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Thread ID: 51208	2004-11-14 09:22:00	Why not make every peripheral USB?	george12 (7)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
291814	2004-11-14 09:22:00	I have always wondered, why on earth do we still have technologies like PS/2, serial, parallel, VGA ports, when USB is so much superior? Why not do away with these legacy ports, and make average PC's just have say 16 USB ports - just plug everything into them. IMO all new screens, keyboards, mice, should be USB now. Why are they not? Of course, it would be gradual, with PC's just eg, doing away with serial and printer ports for a few USB (how many will fit in its place), and peripherals changing accordingly. Then switch to a universal, serial type bus for internal components (floppy, CD etc). George	george12 (7)
291815	2004-11-14 09:34:00	Everyones system MAY not be able to take USB. Or they may not be able to afford USB PCI. Umm floppies will be and some companies like Dell, I think have removed floppies completely. So, u can use USB drives. Even tho there are screens,mice,printers etc out now, I would say the normal home user most probably wouldnt be able to afford it, if they tried to purchase everything USB. If part of a system. lol, well you can only get so many USB ports on a mobo. And Somehow 16 wouldnt fit. I know 8 can. There's 8 USB ports onboard this thing and I use a 7 port hub - 15 USB.	Spacemannz (808)
291816	2004-11-14 09:41:00	thats a new one, monitors that run off usb, first time ive heard of that	Prescott (11)
291817	2004-11-14 09:41:00	Power supplys, Printer cable lenghts, related to the usb not liking extension cables, usb not locked/screwed into board like lpt, they move ect. It will be a long time before Kiwi junk runners, dump lpt printers, and serial hook-up devices, parrticulary in the work place. No lpt serial interface, harder to sell, has interface, helps to keep junk around, manufacture is stuck. Like the M/Scam intell 64bit deal were only the newest compatible cards will run on them, there is some market resistance to this, especially when may be, the matched for life and net traceable S# system will be added. Forceing consumers to dump working equippment due to compatability, creates market resistance, as HP/Compaq And M/S are discovering. Once the ground swell is there it never totall leaves. IBM have never really got into that situation, a little patience and a few unnessecary fittings for a few years can go a long way. to ensuring customer satisfaction. D.	drb1 (4492)
291818	2004-11-14 20:16:00	I completely agree with you George! USB should become standard, and computer manuafacturers should phase the old ports out and replace them with USB ports. The computer I am using has about 10 different ports, a few USB, monitor port, Mouse and Keyboard port, printers and some others I don't know. Replace all this with a 10 port USB slot, and everything plugs in nicely. It would also be tidier because all the cords will be the same, unlike the semi-flexible moniter cords This could become standard on all new computers, just as Dell has done with removing the floppy disk drive. Mister Harbies	mister harbies (5607)
291819	2004-11-15 04:13:00	I like to have parallel and serial ports. I often use them as the cheapest and easiest (software and hardware) interfaces to equipment I build. But I use computers as tools, not as an end in themselves. ;-) I would want to be assured that all manufacturers understood the USB standards before we were forced to use USB. People understand and can make gear to use the parallel and serial interfaces after about 20 years of use on PCs. It took a while for them to get it right.	Graham L (2)
291820	2004-11-15 04:29:00	Interesting question george :) Tweak'e posted a link back in Feb about a new form factor motherboard being developed and how USB was the way to go. The legacy I/O ports being slowly removed from BTX reference designs are Serial and Parallel ports with a possibility of PS/2 ports being removed in future reference designs, perhaps as soon as IDF this month in San Francisco. To replace these outdated ports, USB ports on the backpanel will triple and double their number as USB is seen as the successor to all three I/O forms with dominating support in newer devices that once utilized these elderly I/O ports. With such a large increase in space on the backpanel, BTX motherboards could include various future-proof technologies such as Wi-Fi(802.11x), multiple LAN ports, Bluetooth and even WiMax once Intel can produce it on a chip! Source Article (www.tweaktown.com) - well worth reading it all. :)	Jen C (20)
291821	2004-11-15 04:50:00	>I have always wondered, why on earth do we still have technologies like PS/2, serial, parallel, VGA ports, when USB is so much superior? who said USB was superior ?? there are still devices (eg modems) which run far better on legacy ports than usb. usb is handy but relies way to much on drivers and software. also a lot of drivers take the easy optoin and shift the task from the device to software (ie usb modems are software modems not hardware modems) which is not always a good thing. also it comes down to what will work when the OS is busted. with the limited bios's we still have that can be a problem, not to mention trying to access tools/software when all the hardware requires an OS before it can work. but USB is very handy and i wouldn't miss the parrell port ;-)	tweak'e (174)
291822	2004-11-15 04:56:00	The reasons that USB is being pushed are: the connectors are cheaper, there's no need for dedicated electronics, the connectors are smaller, so easier to fit on panels, software is always cheaper to produce than hardware .... I do use USB for some things ... it's a convenient 5V supply for my equipment. :D	Graham L (2)
291823	2004-11-15 05:16:00	> There's 8 USB ports onboard this thing and I use a 7 > port hub - 15 USB. Isn't that 14? (I assume the hub has to plug into one of the 8 mobo ports...) Bletch	Bletch (244)
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