october 31, 1999

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I keep seeing the term USB What is it?

Linda Rodriguez,

Tampa, Fla.

A USB stands for Universal Serial Bus. It's a connector, or "port," that most new computers have. It's used to connect printers, scanners, cameras, keyboards, mice you name it-to your computer, with a minimum of hassle.

For many reasons, USB ports are superior to the other two kinds of connectors - parallel and serial ports on your computer. Capable of transmitting data at 12 megabits per second, USB ports and the devices that plug into them perform a lot faster than those plugged into parallel or serial ports. USB supports "daisychaining," which allows you to plug as many as 127 devices into a single USB port just by plugging each new device into the last device you hooked up.

That said, USB isn't for everybody. Though you can add a USB port to an older PC, you also need Windows 98 to make full use of it. And not all USB products are wonderful. Avoid products like CD recorders and portable hard disks for the USB port. USB is still not fast enough for speed-hungry storage devices.