USB Cable Pin Functions

Function Pin # Pin # Function VCC 1 1 Cable Power Data- 2 2 Negative Data Path Data+ 3 3 Positive Data Path GND 4 4 Cable Ground

Intel to launch standalone USB 3.0 controller this year?

Although dozens of SuperSpeed USB-equipped products have already stormed out of the gates, the interface's adoption rate has been partially restricted by a lack of native support from Intel. Rumors stretching back to last year suggested that the company wouldn't build chipsets with integrated USB 3.0 support until 2011 or later -- but what about a standalone controller? Industry sources cited by DigiTimes say that the chipmaker plans to launch precisely that, and it should arrive this year.

NEC has been the primary supplier of USB 3.0 controllers, having started volume shipments last September, while companies like VIA and ASMedia have recently joined the market. With Intel entering the picture, USB 3.0 driver ICs should fall in price and the transition should speed up, according to the sources.

Of the 60-plus devices currently outfitted with the latest USB spec, many of them are motherboards, and they're selling pretty well. For instance, Gigabyte has reportedly shipped one million mainboards with USB 3.0, accounting for a third of NEC's controller sales. Have you purchased any SuperSpeed USB-enabled hardware yet?

Victorinox intros unhackable, self-destructible USB drive

Victorinox, known for making Swiss Army Knives, has announced a new "unhackable" USB flash drive that MacGyver would be proud to own. Claimed to be the best of its kind, the Secure Pro drive uses several layers of security, including AES256 encryption, and fingerprint identification with a thermal sensor -- you know, in case someone's desperate enough to lop off your pointer.

 

If that weren't enough, the drive is also "tamper-proof" and any attempt to open it by force triggers a self-destruct mechanism that irrevocably burns its CPU and memory chip. During the Secure Pro's two-hour launch event, Victorinox challenged a team of professional hackers to break in for a prize of £100,000 -- a sum that went uncollected.
The Secure Pro drive is available in three capacities ranging from 8GB (£50) to 32GB (£180), which also includes a built-in LED light, as well as a retractable ballpoint pen, blade, scissors, nail file, screw driver, and a key ring.