The specs have been announced - you can transfer a cow in about five seconds

The USB 2.0 Promoter group, which consists of industry veterans Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Lucent, Microsoft, NEC and Philips, have announced the target speed of the next USB format, and it's really fast. According to the group, USB 2.0 will be 40 times faster than the already-blazing USB 1.1, running at 480 Megabits per second. By comparison, current FireWire (IEEE-1394) runs at up to 400 Megabits, though a faster version of the technology is expected next year. USB 2.0 will be backwardly compatible, however, so existing peripherals and systems will work perfectly with the new technology.

For the most part, USB 2.0 will make the largest difference on hard drives, digital cameras and video editing utilities, which rely on clean, fast transfer rates. For the rest of us, it just means bigger, faster, better and more. But don't get too excited - remember that this is just the announcement of the specs, not of the development. USB 2.0 products won't see the light of day until at least the middle of next year.


Courtesy of IGN.com