Poorly designed USB connectors finally ape Apple's superior design

It's no secret that the bulky and awkward design of 'Micro' USB connectors has long been problematic—especially its unidirectional orientation insertion requirement.  While not nearly as elegant as Apple's Lightning connectors, the new USB Type-C connectors promise better than the downright awful existing standard. According to the USB-IF press release:

Key characteristics of the USB Type-C connector and cable solution include:

• An entirely new design tailored to work well with emerging product designs
• New smaller size – similar in size to the existing USB 2.0 Micro-B
• Usability enhancements – users will no longer need to be concerned with plug orientation/cable direction, making it easier to plug in
• The Type-C connector and cable will support scalable power charging
• Scalability – the connector design will scale for future USB bus performance

Several trade publications have covered this story.

The Next-Gen USB Plug To Be Smaller And Finally Reversible

Key characteristics of the USB Type-C connector and cable solution include

Instructions for Unix-like Systems with Elan's U111-M SRAM and ATA Flash PCMCIA PC Card Drive

EverythingHerePlus.com recently announced a first draft of a document which outlines the use of the BSD and Linux compatible USB reader for PCMCIA PC Card SRAM and ATA Flash memory devices. While the draft isn't complete, experienced users will have no problems using the command line instructions to complete tasks. They tested the device with OpenBSD and Xubuntu Linux.

Elan's U111-M PCMCIA PC Card reader for SRAM and ATA Flash memory devices is unique in that the reader itself brokers all the interfacing with the PC Card and presents itself to the host computer as a USB mass storage device. In addition to working on The Windows platforms, the device works with various versions of BSDs and Linux. Because of this, the U111-M allows users of Unix-like platforms to perform actions on these cards using common command line tools that usually require specialized and expensive software for The Windows. EverythingHerePlus hopes the document will be helpful to those wanting to deploy the U111-M with Unix-like systems.

Table of Contents
Introduction
Operating Systems uname -a results
Plugging in PC Card SRAM or ATA Flash
PC Card Partition Information
Mounting PC Card SRAM or ATA Flash
Unmount PC Card SRAM or ATA Flash
Formatting/Erasing PC Card SRAM or ATA Flash
Binary Image File to PC Card SRAM or ATA Flash
Binary Notes
Comparing Binary to PC Card SRAM
Manual Checksums Binary vs. PC Card SRAM or ATA Flash
View Hexadecimal of PC Card Memory Area (or Binary File Copies)

Congratulations EverythingHerePlus.com, on your Terry White review!

Terry White, Tech Guru and Worldwide Design Evangelist for Adobe Systems, Inc. just reviewed EverythingHerePlus.com's new 13 Port Hi-Speed USB 2.0 External Hubs. He weighs the advantages and disadvantages of the devices and in the end says:

If you need to have a lot of peripherals connected at once and you're short on built-in USB ports, this is a great option.

Available in glossy black or white finishes, these inexpensive 13 Port Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Hubs come with 4 amp power supplies.

USB-HUB-HU1310B 13 Port Hi-Speed USB 2.0 External Hub with 4A PS (Black)
USB-HUB-HU1311W 13 Port Hi-Speed USB 2.0 External Hub with 4A PS (White)

EverythingHerePlus.com is fun place to shop for fashion accessories, electronics, books, music, and more!

U111-M USB to PC Card Read-Writer 1 Slot PCMCIA PC Card ATA Flash and SRAM Memory Cards

The U111-M is an external read-writer for PCMCIA PC Card SRAM, and ATA Flash memory cards. The U111-M works without additional software or drivers on supported operating systems, treating both SRAM and ATA Flash as standard removable USB mass storage devices. Used in concert with a Type II PC Card adapter, the U111M USB to PCMCIA Memory PC Card drive will work with a variety of consumer memory cards including CompactFlash and SD Cards. Used with desktop or notebooks computers, the U111-M USB to PC Card Read-Writer 1 Slot PCMCIA PC Card ATA Flash and SRAM makes copying files to and from PCMCIA PC Card SRAM and PCMCIA PC Card ATA Flash devices simple and straight forward without confusing software interfaces.

The U111-M comes with a USB 'Y' for use on rare systems with underpowered ports. Simply plug in the additional power only connection in order to provide necessary current. The U111M provides an inexpensive, hassle free solution to deploying legacy PCMCIA PC Card memory SRAM and ATA Flash cards on modern Linux and Windows computers with USB 1.1 or USB 2.0 ports.

EverythingHerePlus.com Introduces 13 Port Hi-Speed USB 2.0 External Hubs with 4A PS (Black or White)

EverythingHerePlus.com's new 13 Port Hi-Speed USB 2.0 External Hubs provide host computers with 13 additional USB ports. These stylish devices allow flexible tiered Hi-Speed USB configurations with a single hub! Both robust and inexpensive, these 13 Port Hi-Speed USB 2.0 External Hubs run in self powered mode and provides over current protection at each of their downstream ports. Fully USB 2.0 compliant and USB 1.1 backward compatible, they supports Low, Full, and Hi-Speed USB devices and work with any system that supports the USB specification. One of the 13 downstream USB ports is on top of the unit, and folds down for convenient access to portable USB Drives. Providing thirteen (13) downstream USB 2.0 ports in total, these USB 2.0 hubs features plug and play installation and transparent operation. These hubs are available in glossy black or white finishes, include a power supply with a generous 4 ampere capacity, and USB 2.0 cable to connect to a host computer.

USB-HUB-HU1310B 13 Port Hi-Speed USB 2.0 External Hub with 4A PS (Black)
USB-HUB-HU1311W 13 Port Hi-Speed USB 2.0 External Hub with 4A PS (White)

EverythingHerePlus.com is fun place to shop for fashion accessories, electronics, books, music, and more!

Not all USB 2.0 Y Cables are the same - DoubleQueue features quality engineering!

The DoubleQueue USB 2.0 Y Cable was created to the exacting standards of a major WWAN hardware manufacturer. This meant it couldn't be cheaply or poorly designed like many competing cables. The DoubleQueue USB 2.0 Y Cable had to pass rigorous testing of standards bodies like the USB-IF, FCC, and others before it was included in the OEM package for major wireless carriers. One of the keys to DoubleQueue USB 2.0 Y Cable's quality is the split for the power cables is located in the plug where there is the most shielding and the least amount of stresses from movement. Many USB 2.0 Y cables split mid-cable, which is why they aren't standards compliant. DoubleQueue's connectors meet or exceed the USB-IF exacting requirements, and its highest quality EMI shielding assures USB 2.0's maximum throughput of up to 480Mbps. This in turn, makes the DoubleQueue USB 2.0 Y Cable the best choice for a range of devices including 3G/4G WWAN devices like the Kyocera KPC680 or Option Wireless GT Max 3.6 Express, the MicroU2E family of adapters, and even hard drives and SSD devices requiring extra electrical current.

The DoubleQueue USB 2.0 Y Cable features two upstream male A connectors, one for data and power, one for power only, and provides a downstream female A connector. Designed for notebooks and computers that don't provide enough current at their USB 2.0 ports, DoubleQueue's ability to draw power from a second port allows power hungry devices like WWAN 3G modems and hard drives. Some computers provide as little as 300mA per port, which while within specification, is woefully inadequate for many USB 2.0 devices. The DoubleQueue USB 2.0 Y Cable's ability to provide up to 1000mA to 1200mA when used with 500mA ports, and up to 600mA when used with 300mA ports. Providing a female A receptacle allows DoubleQueue to accept USB 2.0 and 1.1 male A cable ends and devices like the MicroU2E-MV without any other adapters. The DoubleQueue USB 2.0 Y Cable can be used as a normal USB 2.0 extender cable simple by using the data and power portion of the cable only.

Available at EverythingHerePlus.com for just $3.50 with inexpensive USPS Priority Mail shipping.

U111-M testing results on Unix-like operating systems

EverythingHerePlus.com is now offering a Linux compatible USB reader for PCMCIA PC Card SRAM and ATA Flash memory devices just $155.00 USD. For full details check out U111-M USB to PCMCIA PC Card ATA Flash and SRAM.

In addition to testing the U111M with excellent results on the Windows XP platform, we were asked to test the U111-M with stable and secure Unix-like operating systems.

Here are the results.

Xubuntu Linux 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope) amd64 edition

U111-M reader is recognized, both ATA Flash and SRAM worked without a hitch

OpenBSD 4.6 beta i386 edition

U111-M reader is recognized, kernel assigns sd0 dev on card inserts, but cannot mount cards using standard mount_msdos command line

OpenBSD UPDATE, this has been resolved -- please see this post for information on using the U111-M with OpenBSD

Mac OS X 10.4.11 PPC edition (iMac)

U111-M reader is recognized, but card inserts throw a "card not recognized" error dialog

Mac OS X 10.5.8 x86 edition (Mac Pro)

U111-M reader is recognized, but card inserts throw a "card not recognized" error dialog

The U111-M represents a low cost way to deploy both PCMCIA PC Card ATA Flash and SRAM on newer systems without existing PC Card slots. Its excellent compatibility with Linux is good news for users and the ability to deal with PCMCIA PC Card SRAM makes it unique in that regard. Xubuntu is the XFCE based Ubuntu distribution, and the U111-M really shined throughout the entire testing procedure.

Available at EverythingHerePlus.com at low prices with USPS Priority Mail shipping.

CES 2009: USB 3.0 slower than expected

Any wonder at all the latest incarnation of the prosaic USB standard with its outdated and awkward master-slave topology, underperforming NRZI encoding, and clumsy CPU cycle stealing bus mastering scheme doesn't live up to the hype?

Evidenced by the results of all the benchmarks I've ever run in the lab, USB 2.0 is crushed by Ultra Wide SCSI, an early 1990's technology. Let's ponder USB with its anemic power capabilities, frightfully short cable runs, and well over a decade old performance capabilities. What was USB's advantages other than ubiquity again?

I realize many USB otaku have bought into the Intel fanboi TV spot [1], but maybe people should be tossing rotten fruits and vegetables at Ajay Bhatt.

[1] Truth is, Intel was only one many firms with patents contributed to the original USB pool. Intel later bought many of them after the fact. So the whole "rock star inventor" thing is a little suspect no? In fact, Wikipedia cites him as one of the co-inventors. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Serial_Bus#History