AMD pushes USB 3.0

USB will be getting an upgrade in 2009 as we move to the USB 3.0 standard. This will improve the speed up to ten times faster than USB 2.0. That is approximately 4.8 gigabits per second, or about 600 Megabytes per second (USB 2.0 runs up to 480 Mbit/s). It will even surpass current Firewire standards (The Firewire 800 standard can run up to 3.2 Gigabits per second).

Intel has been controlling the specification and so far is not giving the new technology to any competetor. An unofficial AMD source announced they are working on their own USB standard. It will be an "open" specification, but an Nvidia representative says it will also be "productized".

What does this mean? Simply put we might see "Intel USB" and "AMD USB" - and the remote possibility that they won't work with one another. The greatest part about the USB standard was that we could use it on any PC - whether Intel, AMD or other - on an Apple product or any other device that contains the standard.

It's items like this where universal standardization should be implemented. We don't need these standards "segregated but equal". It hurts production - especially for the independent companies that make USB peripherals. Will your Intel USB 3.0 Flash drive work properly on an AMD USB 3.0, or will it corrupt your data?

Opening the USB standard is key if we want to continue using it. No one company should be able to "hoard" the technology. After all, "Open Productization". Is that an Oxymoron, or what?

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