To define the cables, connectors and communication protocols used in a bus for connecting, communicating and providing power supply between computers and other devices, an industry standard called the Universal Serial Bus (USB) was developed in the mid 90s. USB standardized the connection of the computer peripherals like keyboards, printers, digital cameras, external hard drives and even smart phones and gaming consoles; thereby replacing old interfaces like parallel ports and separate power chargers.
A USB cable has two connectors, one which is mounted on the host or the device the other attached to the cable. The former is called the receptacle, popularly referred to as 'female' and the latter is called the plug or the 'male'. USB connectors are also classified as Type A and Type B. Type A connectors are mounted on host devices or the ones supplying power, where as Type B go on target devices or the ones that receive power. But with the arrival of multi-purpose USB connections (like in smart phones and Wi-Fi routers) A-to-A and B-to-B connections are also possible.
Besides, there are several versions of USB standard that need to be taken in account. USB 1.1 was the first acceptable version after many changes were made to USB 1.0. USB 1.0 had certain problems like it did not allow for extension cables or pass through monitors as there were limitations of power and timing. These limitations were rectified by version 1.1.
USB 2.0 or the Hi-Speed provides a higher maximum signalling rate of 480 Mbit/s as compared to version 1.0 which provided only 12 Mbit/s signalling rate. Then comes the USB 3.0 which was introduced with the aim of increasing data transfer rate, decreasing power consumption, increasing power output and also to be backwards-compatible with USB 2.0. This version is also called Super Speed due to higher speed than version 2.
Now if you have 1 ft USB cable it is most likely to be 1 ft USB2.0 cable Type A male to Type B male. This means it'll connect your hub or PC to your USB device like a printer or scanner. With version 2.0 it is going to provide you a maximum speed of 480 Mbit/s.
Where as a 10 ft USB cable, if it is A male type to B male type, would be similar to the 1 ft cable, just longer where a longer chord is required. But it could also be A male type to A male type which is used to connect your computer to any peripheral device that require an A-Male device connection.
As long as you put the right connector in the right chord, rest would take care of itself.
A USB cable has two connectors, one which is mounted on the host or the device the other attached to the cable. The former is called the receptacle, popularly referred to as 'female' and the latter is called the plug or the 'male'. USB connectors are also classified as Type A and Type B. Type A connectors are mounted on host devices or the ones supplying power, where as Type B go on target devices or the ones that receive power. But with the arrival of multi-purpose USB connections (like in smart phones and Wi-Fi routers) A-to-A and B-to-B connections are also possible.
Besides, there are several versions of USB standard that need to be taken in account. USB 1.1 was the first acceptable version after many changes were made to USB 1.0. USB 1.0 had certain problems like it did not allow for extension cables or pass through monitors as there were limitations of power and timing. These limitations were rectified by version 1.1.
USB 2.0 or the Hi-Speed provides a higher maximum signalling rate of 480 Mbit/s as compared to version 1.0 which provided only 12 Mbit/s signalling rate. Then comes the USB 3.0 which was introduced with the aim of increasing data transfer rate, decreasing power consumption, increasing power output and also to be backwards-compatible with USB 2.0. This version is also called Super Speed due to higher speed than version 2.
Now if you have 1 ft USB cable it is most likely to be 1 ft USB2.0 cable Type A male to Type B male. This means it'll connect your hub or PC to your USB device like a printer or scanner. With version 2.0 it is going to provide you a maximum speed of 480 Mbit/s.
Where as a 10 ft USB cable, if it is A male type to B male type, would be similar to the 1 ft cable, just longer where a longer chord is required. But it could also be A male type to A male type which is used to connect your computer to any peripheral device that require an A-Male device connection.
As long as you put the right connector in the right chord, rest would take care of itself.
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