Everyone that has used a Pc or laptop will have used this ports without themselves knowing.
The history of the Usb port goes back to the duration of 1990s where some connection interface exist such as serial port, parallel port, ps2, etc. With so many interfaces, a typical user will need separate cables for each isolate connection.
Parallel To USB Cable
Usb (Universal Serial Bus) was created to standardize all the separate interfaces, hence the word "universal"
With the standardization of separate interface, the Usb port has more tasks to complete - to growth their change rate between the host and devices linked to it.
Usb started off on specification Usb1.0 in 1994, followed by Usb1.1, and finally Usb2.0 in 2000. The assorted change speed of the specification is as follows:
Usb1.0 - 1.5Mbit/s Usb1.1 - 12Mbit/s Usb2.0 - 480Mbit/s
As of writing, Usb3.0 Specification was in the midst of seminar and the change speed is rumored to be at 5000Mbit/s!!
The growth in change speed was generally meant for transferring of data between devices. As Usb hard disk expands in capacity, and users are demanding for great video quality, naturally, video file sizes are increased. Thus the birth of Usb3.0
The first market product released for Usb flash drives, generally known as thumbdrive, in 2000. Back then, flash storehouse was at a measly 128mb. At time of writing, 2009, 1.5Tb (1,500Gb or 1,500,000Mb) already exists! If we were to change a particular file of 5Gb on usb1.1 specs, on theory, we will need 3333s, which will take colse to 55min!! and 83s on a Usb2.0 Specs.
Over the years, separate clubs fabricate separate interface for Usb devices as well, which somehow defeats the purpose of standardizing a tasteless interface. However, the problem of separate interface was not as serious as it was back in 1990s.
Usb cable was able to carry power and to power up devices such as thumbdrive, webcams, external hard disk, usb speakers, etc. However, power is capped at 5v, 100mA.
Usb cables suffer from a "useful" distance. Meaning, the maximum length of a usb cable is capped at 5m. Should the length be longer, the efficiency dropped and data may be corrupted.
For Pcs with minuscule Usb ports, a hub, typically with 4 supplementary ports, may be purchased. This will indirectly growth 3 more ports on your computer. However, take note that the bandwidth and power of each port on the hub will be reduced, as all its bandwidth and power are sourced from a Usb port.
Common problems faced from using a hub, slower change rate and the inability to power up external 2.5" hard disk as they need more power as compared to a Usb webcam or Usb speaker.
That is all to wrap up for the topic and history for Usb. I hope that the above computer guide will aid you in having a supplementary understanding of Usb history.
History of Usb Port Explained - Usb Port Simplifiedparallel to usb cable
Brush Killer Stump Deadline Slug Snail Killer Lbs Safer Tomato Vegetable Insect