Quiz Of The Week: To USB Or Not To USB

This week the standard for the USB Type-C cable was finalised, meaning that electronics that support a smaller, reversible connectors could be released fairly soon.

It is the latest stage in evolution of connector technology that powers so many of our favourite gadgets, including mobile phones and cameras, while USB Flash Drives have replaced virtually every other kind of portable storage devices, from floppy disks to rewritable CDs and DVDs.

The USP of USB

Over the years, the amount of electricity that a USB cable can carry has increased to the point that the new standard will be able to supply 100MW – enough to power a laptop – while it will also offer data speed transfers of up to 10Gbps.

It is expected that the MicroUSB version of the standard is set to be adopted by the European Union for a smartphone charger, something that might annoy Apple which has so far resisted adopting USB and instead promotes its own proprietary connector called Lightning.

But what do you know about this influential and ubiquitous technology?

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