the desk are plugged in.

I'm also a big fan of synergy ( http://synergy-foss.org/ ) as a software keyboard/mouse for machines vs having use physical keyboards or physical kvm's for multiples, and you still get the separated video output for each which is nice.

Every once and a while you need to go through the stuff you've got cabled up, getting rid of things you don't use all the time, or can consolidate (that's probably an annual or bi-annual job though lol). I did that earlier this year and it actually helped quite a bit.
 

Rant much? DB9 to USB http://www.cablestogo.com/product.asp?cat_id=1529&sku=26886 DB25 to USB http://www.cablestogo.com/product.asp?cat_id=1529&sku=22429

Rant much? DB9 to USB http://www.cablestogo.com/product.asp?cat_id=1529&sku=26886 DB25 to USB http://www.cablestogo.com/product.asp?cat_id=1529&sku=22429

how about just the software app, with something like this and an Apple cable?

On the power side of things I'm a big fan of Belkin's Conceal Surge Protectors.

For everything else I use a mix of common (and cheap) cable management stuff.

"USB may well survive, but I'm doubtful; even RS-232 didn't last that long."
What????

First.
"The Electronics Industries Association (EIA) standard RS-232-C[1] as of 1969 defines:"
Okay we have a start date of 1969 for the official standard. There where of course implementations before it was standardized.
So we now have a start date but that is the problem.
It is 2008 and we have
http://www.cablestogo.com/product.asp?cat_id=101&sku=26886
And this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121342
And this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815158022

So almost 40 years latter we can still find USB to serial converters, Brand new motherboards, and cards all that support RS-232.
I would say that RS-232 is still around after almost 40 years.
So nope your wrong about RS-232.

First SATA connectors are smaller, so they don't block airflow like ribbons

This has been long overcome by seperating the individual wires and grouping them. A quick Google search for IDE cable gives plenty of places that sell IDE cables both flat and round. Here is a page from the first site listed.

You haven't? Gee. You must be really new to computers

then TCP is what TCP/IP sits on. Several companies actually use this for direct communication over RJ-45 connectors and CAT5 cable. Some are for high end video applications as well, but that requires some expensive high end hardware. They don't bother using TCP/IP as that just adds an extra layer of complexity onto the TCP layer. Perhaps you should read up a bit more about networking?

You haven't? Gee. You must be really new to computers

then TCP is what TCP/IP sits on. Several companies actually use this for direct communication over RJ-45 connectors and CAT5 cable. Some are for high end video applications as well, but that requires some expensive high end hardware. They don't bother using TCP/IP as that just adds an extra layer of complexity onto the TCP layer. Perhaps you should read up a bit more about networking?

Microsoft's solution is a combination of hardware and software. Here is a photo of the main hardware component of the top secret browser shield.

Just because they're Geek Tools doesn't mean you don't have the same set of problems as other people who use other kinds of tools. I use this bag and it's worth every penny. I beat it hard and it's as good as new.

Also check out the Port Authority 2 cable kit. It's bit flimsy on build but for occasional use it works and takes the place of many other cables. I gave these as gifts to my clients for christmas. Shop around. Also, charge your phone and stuff over USB to eliminate one more transformer.

Some people I know swear by the Radio Shack multicharger though I haven't tried it yet ($$$).

http://www.dataaccessories.com/r5100.html
http://www.hosfelt.com/en-us/dept_41.html
http://www.shopping-headquarters.com/products/2870 9-v428.asp
http://www.cablestogo.com/product_list.asp?cat_id= 711&engine=adwords!654&keyword=(shielded+cat+5)

Google is your friend, dude.

it has a dvi out connector...my tv has a dvi in connector...so apparently it's already set up for a TV (depending on your TV).

Other than that does it get much easier than http://www.cablestogo.com/product.asp?cat_id=2011& sku=27389

There are PS/2 to USB adapters. I use a similiar one to the link below with my iBook. http://www.cablestogo.com/product.asp?cat_id=1501& sku=27225

Why limit yourself to controllers on the motherboard? With SCSI the use of an add-on controller is almost assumed, no reason not to do the same with IDE. 2 channels = $36, and that'll support 4 devices if you're willing to do the master/slave thing.

That type of cable is commonly used for Dell laptops as well. You can buy replacements here.

I'm baffled as to why this new type of cable exists in the first place. Why couldn't they use an ordinary cable?

FireWire Faq

Sure USB2.0 is about the same speed as FireWire, but FireWire hasn't been standing still - it's next version calls for speeds of 800Mbps and 1.2Gbps. There's even plans for fiber and wireless based versions.

However, even more import is that FireWire is PEER based. A computer is not required to transfer video from one device to another. There's already a bunch of video equipment that has FireWire support, camcorders as well as the Playstation 2(Sony calls it i.LINK instead of FireWire or IEEE 1394) come to mind.

While it might be possible to hack USB 2.0 for use without a computer, USB 2.0 wasn't designed for it. I suspect such a hack would be a successful as the "patched on security" we see in Windows.

The best thing to use when pulling cable is to tie a pull string to the end of some fish tape. Then, pull your cable back through using the pull string.

Fish tape rocks. It works great for long, straight pulls and tight U-turns... and everything in between.

The link I included is to the solid door version. If you want the plexiglass window, here is the correct link.

There are two major products that come out of Berkeley: LSD and BSD. We don't believe this to be a coincidence.

I work for a very small company in Wyoming, we have only a 64k Frame relay line and a few users, no reason for a large rack. I bought this wall mounting cabinet that holds 19" equipment and it has worked great. It has a nice smoked fiberglass front window and swings open from the back or front of the unit. There are cable holes on both the top and bottom. The unit locks with 2 different keys in the front and back. It was simple to mount, just put some heavy gauge bolts in the studs and you're all set. It may be a bit large for home use, depending on what you need. You can buy it from Cables to Go.

There are two major products that come out of Berkeley: LSD and BSD. We don't believe this to be a coincidence.

I work for a very small company in Wyoming, we have only a 64k Frame relay line and a few users, no reason for a large rack. I bought this wall mounting cabinet that holds 19" equipment and it has worked great. It has a nice smoked fiberglass front window and swings open from the back or front of the unit. There are cable holes on both the top and bottom. The unit locks with 2 different keys in the front and back. It was simple to mount, just put some heavy gauge bolts in the studs and you're all set. It may be a bit large for home use, depending on what you need. You can buy it from Cables to Go.

There are two major products that come out of Berkeley: LSD and BSD. We don't believe this to be a coincidence.