12/30/2000
An
encapsulated look at the events that effected USB technology in the year 2000,
the old problems, the new solutions and a glimpse of things to come in 2001.
For
the record, I believe in and fully support USB technology. USB is THE
peripheral connectivity solution now and in the foreseeable future.
Unfortunately, there is no one perfect solution for anything and USB is no
exception to the rule. Caveat Emptor!
Microsoft Discontinues
Support for Windows 95 On December 31, 2000, Microsoft will officially discontinue
support for the Win95 Operating System. From a USB stand point that's
probably good news. Win95
USB is an oxymoron. Windows 95 in any revision does NOT fully support
USB technology. In 1996 & 97 Mainboard makers started adding USB
capability to their product and in response to consumer demand and lack luster
PC sales, Microsoft included limited USB support in OEM revisions B & C of
Win95. Think about it:
- Win95 USB support does not install with the rest of the
OS, it's an option that must be added from the control panel.
- Optional USB only came packaged on OEM versions of the
software and cannot be purchased retail.
- Win95 retail and A versions are not upgradeable to USB.
There are no service packs that include USB. (The USB upgrade for
Win95 is called Win98)
Honestly folks, Windows 95
is not the Holy Grail of operating systems. I ran it for 3 years and I
wasn't impressed. Let go and move on to an Operating System that really
does support USB.
USB for Windows NT
Unlike Win9X and Win2000, WinNT 4, even with the latest service pack installed,
does not natively support USB. Some
third party software writers and peripheral manufacturers have developed USB
drivers for use with Windows NT. The software programs are limited to a narrow
product line of simple USB devices. Some USB hardware makers are providing
drivers for WinNT use. Conflicts can occur when both forms of NT USB support are
combined on the same system. Good
news for those who cannot or will not upgrade to the Microsoft USB NT solution,
Windows 2000. WinNT
USB on a limited basis is
finally a reality.
USB 2.0 / High Speed USB
- The promise of High Speed bandwidth, 480 Mbps (40X faster than USB 1.1) and
true plug and play hardware, inches forward. The new high-speed standard
will create a host of new and improved USB devices. Fast external data
storage, 10/100 Ethernet, high-speed scanning, video camera quality PC cameras
and new products galore will all become a reality in 2001. One can only
hope that a historian has played an active part in the development of USB 2.0
lest this promising new technology fall prey to the host end issues that plague
USB 1.1. USB High Speed (2.0) is a long time coming. Pray the reason is
that its developers have been overly cautious. USB
2.0 Information and News
Wireless USB
Wireless technology is all around us. Very soon you will be able to connect
wireless products to your PC with a simple USB plug. With new wireless products
debuting almost daily, 2001 looks to be the year of the "Bluetooth".
Intel Won't Charge
Royalties for USB 2.0 Host specification according to an article in the EETimes.
Now the question is: does the
royalty free license still include the host controllers passing a compliance
program? Scads of incompatibility problems were ultimately created when Intel
chose to retain the rights to it's own USB 1.1 host controller type dubbed UHCI
(Universal Host Controller Interface). This
forced others in the industry to develop the OHCI
(Open Host Controller interface) USB host controller type. Two types of host
controllers, no compliance testing for these host side devices and the need to
deal with the additional host side standard has combined to create USB problems
for far too many users.
AMD
– Advanced Micro Devices is
really giving Intel a run for its money. The
new Duron, Athlon and T-Bird processors
are proving to be equal to or better than their Intel counterparts. With
the added bonus of being both faster and cheaper to buy, Intel has an obvious
problem. AMD has a problem too.
Socket A and Slot A processors are not supported by Intel chipset based
motherboards. (Imagine that) Motherboards that provide support for
Socket/Slot A motherboards generally have poor and/or undependable USB support.
Be prepared to purchase a PCI/USB upgrade card as a work around for the
often-unusable onboard USB host controllers these boards are shipped with.
AMD, you’ve really got to do something about this USB problem.
USB Advertising The
advertising wizards continue to conjure up unrealistic expectations regarding
the capabilities and ease of use of USB (Universal Serial Bus) and USB
peripherals. Claims of easy plug and play, 127 devices connected to one
USB host controller and works on any computer with USB ports are NOT entirely
truthful. USB is NOT necessarily universal. Non-Intel chipset based
motherboards tend to have USB problems. This fact alone can negate the
claim to easy plug and play. BIOS problems, power management settings, IRQ
conflicts, sharing violations and out of spec hardware is also a factor.
Can you connect 127 USB devices to one USB host controller? Well, yes and
no. Because of bandwidth constraints, a USB host controller is limited to
a total bandwidth of 12 Mbps, mixing high speed and high draw USB devices like
scanners, Ethernet adapters, web cameras, storage devices and flash card readers
can limit the user to just a few of these bandwidth hogging USB devices, nowhere
near 127. Conflicting TSR software programs like the ones that control
scanner buttons and additional mouse and keyboard functions can further
frustrate USB users. The bottom line is: If you have a newer Intel
chipset based motherboard with a modern, well written, properly configured BIOS
and a Operating System that fully supports USB, come on in, the waters fine.
If not, you need to lower your expectations. Owners of the following
systems should do their homework before investing in USB peripherals:
- Computers with AMD or Cyrix processors old or new
- Systems built before 1998
- Systems with integrated video, sound and/or
communications
- Computers with non-Intel based motherboards
- Computers without physical USB ports
- Portable computers
Thankfully, there are Fixes
and Work Arounds for most common problems.
Unfortunately, it will probably cost you more money.
Disinformation
Bogus solutions, finger pointing and poor product knowledge continue to confuse
USB consumers. Unfortunately, much of this disinformation comes from USB
peripheral manufacturers themselves. Many manufacturers continue to view
customer support as nothing more than a drain on the bottom line. This
policy of greed ultimately creates a revolving door for most of the technical
support staffers that you, the victim, are permitted to talk to. Low pay,
unrealistic demands and bad policy usher the good people out the door pretty
quickly. Poor training manuals, ignorance, inappropriate fixes and
policies designed to keep you off the telephone send many a new USB user
scouring the web for USB Fixes
and Solutions. Don’t get me wrong; this is not a condemnation of
tech support staffers, far from it. It
is a chastisement of the out the door, get the money, it’s not our problem
policy; that pervades the computer industry in general. Most USB problems
on systems running OS's with full USB support can be traced to:
- Poorly written, immature or improperly configured BIOS
- Inferior or defective USB host controllers
- Drivers and software that have not been fully compliance
tested
- Non-compliant peripherals
HP Delivers on Promised
USB Scanner Drivers
- After a long wait, the "New HP" finally delivers on it’s promise
to provide Windows 2000 USB drivers for the popular ScanJet 5200.
In good old "kick em' where it hurts fashion", HP has decided
to charge it's loyal and patient customers a "nominal" fee ($10) for the New
Win2000 ScanJet 5200 USB Drivers. HP states that the files are too large to
download, thus the fee. I guess they never heard of the concept of
the ZIP file or sites like ConXion.
MO money, MO money, MO money. BTW That
crashing sound you heard was the roof caving in on Dave and Bill's little garage
in Palo Alto, CA.
VIA
- Continues their tradition of producing the most problematic USB Host
Controllers on the market. The forum boards are replete with consumer
complaints, inquiries and pleadings regarding VIA
USB Host controllers. It seems the new motherboards are as problematic as
the old. True to form, all emails
sent to VIA asking for assistance are summarily banished to a black hole in
cyberspace. I have personally sent at least 100 Emails to VIA asking for
assistance. To date I have received
one terse, poorly written response suggesting that I “Enable USB in the
BIOS”. A New Year resolution is
certainly in order for both the VIA
Customer Support and USB Development departments. Considering the kick in the pants that Toshiba took last year
for defective hardware, I don’t image VIA will be “fessing up” to it’s
obvious USB defect anytime soon.
Jeffery
Roberts
Senior
Hardware Editor
USBMan
