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Hands-on Look At USB 3.0, Spec Details Revealed
notdagreatbrain writes "Maximum PC dug up some new information about USB 3.0, got their hands on the new connectors, and even took a look inside the new cables. They learned several new details about the next-gen version of the ubiquitous interface. USB Superspeed will be backward compatible with USB 2.0. The maximum speed of the new spec is 4.8Gbps, which is ten times faster than hi-speed. Five new wires are bundled in the cable, four of them used for data transfer (bi-directional transfer is now supported). More power will also be funneled through the line, so you can charge more devices, faster. The wireless USB is also getting upgraded to version 1.1, and will include ultra-wide band frequency support and Near Field Communication for near-instant swipe-based syncing."
After USB full speed and USB high speed, we now have USB superspeed. What comes next? Hyperspeed? FTL-speed?
Gotta love the marketing hyperbole...
SoftMaker Office for Windows|Linux|Android
...for ludicrous speed.
help fill in hidden movie endings @ End of the Credits
I've seen too many people destroy USB 1 and 2 connectors by repeatedly wiggling the plug out of the sockets to the point where the sockets no longer hold the connector anymore. Now, USB 3 is going to be even deeper, providing even more leverage to ruin the socket with.
Tip: you can repair the USB 1 and 2 socktet by opening the case, placing a thin, flat object on the OUTSIDE on the socket, and giving the object a light tap. Just enough to bend it slightly inward again. Master this skill before USB 3 becomes mainstream.
It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
It will still be slower for sustained transfers than Firewire 400.
The most important part, did they finally make it non CPU intensive?
I also really want to know what they are targeting with it. as Portable storage has esata which will kick it's butt, and USB2.0 is fine for everything else except video, and we have that standardized on firewire.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
From TFA:
Also, new Mass Storage Device drivers will have to be developed for Windows to take advantage of the spec.
Either Mac, Linux, Solaris, the BSDs and Symbian already support USB 3.0, or somebody at MaximumPC needs to pull their head out from under Ballmer's ballsack.
It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
Could someone please explain the point of Wireless USB to me?
I mean we have WiFi (802.11) for the longer range stuff and Bluetooth for close proximity devices...
What niche does Wireless USB fit in that the existing technology doesn't?
USB stands for Universal Serial Bus. See Wikipedia
Thanks! Do you happen to have an explanation for that IBM thing that's confounded me all these years?
This guy's the limit!
iNTEL (wimedia) submarined the xStremeSpectrum/Freescale UWB, which was better tech, just so they could own the patents on all the pipes. That, even though Freescale offered theirs royalty-free.
Now, iNTEL insists on pushing their non-standard UWB into the USB spec.
USB is one of those "We spec our tech conservatively. Our specs are 100% better than you will obtain." technologies. Wireless USB will spill your data into the ether and USB 3, while bursting to n-gigabit, will barely be able to sustain half a gig continuous with only two devices on the line. And multiple bus controllers is an upgrade, still on the drawing board.
Save your money. If serial SCSI is overkill, and your device is not on a LAN, get Firewire. Buy printers with ethernet connectors.
Use USB for keyboards and mice and maybe scanners, like it was intended in the first place.
iNTEL bites.
I go the easier route. I just don't buy them.
Really? I'd like to see you NOT buy then new 512GB Disk On Key when it comes out in three years because it uses the USB 3 spec, which may or may not contain content controls.
Seriously, stop relying on the engineers to come to you, and start writing to them. The same thing goes for Linux software support: if you want Solidworks to run on Linux, then write to the company and tell them that!
It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
Well, they are also bringing back the Turbo button, so who knows.
Which side is up on the slot though?
It can be vertical/horizontal and can oftentimes be out of line of sight when reaching behind PCs, or in the dark under a desk.
S-video is a bad design. Serial and parallel presumably refer to D-type connectors (although both come in DIN and Centronics connectors too). FireWire and D-type connectors can have their orientation easily distinguished by glancing at the connector. So can Ethernet. I can't remember what earthed mains looks like in the USA, but I've never seen someone try to plug in a UK mains cable upside down.
With USB, you can only tell which way up it should go by either inspecting both ends closely, or by trying both ways. It also seems very easy to have a USB connector the right way up but not have it slide in easily, not push too hard because you don't want to damage the socket, and just turn it around and try the other way. USB is the only socket I've ever seen where it's common for people to take 3-4 tries to get it right.
Not everything can be practically wired to a "stereo" jack plug
Stereo audio jacks need a left channel, a right channel, and a return. Some use separate returns for each channel to reduce noise. USB connectors have four wires. There is no reason why you couldn't use a 3.5mm four-wire stereo connector for USB, although you'd probably want to use something slightly bigger so you didn't plug it into an audio jack by mistake. There are large numbers of superior connector designs. Raskin devotes an entire chapter to them in The Humane Interface.
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
Bidirectional != parallel