Will USB 2.0 handle older USB devices without problems?

To use Fire Wire or I-link for Sony or 1394 to Engineers costs money in royalties. USB 2.0 does not. PC and device Manufacturers wanted a non Royalty high speed connection. The Cnet article says $1 a port which is huge but that was in 1999 the other article says $0.25 per device which is still huge as these sorts of things go.

http://news.com.com/2100-1040-220209.html?legacy=cnet
http://www.1394la.com/f_qa.html

I don’t want to carry this pissing contests any further, but I was intrigued by that remark.
How on earth does it work? Is the voltage somehow regulated on the host side, to an unspecified level? Seems mighty dodgy to me!

To me 9V sounds high, and 40V astronomical, considering todays sensitive electronics.

Also 1.5A sounds borderline on those tiny connectors, but I guess it is feasible.

Have you got any cites to back up the claim?

The spec does call for increasing the bus power voltage is the device requires more power. A device should be able to enumerate at 7.5V but can negotiate for more voltage.

USB always gives 5V ± .5V and you can negotiate for more current.

http://www.1394ta.com/Download/Technology/Specifications/TA_1999001-1.pdf

I don’t have any figures at my fingertips, but figure that digital camcorders are replacing analog ones, HDTV is on the horizon, people are snapping up widescreen home theater systems, and DVD burners are starting to take off. Seems to me like there’s definitely a growing interest in making your own high-quality digital video stuff (home movies, TV show archives, etc.), just as the advent of the VCR led to a growth in analog home-video editing.

Just because not everyone uses it now doesn’t mean there won’t be a market for it in the future; look at CD-burners, for instance.

I believe it was initially $1 per device (unlimited number of ports), but that got negotiated down to $0.25 per device once folks complained about it.

And IMO, Intel is pushing USB 2.0 because they want to use it to drive sales of their CPUs, which have USB built in. If folks use Firewire for broadband tasks instead, that makes it easier for them to switch to an Athlon or AMD instead.

Thank you gazpacho, for helping to eradicate ignorance!

I would never have guessed, that the nodes can actually negociate the voltage. These new-fangled gadgets!

Pardon? I don’t think so. USB support is a function of the motherboard and chipset being used. It is NOT built into the processor.

Quar

Well, if you want to try 2.0 out IO Gear USB 2.0 PCI Card for only $9.95 after $10 rebate.