LSEC N100
Subject Related Research Report
Part 1: a. Describe a technology that is used in my major area.
| Considered the latest in technology innovation, the Universal Serial Bus or simply the USB port is a standard connection port like all other devices like the mouse, keyboard, printer to name a few of the vital parts of every computer unit.
 Garger, (2010), in his article, “Who invented the USB flash drive?” claimed that the USB was developed in 1996 by the concerted efforts |
of some computer companies like Intel, Compaq, Microsoft, Sony, DEC, IBM and Northern Telecom. The first invented USB 1.0 had the capability rate transfer of 12 Mbit/s. However, in 2000, USB 2.0 increased its transfer rate to 480 Mbit/s and today the USB 3.0 reaches already the transfer rate of 4.8 Gbit/s. Because of speed, which becomes faster, other devices can be connected to computers very easily and without additional charges. Presently,the USB is called a plug and play port because it is user-friendly; it has the ease of connecting and disconnecting from the PC. “Any person even with the limited knowledge in computer use can do the ease of connection. USBs share multiple operations because they are compatible to Windows and Mac and can be used with other operating systems like the Linux with one hundred percent success” (Beal, 2005).
Until 2005, most computer laptops and desktops used floppy disks or CD-ROMs and the USB has almost the same functions as these devices but since the USB is very convenient to use, gradually the computer users phased out the floppy disks because they are more difficult to use and operate.
b. USB Port Uses Today
The most important uses of USB port today are the following: a) moving files around b) having a portable computing environment c) PC trouble shooting d) booting your computer e) using window vista ready boost and f) sew a pattern high tech style.
The first use of the USB port today is its most convenient way of moving files around.The USB user can bring his USB port wherever he goes and he can use it whenever he needs his file as long as there is available a computer desktop or laptop. A user can use with portability the port because any brand of computer today can recognize the USB port. Since some USB ports today are very high tech, small and very reliable, a user can |
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bring his file anywhere without any burden of over baggage because of paper work. Every bit of information can be stored in the port regardless of their volume and length and importance and can travel with his author anywhere he goes.
The second use of USB is to have the portable computing environment, which means that the user can own a computing environment with all the data stored in the USB and it can be used in any computer anywhere. One very important use of USB is by loading a bunch of diagnostic utilities for PC troubleshooting. By the use of USB, troubleshooting is made very easy by sticking in the USB drive and running the diagnostic of your choice. It is also used to perform a virus scan on a computer without the use of an anti-virus device being installed like what other devices are doing to delete the virus. Moreover, a USB drive is very useful in booting the computer because most of the motherboards today are compatible with USB flash drive and as they use BIOS that can boot from a USB drive. The technician has to enter only the BIOS and make changes to the boot order to put to use the USB drive in front of the hard drive. After accomplishing this step, what follows next is the installation of an operating system to your USB drive.
Other uses of USB include the ready boost. This technology is only in Windows Vista, which allows a USB drive to be used for caching in order to boost the performance of the PC when it slows because of innumerable programs or files stored within its memory card and hard drive. ReadyBoost is a very logical function on the drive to have the easier access with the end result that requests for data from the USB drive are said to be 80 to 100 times faster than a hard drive. “When USB drive is plugged to the compatible vista powered machines, it will provide an additional option for speeding up the system. Lastly, USB now is used for some sewing machines because the drive can be used for updating the software into the machines. For automatic creation of fabrics, the patterns from USB drive can be transferred to the machine, thus you will have sewn a pattern hi-tech style” (Risley, 2007).
Part 2: Impact of Technology in my major subject
Most of the professionals doing office work like me benefit much from USB mainly for storage of documents and data basing the files and records. Most of the office staff and employees have to do extra work at home aided by their computers. Since the files are in soft copy kept in USB, the poor employee will no longer carry the heavy loads of paper work home, because they will be organized in a folder and the retrieval is done in a split second.
“USB improved the efficiency of the professional because if he is looking for a particular file, he can easily download it from the USB. Unlike the hard copy, that searching takes time especially if the records are not well kept and organized. With the file in the USB, the searching takes seconds and the file can be made available so it will speed up the completion of the work especially those that are prioritized, hence it will improve efficiency tremendously”. (Hokes, 2006.)
USBs in the future will reach 128GB and even 256GB and they will still be useful even beyond twenty years from now. I presume that the USB in the future will have the transfer rate one hundred times faster than today and will be one hundred percent reliable storage of files and will be virus free. Hence, USB in the future will be the most reliable storage, library and archive of important information and can benefit the professionals to increase their efficiency one hundred times better than today.
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