Hardware Accessories Support/Windows 98 Second Edition

If your computer is running Microsoft^™ Windows^™ 98 Second Edition and you have a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port (which comes with most new computers), adding accessories to your computer, like a printer or a scanner, is easy and immediate.  When you plug in a USB-compatible accessory, Windows 98 Second Edition automatically installs and configures the necessary drivers and system resources, and it's ready to use.  When you're shopping for accessories, look for the USB connector. (See picture below.)

With USB, you can:

• Eliminate separate power cords for accessories because most USB accessories get their power through the USB connection itself.
• Work with devices on a per-device rather than a per-port basis.
• Run up to 127 accessories on a single computer.  Most USB-equipped computers come with just two connector ports. To add more than two accessories, you can buy hubs with additional ports that you can use to add multiple accessories, much like a power strip provides more electrical outlets in your home.
• Plug one accessory into another.  You can also add USB accessories through USB devices that have additional connectors. On some keyboards, for example, you can plug a USB-compatible mouse right into the USB port.
• Get speedier connections.  USB transfers data 10 times faster than the traditional serial port does.