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We need to put a Bird Flu Detection device on a Robotic Platform to travel up and down the rows of the Chicken Coups. Then identify those infected birds and burn the chickens, which are infected. If this virus adapts itself and combines with a human virus or flu then it could be literally unstoppable. SARS turned out to be quite a bad deal for the travel and tourism and general economics of those countries with cases. The CDC as well as Health and Disease Prevention Departments of many foreign governments have expressed the concern that an epidemic is possible. The Avian Flu can infect humans now, we are worried that it might combine with and form a new disease. We watched the spread of AIDS run away from us and modify itself into additional strands and continue to spread. Viruses, Pathogens, Diseases, Pox and Flues can evolve much faster than we are use to in the animal species we so carefully study.

The World Health Organization is very worried about this and the out going Health and Human Services Secretary, Mr. Tommy Thompson, made mention of it recently. So we know we need to watch the incoming food products coming into this country and protect our own bird populations here. Due to the incredible lobby of Tyson Foods we maybe surprised to learn of an initial cover up if in fact the virus starts to infect our food supplies. Tyson Foods fights for vengeance for it’s markets and it employs hundreds of thousands of people. We also must not forget the outbreak in New Castle, PA.

To prevent this, I propose a Robotic Chicken Coup Bio-Sensor Robot. The robot will be on tracks and patrol the chicken coups. A migratory bird could infect a Chicken Farm in the Carolinas on it’s way to sun in Florida for the Winter, thus introducing the infection to our food supply. Therefore just because no virus exists today amongst the chickens in the farm does not mean all chickens are safe tomorrow. There also currently exists the risk of human sabotage on our food supply from International Terrorism.

Robotic Sentinels would patrol the chicken coups at night traveling up and down the isles with sensors and RFID Readers. Each Coup would have RFID Tags on the gates, so it would record the readings during it’s travels up and down the rows. Recording temperatures for maximum growth and efficiency and to detect avian flu.

The poultry industry is huge in our country and is as big or bigger than the Beef Industry. We cannot afford to lose it or even risk the possibility of an outbreak such as occurred in; Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong; here in the United States. The Robots can insure this does not occur. Meanwhile we continue research on a vaccine for the birds and for humans. Computer modeling shows that an outbreak of Avian Flu in the United States could be more than only economically devastating. The robot would be on a track platform so it could be used in rural chicken farms with dirt floors;

http://www-robot.mes.titech.ac.jp/robot/wh…vius/xevius.jpg

The robot would have on it devices for sensing, which would identify the bird in question and an incinerator box attached, much similar to that of a Bomb Squad only scaled down to save costs as it does not have to be as strong. The motors can be smaller, lighter weight materials to save on price allowing the economies of scale to provide the additional costs savings to quickly ramp up the universal usage to protect the food supply.

http://telepresence.dmem.strath.ac.uk/vehicle.jpg

A robotic arm would be deployed with food to keep the bird from trying to get away.

http://www.kelvin.com/Merchant2/merchant.m…uct_Code=841043

It would then pick the bird up and place it in the onboard box incinerator and record the pen is missing one bird and real time notify the on board data center as to which pen, which was read as the robot passed the RFID tag on the pen. The robot would control the inventory and keep the disease out of the coup. The data would be able to be taken out by way of USB Thumb Drive by the morning attendant to update and sync the inventories.

RFID Tag tracking along with proper inventory control software can easily solve such problems with the poultry industry like it can the Beef Industry with BSE. Robotics can keep us safe from Avian Flu, by keeping humans away from any infected animal. Instant elimination of infected animal protects our food supply.

Lance Winslow - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

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Perhaps you have heard about the next new version of Microsoft Windows, called Vista? The Vista operating system has many promises to one great, stable and dynamic operating system. Not only will this operating system have the .Net framework built into the core of the operating system it will also feature some other key communications, user interface and security breakthroughs.

For instance Vista will utilize the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) which will greatly increase the aesthetic value of each application. Perhaps you may be familiar with a website developed with Flash animation software. Now picture the same type of functionality and aesthetics however instead of being restricted to a website format having the freedom to develop the interface so it is a true Windows application. Further, this WPF will allow for much easier and faster deployments of these applications through the use of “one click deployment” technology. If you are familiar with the updater application block and the BITS service then you are already familiar with innovation. However, instead of being some cumbersome application block you will be able to easily deploy these applications with just a few clicks from your development environment.

Secondly the Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) will provide a secure and reliable messaging platform which will allow for a new era in the creativity of application developers. This WCF will bring in a new time when true service oriented applications will become commonplace. This will make it much easier to connect businesses to each other and their customers.

The in built security mechanisms will make for a much more secure platform as well. Since this operating system is built around the .Net framework Code Access Security will be much easier to enforce and maintain. Code access security is when the author of the program can specify exactly what the program is allowed to do based upon the role of the user who is accessing the software. This will allow for a much finer grained security mechanism which will make software much more trustworthy by
the end user.

Another feature of Vista is called SuperFetch. SuperFetch seems to be a caching mechanism for frequently used files so that the end user experiences fast response times and is not hindered by the background tasks that the operating system is performing. This will greatly speed up and perhaps cause less system crashes thereby making the OS much more stable.

One other great feature of Vista is its use of the sidebar and gadgets. Gadgets are small programs that either you or someone else has created that performs some frequently used task such as viewing the latest weather or traffic information from your desktop. Now this might seem to be a small feature but I am sure the general public will eat this feature up and it is one place where some new innovative software inventions might take place. It might even make managing your life that much easier.

Perhaps the best feature of Vista is its new ability to easily search through and organize your files for later retrieval. I cannot tell you how many times I have had to search my own hard drive for a file that I knew I created but could not remember where I stored it.

Let’s face it Windows XP and Windows 2000 are by now old fashioned. The public needs a new operating system simply because the other’s are beginning to show their age. It is time for an upgrade.

Richard Callaby is a Independent Computer Consultant, Writer, Author, Speaker and Instructor. More articles from this author can be reached at his blog at http://blog.richard-callaby.net

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One of the great things about the internet is that today you do not have to rely on a website designer to build and control your website. A few years ago this was the case unless you knew how to program in HTML or other computer languages. With technology today there are far greater options out there. Systems known as content management systems that are website builder software platform that allow non technical people to build websites with no technical skills. That is correct allowing a user to manage all changes to their website or make additions to content, links, graphics, movies, pdf’s, or even skins for the entire website all at the click of a button.

Because no two website builder software systems are the same be sure when considering a content management system that you only use one that is built around search engines. What I mean by this is websites that rank high they must be constructed properly in order to achieve this. Many website builders are simply good at creating pages based on what the user creates but when it goes live is it codes for search engine robots properly? Is the keyword density been considered and does the user have the ability to check it? Does the site also have the proper search engine robot code for the entire website?

These are very important questions to avoid the catastrophe of a user making a fatal mistake of building a site incorrectly and getting virtually NO traffic. And with the Internet target traffic (users looking for the website’s product or service specifically) is everything. If the website builder submits to search engines then this is NOT the one to use as submitting is outlined in the Search Engine webmaster guidelines as a HUGE do not do. So be careful and choose wisely the one that best fits your list of criteria.

Gregg Makarowski - Is a successful Internet publisher and Search Engine Expert.
www.broadwavestudios.com

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Well, even if the combination might look very unusual, we see the coexistence of these two systems, especially in large corporations, non-profit organizations. Technically Lotus Notes Domino has parallel structure, including Domino email server. Lotus is extremely flexible and you can program your own CRM or purchase CRM for Lotus, however Microsoft CRM has Microsoft SQL Server database and very simple Sales automation module. Let’s look at the integration reasons and scenarios. Be sure that each specific case requires custom programming, tuning and support.

Why Lotus & MS CRM? There are several reasons to combine the two. First - Lotus Domino has very long history and is present on the market over 15 years. Corporations might have business system built upon the Lotus Notes Domino platform and it is not desirable or even feasible from the complexity standpoint to phase it out. The second reason is possible IT strategy to balance multiple platforms to avoid over-dependence on one vendor (such as Microsoft). There might be also licensing issue - if corporation has several hundred Lotus licenses - it doesn’t want to lose them and pay for 200 Microsoft CRM users. In this case MS CRM might be the solution for Sales department and all the other departments should stay on Lotus

Lotus Domino as Messaging for MS CRM. There is no need to program this custom piece, just use MS CRM - Lotus Domino connector, supported by Alba Spectrum Technologies. It has advanced functionality, versus standard MS CRM Exchange connector. Instead of using GUID in the email header, it scans Contacts, Accounts, Leads emails for matching.

Lotus Workflow. Workflow is possible in Lotus and MS CRM. In Lotus, however workflow is the most advanced. You can use Lotus Workflow and then upon the completion it can transfer control to Microsoft CRM. This is typical Microsoft CRM SDK (to program MS CRM) and Lotus Java Agent programming from the side of Lotus. Lotus workflow may work with integration to your ERP/Accounting application, such as Microsoft Great Plains, Navision, Axapta, however this is outside of the scope of this article.

Lotus/CRM Activities Synchronization. One of the popular requirements is the synchronization of Microsoft CRM Activities: Appointment, Phone Call, Fax, etc. with Lotus TOTOs. This should allow users work on the same project sharing Lotus and MS CRM data space.
If you need help in the integration or customization, feel free to call us: 1-630-961-5918, 1-866-528-0577, help@albaspectrum.com

Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer at Alba Spectrum Technologies ( http://www.albaspectrum.com ) - Microsoft Business Solutions and IBM Lotus Domino Partner, serving corporate customers in the following industries: Aerospace & Defense, Medical & Healthcare, Distribution & Logistics, Wholesale & Retail, Chemicals, Oil & Gas, Placement & Recruiting, Advertising & Publishing, Textile, Pharmaceutical, Non-Profit, Beverages, Conglomerates, Apparels, Durables, Manufacturing and having locations in multiple states and internationally.

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Logistics automation is often considered as barcoding extension to Sales Order Processing, Purchase Order Processing, Inventory Control modules. Software extensions makers may disagree with this simplification, but budget solution works exactly like barcoding extension and is usually done via Great Plains Dexterity, Modifier with VBA and SQL stored procedures. If your company is looking for implementing automated inventory bin/item pickup and conveyer - then you need specialized software. However if you just envision your warehouse workers with barcode scanners - then read this article to understand your options with Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains.

Warehouse Automation. When you are looking for warehouse management automation - you should research supply chain management applications available on the market. Usually they are expensive and targeted to large logistics clients. You can use Microsoft Great Plains inventory module features, such as locations or sites, serial/lot number tracking, inventory count, inventory transfers and combine these with simple VB-based barcoding to feed documents from your barcode scanners to Great Plains directly.

Random Weight. Food distribution - you might be purchasing food in cases or other variable weight units and resell them in pounds or kilograms to end customer. So - you need parallel quantities tracking with probably serial numbering for each case. This is typical customization for Inventory, Sales Order Processing (SOP) and Purchase Order Processing (POP) modules in Great Plains. It should be done in Great Plains Dexterity to provide seamless interface for GP users. In addition to parallel weight measures (cases and pounds) you may also need average weight control to prevent issues with your warehouse workers

Recurring Customer Orders. You may figure out that majority of your customers order the same items each time with regular intervals. In this case you can have customer typical order screen to automate order taking. Plus - you may have associated and replacement items logic incorporated in this screen.

Automated Shipments. If you sell on consignment - you may simply send trucks to your customers every day with recommended combination of items, based on historical data - day of the week, holidays, seasonal variations, etc. And barcode could help you in automatic picking ticket printing and allocation

Good luck and you can always seek our help in customization, implementation, integration and support. Call us: 1-866-528-0577 or 1-630-961-5918, help@albaspectrum.com

Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer in Alba Spectrum Technologies - USA nationwide Great Plains, Microsoft CRM customization company, serving Chicago, California, Arizona, Texas, Florida, Georgia, New York, Australia, UK, Canada, Continental Europe, Russia and having locations in multiple states and internationally ( http://www.albaspectrum.com ), he is Dexterity, SQL, C#.Net, Crystal Reports and Microsoft CRM SDK

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Apple and Intel have spearheaded work to develop a new standard for the interface that links PCs and high definition digital displays. The two companies are part of an industry consortium that is pushing for the new standard to be adopted. The UDI SIG (Unified Display Interface Special Interest Group) hopes to replace the old VGA (video graphics array) interface with a new connection that can accommodate high-end video content.

A new display standard is also necessary if low-cost PCs with simple graphics technology are to be able to send content to high-definition televisions and displays.

Additional features

Sophisticated modern PCs with discrete graphics chipsets, like nVidia’s, use DVI (digital visual interface) to connect to digital displays. High-definition televisions use a standard called HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface) to obtain their images from set-top boxes or receivers. The two standards are compatible, but HDMI offers some additional features, such as universal remote control, and can handle more traffic over a single cable.

While DVI is common these days, many low-cost PCs still rely on the analogue VGA standard to connect to monitors. VGA is good enough for those PC users who are simply browsing the internet but DVI connections are needed to watch videos stored on a home PC on a digital display.

UDI promises to bring the features and functionality to HDMI, not to mention its copy-protection technology, to mainstream computers. It will employ the same HDCP (high-bandwidth digital content protection) technology used by both the HDMI and DVI standard, and will be fully compatible with the two existing standards. Therefore, UDI PCs will work with HDMI televisions or DVI digital displays.

Daniel Dwase is the webmaster of http://www.best-ipod-online.com. Find out more about iPods and Podcasting.

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Imagine going to a Wal-Mart and instead of a car or pickup with a rotating orange light on top a little robot scurries across he parking lot with an orange hat. As it moves it leaks water on the ground, not very much, but just enough to look like it is leaking a little. What is that water trail? It is vapor or exhaust, the exhaust of a fuel cell running an electric motor. The Robot video tapes the parking lot, patrols the red zones and attempts to save your brand new SUV from runaway shopping cart therapy?

It rolls by and says; “Thank you for shopping at Wal-mart” as it patrols. It looks for all kinds of stuff such as babies in cars with the windows rolled up or cars doing burnouts in the parking lot as it maneuvers to get it all on tape and send the video feed in real time to the local police department. The more energy it uses the more vapor water is left behind. The fuel cells generate electricity to power up an electric motor and the surveillance video cameras and of course the robots brains. A chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen is making all this happen using the fuel cell technologies. Occasionally as the robot moves over a speed bump you might see a little vapor or fog poof out the back, but all in all this is an alternative fueled robot, which is environmentally friendly.

In fact this is not science fiction, as researchers in Tokyo have created such a robot and it is ready for sale now. Imagine Wal-Marts cost savings by letting go if its security guard contracts and greeters at its 8,000 outlets. Surely from an economies of scale scenario this is better than RFID tags on its pallets. One company; Sohgo Security Services Co. is working on a robot which can go one week without recharge and they are looking at more than just security. Receptionists, car wash personal, warehouse labor and mos manufacturing jobs will soon be things of the past. Robot gardeners, landscapers, pool cleaning, house maids are nearly all coming to market now and the mass marketing potential of a strong US based middle class has many a consumer willing to put their money where they desires are. Sohgo has a robot they call C-4, Guard Robo and today it goes 2.5 hours on a lead battery, similar to those ride on wheel chairs. It can work as a receptionist while charging and then do a perimeter sweep and go back and charge again.

The Robot is completely wire-less sending back a complete video and alarms signals. Robots, which often use ultrasound waves sensors, lidar and infrared to work, do not need actual light and if made quiet enough can scare the ever living bejesus out of an intruder. With all the work at the major robotic research Universities, robots can have faces, body parts and communicate as they patrol with the humans they interact with.

The future is here, you are just not paying attention to all the latest developments.

Lance Winslow - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

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As a result of problems related to the mass production of a key component of its Blu-ray DVD player, Sony (SNE) will delay the European launch of its next generation video game console, the PlayStation 3 (PS3). Sony will also reduce the number of PS3 units immediately available in both the U.S. and Japan.

In the U.S., the PS3 will launch on November 17th, with approximately 400,000 consoles available for sale. The U.S. launch will come almost a week after the Japanese launch which will consist of merely 100,000 units.

Sony’s PlayStation 3 is the successor to the PlayStation 2, the world’s most popular (and as recently as July, the world’s best selling) video game console.

The Number That Really Matters

The fact that there will only be 400,000 PS3 units available for sale in the United States on November 17th is totally unimportant. The launch date itself is unimportant. What matters is how many units will be available for sale in mid to late December.

Sony claims it will have 1 million to 1.2 million consoles available for sale by December 31st. So, let’s assume there will be at least a million PS3 consoles available for sale in the U.S. by Christmas.

Will that be enough to put a PlayStation in the living room of every household that wants one?

No. There will almost certainly be many people who have to go without a PS3 for Christmas, despite being willing to pay the very high price Sony is asking. But, that’s nothing new. Other consoles (including the Xbox 360) have been launched without an adequate number of units immediately available for sale.

A delay is much worse than a mere shortage. There’s a promise (and a tangible product) behind a console that has already launched. So, very few people in the U.S. or Japan who planned to buy a PS3 are likely to change their minds because of a Christmas shortage - no matter how severe.

The Things That Really Matter

The success of any gaming platform is largely based on five factors:

Available Titles

Relative Launch Date

Price

Predecessor’s Installed Base

Technology

Of these five, technology is by far the least important factor. The four most important factors (available titles, relative launch date, price, and predecessor’s installed base) are difficult to separate. Clearly, having a predecessor with a large installed base (such as the PS2) can be tremendously beneficial, if you get satisfactory marks in the other three areas (titles, launch date, and price).

Predecessor’s Installed Base

The PlayStation 3 dominates when it comes to having a predecessor with a large installed base. So, how does it score in the other three areas?

In terms of available titles, the PS3 scores as well as any of its competitors, if not better. However, none of the three consoles (Xbox 360, PS3, or Wii) does very well in this regard. Unfortunately, the titles are likely to be somewhat segregated by console. There will be quality games on each system; but, almost no one will buy all three. Simply put, there will be some games exclusive to each console that a lot of people would really love to play - but can’t.

Relative Launch Date

Returning to the list of factors that determine a console’s success, let’s consider the launch date issue. Sony clearly has a bit of a problem in Europe, because it will have one less Christmas season than both the Xbox 360 and the Wii. Some analysts think Sony will lose no more than a few hundred thousand console sales to substitutions. If that’s true, lost revenue might be in the hundreds of millions rather than the billions.

Three Separate Markets

The U.S., Japan, and Europe are really three very different markets. It’s quite possible you could have a console that is very successful in one market and yet unable to get any real momentum in another.

Before this delay, I felt strongly that Europe was the market where the PS3 could come closest to duplicating the performance of the PS2 in terms of market share. There’s a long-term danger that Microsoft will gain market share in the U.S. and Nintendo will gain market share in both the U.S. and Japan.

Obviously, Europe isn’t as well defined a market as either the U.S. or Japan. So, it’s much harder to predict how a certain type of console or a certain type of game will go over there. The U.S. and Japan are very clearly defined game markets, largely because they have very clearly defined consumer cultures in general and entertainment cultures in particular.

So, what does the PS3 delay mean for Sony’s future in Europe? It’s hard to say. I’m more interested in seeing what the installed base of each next generation console will look like in the American and Japanese markets after Christmas 2007, when we’ll have the first real chance to predict how this round of the console wars will play out.

Although I do think Sony is doing serious harm to its PlayStation line by insisting upon including Blu-ray and charging a ridiculous price, I don’t think any amount of managerial ineptitude is likely to cause the catastrophic failure of a successor to such a dominant console as the PS2.

Price

If price isn’t the elephant in the room, it should be. Most of the articles I read about the recently announced PS3 delay / production scale-down didn’t say much about the pricing of the PS3. That’s a mistake - especially, because several articles mentioned the laptop battery recall, which has nothing to do with the PS3 and very little to do with Sony (it has everything to do with lithium-ion batteries irrespective of their manufacturer).

The PS3’s price is a big problem. One that might have manifested itself in poor Christmas sales, if the number of units available for sale had approached the expected demand. For now, Sony is planning on having so few units available in the U.S. by Christmas that the launch will go well even if the PS3 is ultimately a failure. Sony claims it will have 6 million units by the end of its fiscal year. A few analysts are skeptical, but Sony is sticking to that line.

In the weeks ahead, expect Sony to make a big deal about the fact that it will actually make more PS3 units available by the end of December than the number of Xbox 360s Microsoft had made available by the same time the year before. It’s a valid point. But, it omits two key facts. The PS3 is launching after the Xbox 360 and there are more PS2 owners out there who will want to trade up for the new system.

Since the PS3 is launching after the Xbox 360, no one is waiting around to see what the alternative will look like. They already know what the Xbox 360 is, what it can do, and what (some of) the games available for it are. As soon as the PS3 launches, the comparisons can begin. That wasn’t possible when the Xbox 360 launched and everybody knew the PS3 was on its way.

The second reason why no parallel exists between the demand for Xbox 360s at launch and the demand for PS3s at launch is simply that there are more PS2s out there. As a result, Sony having as many units available by Christmas as Microsoft had the year before would be a lot like Gillette having as many new razors available as Schick had produced the year before. The difference in market share obliterates any possible comparison.

So, even though I think the PS3 is far too expensive going into the Christmas season, I’m quite sure that fact won’t be evident in the sales numbers, because there will be a severe PS3 shortage throughout 2006. Even if the PlayStation 3 is too expensive, it will look like it’s selling well, because there simply won’t be enough of them produced in 2006.

Why am I so convinced the PS3 is priced too high?

The PS3 is too expensive to be a Christmas gift. Around Christmas, a lot of these consoles are bought by parents as gifts for their kids. Parents are willing to pay a lot for them, because they’re a huge one-time item for the kid (and the parents have been hearing about it since well before the launch). But, the prices likely to be charged in 2006 for the PS3 are simply beyond what parents are willing to spend.

It’s not an issue of how much consumers have to spend versus the value they’re getting. It’s an issue of being psychologically unprepared for paying this kind of price for any gift.

It may be a price older gamers are willing to pay to get a PS3 for themselves. But, it’s not a price parents will be willing to spend on their kids.

Copyright 2006 Geoff Gannon

Geoff Gannon writes a daily value investing blog and produces a twice weekly (half hour) value investing podcast at:
http://www.gannononinvesting.com

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Wireless Hidden Cameras have the great advantage that they are portable. They do not have electric wires which compel them to be hooked down at a particular place. They work on batteries; usually two 9-volt batteries are sufficient for their operation. Wireless hidden cams pick up images from their field of vision using lasers and then transmit them to a remote TV or computer monitor. They are made compatible with the screen using appropriate programs.

Clever disguises are used to conceal Wireless Hidden Cameras, because the success of the camera depends on its being hidden. The design of the camera can be as masterful as the maker decides. They can be tucked in table lamps or wall clocks. Sometimes they are camouflaged within paintings and mantelpiece curios. They can also be crafted into cell phones, wristwatches, pencil sharpeners, cigarette packets, suits, jackets and even buttons. The wireless technology makes the camera so versatile that some of them can be attached to almost any object.

Obviously, to fit in all these things, wireless cams have to be very small. They have miniature lenses, which are only a couple of millimeters in diameter, no larger than a pinhole. They use integrated circuits to record their images. The circuit of the camera is integrated on a board, which makes it very thin and easy to fit within any frame.

Wireless camera technology is ideal for people on the move. They can operate at distances of a few hundred feet, but some high-end wireless cams can transmit images up to 40 miles. They are designed to record images at different angles. They may have more than one channel to display different fields of view. Wireless cameras can display their images using laser sensors, or even use an adapter cable to be directly connected to a VCR or CPU.

Hidden Cameras provides detailed information about hidden cameras, hidden security cameras, hidden video cameras, wireless hidden cameras and more. Hidden Cameras is the sister site of Security Cameras Web.

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USB has become the Colossus of computer connectivity, standing astride the world of computing accessories and peripherals with the self-confident ease of a standard that has triumphed over its opponents. Parallel and serial protocols are virtual dinosaurs, being phased out almost universally by computer manufacturers. Firewire (IEEE 1394) still maintains a presence in certain nice markets, in large part due to the dogged determination on Apple Computers and Sony to keep pushing the standard. But what has caused USB to become the standard of choice for computer connectivity?

The first answer is speed. For years, computers used serial (RS-232) and parallel (IEEE 1284) for data connection and transmission between computers as well as devices. However, the transmission speed of these protocols are slow, averaging 4mbps with the most recent parallel revision and an average 58,000bps with serial connections. In contrast, USB 1.1 has a 12mbps transfer speed and USB 2.0 high speed can go as high as 480 mbps. The speed difference coupled with the durability, universality, and simplicity of the USB connection easily tolled the death knell for serial and parallel ports.

This still fails to explain the ascension of USB over Firewire. Though Firewire has a max transfer speed of 400 mbps (80 mbps slower than the USB 2.0 standard), when it comes to transferring large quantities of data Firewire actually has the advantage of USB. Apparently, USB’s transfer rate tops out at 480mbps but its average speed is quite a bit slower. Firewire, on the other hand, has a consistent 400mbps transfer rate, making it ideal to transfer large files or data streams such as audio and video. It is this constant high-speed connection that has made Firewire the connection of choice for multimedia applications.

Firewire’s downfall comes not in design quality but in price. Where USB is actually quite inexpensive for manufacturers to implement, Firewire costs $1-$2 per connection. Thus, fewer manufacturers have made devices that support Firewire, relegating the standard to the multimedia computing niche. In addition, a minor factor is the slightly less durable nature of the Firewire connector.

That said, there is a strong possibility that several years from now, USB will no longer be the standard of choice as its successor, Wireless USB, comes into the computer connectivity market. Boasting USB 2.0 speeds, similar ease of connectivity, and the complete absence of tangling wires, Wireless USB could easily become the de facto standard of the future.

Nathan Kartchner works in Product Development for Sewell Direct, an online distributor of USB adapters and other connectivity products. Look for Wireless USB products as they become available.

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