At 17.20 2004.10.31 -0500, you wrote:
>At 05:21 PM 10/31/2004 -0500, you wrote:
>
>>USB is a cash cow. It is a set of protocols and hardware specifications designed to sell chips and products made by a group of manufacturers with a specific set of manufacturing and engineering capabilities. That's how one makes money in a saturated market apparently.
>>
>>The common points seem to be: most silicon that will run off usb will be low power cmos at 3V or lower. It will be intelligent (no $2 homemade interfaces are possible). Any need to extend the network beyond basic capabilities will require the end user to purchase more equipment (hubs), that will sell more chips.
>>
>>For all this complexity the users will receive the benefit of automatic device identification and driver loading, and a little more speed than serial (but less than firewire, which was already available when usb was invented).
>>
>>This is just my opinion, feel free to comment.
>>
>>Peter
>
>The major benefit of USB over serial for low-speed devices is that it
>supplies power- reducing the cost of peripherals. It also functions
>well (2.0+) for high-speed devices such as scanners and digital cameras
>that would be useless with a serial interface. The cables and plugs are
>potentially extremely cheap- only a few wires.
>
>I don't think the hubs are any big deal, the companies that make both
>the hubs and (I think) the chips for hubs are not huge companies. I think
>they just wanted to remove all the legacy barnacles of PS2 and serial
>ports and streamline future computers- while making peripherals cheaper
>and lighter. Win-win.

I believe that was the "intention" of the purchasers.. but those
"engineers" (if we dare to call them with this word) that designed USB
must have had other intentions, or must have been truly incapable.

Have you ever looked in depth at how the USB interface and protocol work
inside? I've never seen anything more "complex with no reason" in my life.
There's no technical justifications to all that complexity. Only market,
it seems..



>Best regards,
>
>Spehro Pefhany --"it's the network..."            "The Journey is the reward"
>speff@interlog.com             Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
>Embedded software/hardware/analog  Info for designers:  http://www.speff.com
>
>
>
>
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