Developer: Universal Serial Bus (USB)

	USB offers many benefits through a new paradigm. Some of the benefits of USB are its low cost, expandability, auto-configuration, hot-plugging (plugging and unplugging with no restart!), and performance. Interestingly, USB also provides power to the bus, enabling many peripherals to operate without the added cost or inconvenience of an AC power adapter. Since USB is also a PC standard, third-party hardware is identical for all platforms; only differing in the software required for a particular OS.
		Universal Serial Bus (USB) is a new standard for interconnecting peripheral devices with a CPU. Devices can be manufactured at a very low cost, yet USB provides a bandwidth greater than that of Apple's traditional serial and ADB. For example, USB can operate at 1.5 Megabits per second (Mbps), or 12 Mbps, or both at the same time! Typical USB devices include keyboards, mice, joysticks, game pads, and other relatively low-bandwidth, low-cost devices. Unlike ADB and serial, USB can be extended through the use of hubs, allowing up to 127 devices to be controlled by a single CPU in a "tree" or "hierarchical" configuration. Unlike FireWire, which is orders of magnitude faster, and allows peer-to-peer interaction without CPU intervention, USB controls peripheral devices in a master/slave relationship.
	• Why Incorporate USB into the Macintosh Architecture? • Learn More About USB and the Mac OS • Information for Developers (If you're a traditional PC developer, welcome) • Links to Related Web Sites
		• Download the USB Adapter Card Support (1.3.5) • Download the Mac OS 9 Audio Update (1.) • Download the Mac OS USB Driver Development Kit (DDK) (1.3.5f8) • What's New with the Mac OS USB 1.3.5 • Download the preRelease Mac OS USB Driver Development Kit (DDK) (1.4 preRelease)
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