What is a USB Switch?

A Universal Serial Bus (USB) switch allows two or more computers to easily share USB peripherals like printers, cameras and scanners. The USB switch eliminates the need to unplug the USB peripheral component from one computer, to plug it into the other. Instead, the shared component runs to the USB switch device itself, which is connected in turn to multiple computers. With the touch of a button on the USB switch device, the peripheral is instantly available to serve any computer connected to it.

There are several models of USB switches. Some models are built for two computers to share a single device. This can be handy for a home user who needs to share a USB-enabled printer, scanner, memory card reader or digital camera, for example, between a desktop and laptop. Other models allow incoming ports or connectors for up to four computers, and an outgoing USB port for one device. Still others allow up to four computers to share up to four USB-enabled devices.

On most models a small LED light appears over each incoming port, lighting when the particular port is active. With a press of a button, the USB switch rotates the active port.

Without a USB switch, computers must be networked to share devices. Though networks are great for many purposes, not everyone needs a network. Moreover, even with a network a USB switch can come in handy.

For example, let’s assume you have a home desktop computer networked to a laptop. Connected to your desktop is a memory card reader. Let’s assume further that you want to use your card reader to download images to your laptop. Unless you leave your desktop powered up and running, you’ll be forced to either boot up the desktop to gain access to the network and card reader, or you’ll need to unplug the card reader and plug it into the laptop.

Using a USB switch, you would not need to power-up the network, nor move the device’s plug or interface. With the needed card reader connected to a USB switch, you would simply connect your laptop to the incoming port on the USB switch and use the memory card reader, hassle-free.

In some cases a user might need the opposite of what a USB switch provides. One might require several USB ports for a single computer. A USB hub serves this purpose. It is a device that plugs into a USB port, allowing several incoming USB connections.

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What is Micro USB?

If you can’t live without your cell phone or personal digital assistant (PDA), you’ll be pleased to hear that micro USB connectors will soon make these gadgets even more convenient to use. USB, which stands for Universal Serial Bus, is an external bus, or cable, standard used to connect peripheral devices, like keyboards, to computers. It's an alternative to its common predecessors, serial and parallel standards. After some time, USB technology was enhanced and reduced to a smaller size known as mini USB. The micro USB specification is now scheduled to replace mini USB connectors in many different types of portable devices, including cell phones and PDA's. Standard devices will use Micro-B receptacles, while USB OTG (On-The-Go) devices will use Micro-AB receptacles. Micro-A plugs, Micro-B plugs, and standard cables will also be available.

The micro USB technology was developed by the USB Implementers Forum, Inc. (USB-IF), an independent non-profit group that works to advance USB technology. Nokia is one of many companies that will be using the micro USB specification in its upcoming products.

When compared to the mini USB, the micro USB offers many advantages. The most obvious benefit to this new technology is its smaller size. As cell phones and PDAs become thinner and lighter, consumers are frequently finding the mini USB connector is simply too large for practical use. The micro USB will allow manufacturers to push the limits of this trend towards sleeker design.

In addition to its smaller size, the micro USB is more durable than the mini USB connector. A micro USB features a stainless-steel shell to allow for over 10,000 insertion cycles, as well as a latching mechanism that provides higher extraction forces without sacrificing the USB’s ease-of-use for synching and charging your portable devices.

usb 2.0

The usb flash drive is a flash memory data storage device synchronized with the help of usb interface . The usb falsh drive act as removable and rewritable drive which is quite small in size compared to floppy disk. Some of the usb flash drive weighs less than even an ounce. The storage capacities of usb flash drive varies between 64MB to 256 GB along with changes in sizes and cost per capacity.

The usb flash drive is quite advantageous than any other portable storage devices especially the floppy disk. The shape of the usb flash drive is compact, operate faster and hold large data. It has a durable design and functions more reliably because of not having moving parts. One sees usb flash drive commonly found in the computer where floppy disk drive has no place. Now it has become the mainstream device for every pc and laptop. Such different drives have the usage of usb mass storage standard backed mainly by modern operating systems like windows, mac os x , linux, and many unix-like systems. In the usb flash drive there is nothing like moving. We use the word drive because the computer reads and writes the flash drive data by applying the same systematic commands which are used in mechanical disk drive.

The usb flash drive carrying usb 2.0 backing functions more faster than the optical disc drive when data is stored in large amount in a limited space. The usb flash drive contains small printed circuit board kept safely in a plastic, metal, and rubberized case. Latest usb flash drive carries usb 2.0 connectivity. The fastest usb flash drive available in the market is using dual channel controller. One should go through the technicalities of usb flash drive before purchasing it such as speed , connectivity, compatibility, and also transferring rate. Recent usb flash drive is using a standard type-A USB connection which permits plugging in a particular port on the computer . But drives are also available for various interfaces in the market.