Full Speed Ahead Into This Port
I’ve been writing about computers for more than 15 years, and I’m frequently asked, “Is this a good time to buy a computer or should I wait?” My answer has always been the same: If you need a PC now, then now is the time to buy.
That advice still holds if you need a machine right away, but after attending the giant Comdex computer show in Las Vegas last week, I’m now recommending that you at least pause for a moment to consider what’s coming after the first of the year. It has always been true that waiting will get you a machine that’s cheaper, more powerful, faster or all of the above. But 1997 is shaping up to be a true watershed year for PC hardware.
In January, Intel will release a new class of Pentium CPUs with MMX technology that will deliver slightly faster performance for standard applications while supercharging certain graphically intensive games and multimedia programs.
The speed improvement for word processors, spreadsheets and other typical office applications should be modest--about 10% to 15%, according to several PC makers I spoke with. The real advantage is with games, video and other applications that rely on quick rendering of graphics. The new chip, according to Intel, will also improve audio and online videoconferencing.
Several companies, including IBM and Texas Instruments, were showing prototype machines with MMX, but production units aren’t expected until January. One PC maker I spoke with expects to sell MMX-equipped machines at about the same price as similarly equipped models without MMX.
Another new development that will arrive in force next year doesn’t speed up your PC, it just makes it much easier for you to connect things to it. Called the Universal Serial Bus, or USB, it’s now available on machines from IBM, Sony, Toshiba and a handful of other vendors, and is likely to become a standard item on systems sold in 1997.
USB, a small socket or two on the back of the machine, is a new way to connect peripherals to your PC. And it is likely, over time, to replace the current method of connecting keyboards, mice, printers, modems, joysticks, scanners, backup systems, speakers and many other devices.
Today, most PCs have a parallel port that is almost always used for a printer, a keyboard port, a mouse port and--at most--two serial ports. One serial port is usually taken up by a modem, and many machines don’t even have a second port. If you want to connect a scanner or tape backup system, you’ll have to add an additional card or plug it into your parallel port, possibly interfering with your printer.
Today, to connect a peripheral, you have to crawl under the table, try to figure out which connector to use and be sure not to plug it in upside-down or break it by exerting too much pressure.
The USB eliminates these problems, making it possible to plug in as many of these devices as you need. What’s more, you won’t have to worry about what device you plug into what port. They’ll all go into the same port with a small and easy-to-use connector.
You’ll probably never run out of ports, because many devices will have two or more ports attached so you can, for example, plug your scanner and mouse into your keyboard and your tape backup system into your scanner.
Lawrence J. Magid can be reached via e-mail at magid@latimes.com. His World Wide Web page is at https://www.larrysworld.com
