Whither FireWire?
PC Mag | at | by Mike
USB 2.0, the newer, faster version of the Universal Serial Bus technology used to transfer data to and from computer peripherals, has at long last reached maturity. Over the past few months, manufacturers have shipped hundreds of peripherals compliant with USB 2.0, which at 480Mbps lets you transfer data 40 times as fast as the old standard, USB 1.1. Now the new standard is reaching major-market PCs. Just this week, PC Magazine Labs tested a Compaq Evo Ultra-Slim Desktop equipped with USB 2.0 ports. (PC Magazine also recently reported on the various kinds of labels USB 2.0 products can claim title to.) "Within a year, USB 2.0 will be in almost every new PC," says Brian O'Rourke, a senior analyst who focuses on converging markets and technologies for research firm In-Stat/MDR.