Input and Output Research Paper

The input and output devices have evolved consistently within the last few years, especially within the last couple of decades. In the result of such an evolution, the new input and output devices have appeared, among which it is possible to single out USB, or Universal Serial Bus, which became extremely popular in recent years due to its simplicity in use and reliability.

Speaking about USB, it should be said that basically it is a serial bus standard to interface devices. In fact, the creation of USB was a response to the challenge developers of IT technologies and hardware faced. To put it more precisely, in the early 1990s peripheral devices, such as scanners, printers, and others, each had their own complicated installation procedure that was naturally inconvenient for customers, who would prefer to use a simpler installation procedure (Teorey et al., 2005). At the same time, the increasing power and popularity of computers, stimulated the emergence of the creation of new peripheral devices. Naturally, in such a situation, people needed faster, easier, less frustrating way to connect these devices without having to add cards to the PC and reboot the system. Thus, to meet this need of customers USB was developed. It was designed to allow peripheral devices to be connected using a single standardized interface socket and to improve plug-and-play capabilities by allowing devices to be connected and disconnected without rebooting the system (Teorey et al., 2005).

At the same time, USB had other useful features. For instance, USB could provide power to low-consumption devices without the need for external power supply. In addition USB allows many devices to be used without requiring manufacturer’s specific, individual device driver to be installed. In addition, USB is intended to help retire all legacy varieties of serial and parallel ports (Date, 2003). Furthermore, among other features of USB, it is possible to indicate to the potential of USB lock software. To put it more precisely, USB lock software can unlock memory devices and still allow other USB peripherals to function.

Nowadays, it is possible to name a variety of devices which are connected to PCs with the help of USB. For instance, it is possible to name mouse devices, keyboards, PDAs, gamepads, joysticks, etc. Basically, these devices may be easily connected to a computer and communicate with a PC (Date, 2003). In fact, the mechanism is relatively simple as the USB cable is connected and a USB driver is installed the computer can identify the device connected via USB to the computer. As the device is identified, the user authorizes the use of the device and this device can be used without installation of any complementary software. In this respect, it should be said that such a use of devices is very convenient for users because it is very simple and fast. At the same time, it should be said that the communication between the device and computer occurs effectively through the cable connection and, as a rule, it is possible to control the work of a connected device via computer.

Thus, in conclusion, it should be said that the introduction of USB was apparently a progressive step, which facilitated consistently the process of connection of peripheral devices to a PC. Nowadays, such a possibility is extremely important taking into consideration the power of contemporary PCs and the number of devices that can be connected to PC via USB.