USB

Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply between computers, peripheral devices and other computers.

Released in 1996, the USB standard is currently maintained by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF).

A major component in the legacy-free PC, USB was designed to allow peripherals to be connected using a single standardized interface socket, to improve plug-and-play capabilities by allowing devices to be connected and disconnected without rebooting the computer (hot swapping).

Other convenient features include powering low-consumption devices without the need for an external power supply and allowing some devices to be used without requiring individual device drivers to be installed.

There have been four generations of USB specifications: USB 1.x, USB 2.0, USB 3.x and USB 4.