Here's the other article that mentions "Firewire":
(Page 3 )
Robert Hawkins
PCs, peripherals will soon be easier to set up -- really!
Robert Hawkins
Robert Hawkins is the editor of Computer Link. | bob.hawkins@uniontrib.com
28-Jan-1997 Tuesday
Look at the back of a PC and you can see technology at war with itself. It
seems as if there is a different kind of port for every peripheral. Venture
inside the box, and the pathways are fraught with peril -- or rather,
conflicts: DMA, IRQ, I/O.
Wise (and much in demand) is the person who knows the paths by which
information travels through the computer to the screen. That person is
often called a support technician, accessible by a long-distance phone call
and usually only after an hour wait.
Are you interested in putting support technicians out of business?
Then here's what you need to know: Universal Serial Bus (USB). Wait! Don't
run screaming into the night. Yes, it is true, the USB is yet another plug
outlet on the back of your box -- but this one is different.
By the year 2000, the USB will be one of only two outlets on the back of
your computer. (The other is IEEE-P1394, known popularly by its Apple
trademark: Firewire. The Firewire will handle high speed, heavy data
peripherals like video and telephony that require data speeds between 100
and 400 megabits per second.)
The USB outlet is designed to accommodate the peripherals used with the
modern home computer, shuttling data between 1.5 and 12 megabits per
second: printers, speakers, scanners, backup data storage, digital cameras,
headsets, the mouse, keyboard, joystick, etc.
The beauty of the USB is that you can plug any of these devices into any
USB slot and the computer will immediately recognize it. No IRQ conflict.
No DMA conflict. Not only that, your monitor, scanner, printer, keyboard or
any other device can have additional USB outlets into which you can plug
any other device and the computer will immediately recognize them, too.
(Mac-users are now screaming: "SCSI! SCSI! We've had 'scuzzy' ports for
ages!" They're right. And USB designers nod toward SCSI technology, before
moving on. "Our original goal was to make the PC easier to use than the
Mac," acknowledges Jim Pappas of Intel.)
In all, though I find this hard to visualize, with Universal Serial Bus
technology, you can have as many as 127 devices plugged into your computer
through the back of the box or through other devices -- all functioning
without conflict. All functioning without you having to open the box and
insert additional cards. All functioning in what is popularly called "plug
and play."
How close is USB to being realized? It is already here. Last week the USB
Implementers Forum, the trade group which promotes the technology, held its
"final" U.S. developers conference at La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad.
In 18 months, the forum has grown from seven companies to 425, and 15,000
copies of the technical specifications have been distributed. Any developer
who wants to climb aboard the USB bus already has a ticket.
During the forum's opening remarks, Pappas announced that the eight major
computer manufacturers who sell 90 percent of the home market PCs will be
including USB ports in computers this year. Some already have. Sony was the
first, last summer. Compaq and IBM quickly followed.
In the coming weeks, as new models debut, at least one USB port on the back
of the box will be standard. Some of the 250 USB peripheral devices
currently in production, will begin debuting, too.
But should you rush out and buy a new computer?
Not at all.
In an interview after his opening remarks, Pappas compared USB's evolution In an interview after his opening remarks, Pappas compared USB's evolution
to the migration from 5 1/2 -inch floppy disks to 3 1/4 -inch. "We're not
encouraging PCs to get rid of old connectors," he said. "We're not
measuring success in the rate of disappearance (of parallel and serial
ports)."
Parallel and serial ports will co-exist with USB, and devices will continue
to be made that support them. When the time comes to buy a new computer,
consumers will know whether it is time to insist that it include USB ports.
Retailers are eager to embrace USB. Mark Clauder, director of product
development for mass-market retailer CompUSA, cites the 30 percent return
rate on scanners, mostly attributed to setup difficulties (known as
E.S.T.O. or "equipment superior to operator"). "USB will solve a lot of
those problems," Clauder told the developers in La Costa.
Pappas believes all computer costs will decline as a result of USB
technology. "And more importantly," he adds, "USB is not increasing the
cost of a PC."
Copyright Union-Tribune Publishing Co. |
