ValidReport 02: USB 3.0

Ahh.  Remember when the USB (Universal Serial Bus) first came out?  All it was really good for was external computer hardware (mice, keyboards, printers).  At max, the speed was 12 mbps (Full-Speed).  This was all good because many people didn't own iPods, cell phones that could connect to the computer, or PSPs.  The first widely-adopted USB version was 1.1.  This was the port with the max of 12 mbps. (On a side note, my desktop PC only has 1.1 and it's a beast to sync my iPod).  The next version was 2.0 (Hi-Speed).  This had a max of 480 mbps, even though devices usually only reached 350-380 mbps.  This was a hug leap from USB 1.1.  The time is nigh to begin another huge leap.

In September of 2007, USB 3.0 was demonstrated at the Intel Developer Forum.  This SuperSpeed USB port achieves a max of 4.8 gbps (the expected transfer rate is approxamately 3.2 gbps after protocol overhead though).  This is more than 20x faster than USB 2.0!  USB 3.0 can make this happen due to it's full-duplex system.  This allows data to be sent and received with 2 wires for power and ground, 2 wires for non-superspeed data, and 4 wires for superspeed data.  The bus power spec has been upgraded in USB 3.0 to accommodate a unit load of 150 mA.  An unconfigured device can still draw only 1 unit load, but a configured device can draw 6 unit loads (900mA)!

Consumer products for USB 3.0 are expected to become available in 2010 and the commercial controllers are expected to be mass-produced in to first quarter of that year (around $15 each).  The OS that supports USB 3.0 at this time is the Linux kernel, while Windows 7 drivers are under development (either to be released with Windows 7 or as an update).  No word has been reported from Apple about Macs supporting this new peripheral (although expected as a Snow Leopard  update).

I'm going to be waiting and being unable to wait with you guys.  I'm just happy that I'm going to buy my laptop Senior year of high school (2nd quarter of 2010).  Now only if the new iPod 3rd Generation (rumored) can have USB 3.0 integrated. Come on Apple!  You can do it!


Remember, if you have a new idea, just email me at zortrox.blogspot@gmail.com!