I admit it. I'm technologically challenged. It took me a while to understand, let alone appreciate, the diversity and usefulness of USB.
What exactly does it do?
USB stands for Universal Serial Bus. The first time I heard that, I imagined my days of driving a big yellow school bus and filling the seats with serial killers. Was this something I wanted in my house?
It turned out okay. I wasn't attacked or run over and I liked having these little USB's in my home. They were simple - just plug and play. Yay! Something I could understand. And I already have four available slots on my computer. I used to wonder what those were for.
My printer uses USB, as most do, I think. They are designed to replace parallel and serial connectors - you know those ends with all the little prongs. Many other things use USB these days, too. Keyboards and mice, PDAs and cell phones, game pads and joysticks, cameras and camcorders, scanners and copiers, iPods and MP3 players, lights and fans, and funky little add-ons.
There are these little rectangle things called flash drives or thumb drives or jump drives. They drive to the store for you really really fast and pick up your groceries. No, they are little storage units that will save your stuff with a USB pluggy thing on the end. These have been replacing floppy disks and CD storage.
The young tech-savvy guys I work with get excited to see an old floppy disk. Most of them have never seen one. It's like finding Elvis or one of his vinyls.
Most of this stuff I don't use ... yet. I tend to be technologically resistant. I finally started using a cell phone about two years ago or so. I'm trying to catch up, but even with all the cool things out there, we still run into limitations.
The USB stumper
I have only one USB slot on my laptop. I use my laptop to play music and watch television, but mostly to work on my novel. I like being able to move around while I'm working, or take it to another room, or another place entirely.
I only have one printer/scanner/copier. If I want to print something from my laptop, I've got to crawl under my desk, pull out my USB printer cable, plug it into my laptop, and then do everything in reverse when I'm done.
Plus, I only have one USB slot on my laptop! If I wanted to plug in some future prolific jump drive and a PDA, a fight could break out and I could get hurt. And what if I get more than four USB things to plug into my PC? I could have a device riot and my desk would be ripped to shreds.
Fortunately, there are a multitude of solutions. There are USB extenders that lengthen your USB reach. There are hubs that will split one USB port into many. Some of these also sit on your desktop so you won't smack your head on its underside anymore. No more stars and cussing. Unless you want to.
There are cards you (if you are brave) or your computer guy or girl can add into your computer to provide more slots. There are all kinds of cool adapters that convert just about any other weird plug or slide thingy into a USB one. These also work for those laptops that don't have any USB slots. How dare they!
Most of these things include wireless capabilities, too. Soon everything will be wireless, cables will become the new floppy disk, and there will be invisible signals dancing everywhere. Maybe they'll add laser lights and we can have little shows.
I've converted to the USB age. Yeah, it took a little longer than some of you, but I still have Watergate and flowers on my mind. Okay I'm exaggerating, but I know I'm not alone and I hope this makes it easier for others who feel a little overwhelmed by it all.
I still haven't seen that bus full of serial killers either.
Shawn is an experienced freelance editor, proofreader, and writer. An award-winning journalist, columnist, and trumpet player, her knowledge of performance will enhance your copy. Visit Editing, Proofreading and Writing With a Punch! for grammar, punctuation, and spelling snippets, a trade talk blog, and superior services for help with all your writing needs.
For some fun and entertainment, visit Shawniverse for stories, poems, and an unusually entertaining blog.
More information about computers, electronics, and stuff to buy at great prices backed by excellent customer service can be found at sewelldirect.com, where Shawn was the former editor.
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