What is a PCMCIA USB 2 Card?
What does a USB port look like?

USB ports are on a PCMCIA USB 2 Card. They are very small bus ports in a rectangular shape and have 4 wires that carry data at low-speeds.

USB stands for Universal Serial Bus. These ports provide data transfer and power for a large variety of PC peripherals.

Peripherals are the accessories connected to your computer such as a Flash Memory Key, digital camera, keyboard and mouse.

What does a USB port look like?

Here is a picture of one type of a USB card which shows the port (where you plug devices into) on the left; this is similar to what you would see from the outside of your computer; the detailed circuitry would sit inside the computer case and is on the right of the picture below.



USB ports have speed ratings; they are 1.1 compliant which will top out at 12 megabits per second (Mbs) and 2.0 compliant which will top out at 480 megabits per second.

The peripherals using the USB port are known as “hot swappable”. A sexy term but what does it mean. It means they can be replaced or removed even though the PC is still on.

Some peripherals, however, really should be "parked" (turned off) before you unplug them from the computer. Static electricity can wipe the information stored if you fail to park first.

Always check the manufacturer recommendation on the proper way to remove hardware connected to a USB port.

Helpful USBs

USB ports are helpful to the computer enthusiast because they eliminate the use of the very restrictive parallel port. Here are some examples:

• Computers usually come with 1 parallel printer ports, connecting 2 printers can be a pain;
• A zip drive would need a high-speed connection in the PC, and uses the parallel port as well;
• Modems use the serial port, as do some printers, digital cameras, and Palm Pilots;
• Computers commonly have two serial ports, but are generally slow;
• Hardware needing quicker connections came with their own card and needed to connect into a card slot inside the PC. However, card slots are limited and the software installation for some of the cards meant you have to get inside the PC.

USB Ports are ending these limitations. The Universal Serial Bus Port provides a simple, standardized method of connecting up to 127 devices to one PC. This is another main advantage of USB vs. other types of port connections.

USB ports are a standard for PC's now and almost every peripheral you can buy today is supported. Here is just a short list of supported devices:

• Printer
• Scanner
• Mice
• Joystick
• Digital camera
• Webcam
• Modem
• Speakers and Headphones
• Telephones
• Storage such as Flash Memory Keys and zip drives
• Networking/Ethernet connectors

Also computer makers are now placing ports in keyboards and the front of the case to make it easy to switch devices.

How Supported Are USB Ports?

The latest operating systems support USB as well, so the installation of the device drivers is quick and easy, too. Compared to other ways of connecting devices to your computer (including parallel and serial ports), USB devices are very easy to use.

If you have only one port left you can easily purchase an adapter to split the port and you can just continue to add splitters making the PCMCIA USB 2 Card a must have for any computer.

Check out the variety of USB 2 Cards available. You will also want to check out reviews on specific PCMCIA USB 2 Cards to help you decide.




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