USB is the Universal Serial Bus. As its name indicates, it is intended to be a universal way of connecting external devices to a computer. View this movie to learn more about USB. The movie requires Apple QuickTime.
| Keyboards |
| Mice |
| Digital Cameras |
| Scanners |
| Printers |
| Graphics Tablets |
| Keychain Drives |
| External Hard Drives and Optical Drives (CD and DVD) |
| Audio Interfaces |
| Music Players |
| Digital Speakers |
| Computer Telephony Devices (Phones, Call Centers) |
| Digital Headsets |
| Fingerprint Scanners |
| Joysticks |
| Universal support on new computers (Windows and Macintosh) |
| Hot-swappable (don't have to turn computer off before attaching a USB device) |
| Multiple devices can be daisy-chained to computer. |
| Some devices can draw power over USB cable. |
| Use a USB keychain drive to replace multiple floppies. It is faster, more reliable, and cheaper per megabyte of storage. |
| If you need additional USB ports, buy a USB hub. This connects to your computer by USB and provides additional USB ports. |
| Never use a USB cable to connect two computers directly together. This will damage the computers' power supplies and possibly cause a fire. |
