Computer Security News

Usb Extension Options: Breaking The 16 Foot Barrier

For the past ten years USB and FireWire have struggled to dominate the desktop interface market. Until five years ago, because of the relatively fast 400 Mbps offered by FireWire, USB, jokingly referred to as Ultra Slow Bandwidth, was relegated to low-bandwidth applications such as keyboards and mice. At the end of 2001, however, USB dealt a fatal blow to FireWire with the release of the new USB 2.0 standard offering a maximum speed of 480 Mbps, faster than the theoretical limit of FireWire (though, in practice, usually slower).

It seems that USB has essentially won the standards battle with FireWire because of its relative low-cost and high availability. The limitation of USB (both the 1.1 and 2.0 standards popular today) is the 16 foot limit. When you have more than 16 feet between your computer and your USB device you will see significant degradation in the signal that can cause problems ranging from slower transmission speeds to an entirely dropped connection. This causes problems for people who want to run a USB cable to a printer located in another room, to a presentation keyboard/mouse combo or any other USB device that may be in a remote location.

The cheapest (and arguably easiest) way to extend the distance to your USB device is by using a USB Active Extension Cable. These cables have built-in USB repeaters that actually boost the USB signal, allowing you to go further than the 16 foot maximum distance. The most common length for these cables is 16 feet and you can chain up to four of these together with no loss in signal. Assuming you are using the longest USB device cable available (also 16 feet), USB Active Extension Cables allow for a maximum distance of 80 feet between your computer and USB device. They are available in USB 1.1 (12 Mbps) and USB 2.0 (480 Mbps).

For most USB extensions 80 feet is long enough, but what if you need to go further? Super USB Extenders allow you to extend the distance to your USB devices up to 150 feet with no loss in signal. The Super USB Extender uses similar technology for the male and female interfaces, but rather than have a regular USB cable in the middle, it uses a Cat 5 cable (also known as a networ
1000
king cable). The advantage of Super USB Extenders, other than the increased maximum distance, is the ability to create a custom length. If you need to go 63 feet, for example, you can simply use a Super USB Extender with a 63 foot Cat 5 Cable between the booster and receiver. Super USB Extenders are also available in USB 1.1 and 2.0 interfaces.

If you are looking for a connection beyond 150 feet, many manufacturers offer a special Super USB Extender capable of USB transfer with no signal loss at 330 feet, though this is limited to USB 1.1. Black Box has created a USB 1.1 extender capable of transmission up to 1000 feet without signal loss, perfect for connecting your computer to a security camera or webcam hundreds of feet away from your computer.

Another exciting innovation for USB extension technology is the pending release of Wireless USB. Wireless USB hubs and devices are anticipated to show up in early 2006 with maximum distances over 100 feet. Keep in mind that this is the first release and as the technology matures this distance limitation will inevitably be lifted in favor of much further distances.

By: Preston Wily

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Preston Wily is the Marketing Director for Sewell Direct, an internet retailer of USB extension solutions and other fine extension products.

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Microsoft and Webmasters
 by: Jeff Wyrick

Does Microsoft care for Webmasters

It’s always been a problem with websites appearing exactly the same on different platforms. As a web developer / webmaster it is extremely difficult to make user experiences rich by having the site look the same in any OS / Browser. The biggest problems they have with there famous Internet Explorer browser is security issues and W3C Standards compliance issues.

Does Microsoft have a vision of having the world’s most popular browser still? Yes but currently IE is dropping it’s rate pretty fast as Mozilla and Firefox support CSS2 and PNG Transparent Alpha where’s IE does not support. What’s really interesting is IE 5 for Mac supports both CSS2 and PNG Transparent Alpha but IE for Mac development has been discontinued. Makes me think Microsoft likes Apple more then there own Flagship Product “Windows”.

So why is it important for Internet Explorer to follow the W3C Standards?

Makes it easier on a developers end to produce 1 website that looks great on other browsers besides just IE
Provides developers with more choices for design formats a.k.a. PNG24 with Transparency, CSS2, etc. that want to develop for Internet Explorer.
Make IE continue to be the worlds #1 web browser

A look into Microsoft’s next generation Longhorn with IE

I am sure you have heard of the next big OS that is a few years away from the final release. As IE is only up to version 6.05 there’s not much difference besides the new Longhorn look. I see one day Microsoft will have a fully supported W3C Standards browser. Most people’s wishes on the next version of IE are basically Standards support.

The main issue with IE as far back as IE 5 on a Windows platform has been rendering CSS2 and Transparent PNG24 images. IE does not support Transparent PNG24 files as it will display a grey background with the image.

My list of things Microsoft needs to support/fix

W3C Standards Support
Security
Full HTML 4.01 / XHTML / XML / XSLT support

People may think I am crazy for not being Anti-Microsoft but even though they ether have tons of flaws or don’t support something like W3C Standards in there products I still love Microsoft and there products and always will until the day Microsoft falls or I die.

What happens if Microsoft does not support W3C Standards in there next version of IE?

Well there are ways to fix the compliance problems they have with the W3C Standards. Tonight I thought of a possible development of a plug-in that allows IE users to render content currently supported by other browsers but not IE. As for previous versions of IE that don’t render content the plug-in would be basically be compatible with IE 5.x to the latest in Longhorn as people may not have money to buy a new high-end computer for just Longhorn. I am sure there are other ways besides a plug-in to make IE render correctly but a plug-in is the only thing I could think of.

About The Author

Jeff Wyrick is the owner of Michigan Web Solutions, a growing Web Design Company serving customers in the mid to high budget web design field. We specialize in mid to high budget design services such as Flash Authoring and Web Visual Effects

webmaster@mi-websolutions.com

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