More
USB devices, is that possible? If you’re thinking that Windows NT doesn’t
support USB you’re right, but then again, not exactly.
Although, USB is
Operating System dependent and WinNT officially does NOT support the
Universal Serial Bus, some companies are cashing in on USB for Win NT.
USB drivers that provide
limited USB support for Windows NT have been around for a couple of years.
USB for Windows NT 4.0 by
BSquare allows you to use plug-and-play USB mice, keyboards, printers, and
Pocket PC cradles (HP Jornada 545/548, Compaq iPaq and the Socket Compact Flash
card) on your Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 PC. Windows NT 4.0 users, both
enterprise users and consumers, can get off-the-shelf USB capability without
having to upgrade their operating system, use a dual boot system, or develop
device drivers. Unfortunately, the BSquare drivers do not support any other USB
devices, or hubs other than the ones listed.
IOMega was one of the first to offer USB
NT driver support for its products by way of their proprietary
IOMegaWare software package.
Other companies have
tapped into the huge market for USB in Windows NT as well and provide the
complicated drivers to allow their USB products to function on systems without a
USB driver stack or the complex USB mapping scheme that is required to run a USB
peripheral on a platform that does not natively support USB.
The following is a short
list of other USB devices that work on systems running Windows NT with Service
Pack 4 installed.
-
Freedom USB Series
by
Quatech - Win NT Drivers are available for all Serial/USB adapters.
-
HP PhotoSmart S20 Scanner by HP - Supports NT 4.0 USB with specifically
written proprietary drivers.
-
Orb Drive by
Castlewood - Win NT USB Support CC-NT40
-
Silicom Ethernet Adapter U2E
by Silicom Connectivity Solutions - USB Ethernet Adapter with
proprietary Win NT 4.0 USB drivers.
-
PortStation by
Intel (formerly a Xircom product) - Network, Parallel, Serial, PS2, USB and
Modem expansion through a single USB port with Win NT USB support.
Two new products from
M-Systems and
Inside Out Networks were added to the list of WinNT compatible USB devices
this week.
M-Systems, makers of the
DiskonKey USB flash drive has announced WinNT driver support for their brand
of USB flash disk. Flash disks provide the functionality of a mechanical hard
drive in a drive the size of a keychain fob. The tiny drives provide
instant storage when plugged into a USB port. With recent innovations that make
the DiskonKey bootable, the M-Systems flash disk is being touted as the “heir
apparent” to the old standard 1.44 floppy drive.
DiskOnKey
Inside Out Networks has
introduced the first and only USB camera with NT driver support. You may
recognize the camera as the one successfully marketed by 3COM as the
Home
Connect USB Camera. 3COM abandoned the camera, regarded by many as the best USB
camera on the market, in the Spring of 2001. A press release stated that 3Com
would refocus its strategy and concentrate on business network solutions and
products where it has leadership positions. This new focus did NOT include the
camera line and online sale of all 3COM cameras discontinued on May 31, 2001.
The reintroduced version is known simply as
Inside Out Networks USB Camera.
Inside Out Networks has been developing USB NT drivers for years and
manufacturers several USB devices with Win NT support including
Edgeport RS232 to
USB adapter,
Rapidport USB modem solution and a
USB/PCI upgrade card.
IONetworks USB Camera
With USB already “THE” PC
connectivity solution, more manufacturers should consider developing drivers for
the operating system that is still the corporate standard. After all, portable
storage and other USB devices that work fine on a home based PC really don’t
provide complete utility if the device won’t work at work. Hopefully, more
manufacturers will wake up to the vast, relatively untapped, marketing
opportunity in Win NT USB.
For more information
about this subject see the
WinNT USB Guide at
USBMan.
Jeff Roberts
USBNews
June 18, 2002
