{"video_id":"cnDyon0nqes","title":"Why Isn't USB Wireless?","channel":"Techquickie","show":"Techquickie","published_at":"2022-05-05T14:58:16Z","duration_s":293,"segments":[{"start_s":0.0,"end_s":6.72,"text":"USB connects everything from keyboards to crypto wallets to those little nerf turds that you can use to repel your co-workers","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":6.84,"end_s":13.88,"text":"So with it having so many common lightweight applications, why hasn't it just gone fully wireless as it turns out?","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":13.88,"end_s":17.56,"text":"There was an effort to do just that all the way back in the mid","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":17.8,"end_s":25.52,"text":"2000s there was an official standard developed simply called wireless USB and the idea was to come out with a whole bunch of devices","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":25.52,"end_s":29.12,"text":"That would simply work with computers that had wireless USB","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":29.44,"end_s":36.48,"text":"Transponders built in so we're not talking about using a dongle where the actual device that you're trying to use such as a mouse is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":36.6,"end_s":41.32,"text":"Not actually handling the USB signal itself This was supposed to be native","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":41.64,"end_s":46.16,"text":"Wireless USB was designed to be as close as possible to wired USB","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":46.28,"end_s":53.44,"text":"Just without the wires the protocols over which the signals were sent were very similar to how traditional USB communicates meaning","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":53.56,"end_s":60.28,"text":"Wide compatibility with many devices should have been less of a challenge compared to introducing an entirely new standard","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":60.28,"end_s":65.6,"text":"Of course wireless communication is nearly always slower than a wired equivalent","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":65.6,"end_s":69.96,"text":"Just compare your home Wi-Fi to a PC connected via Ethernet if you don't believe me","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":70.24,"end_s":75.88,"text":"But wireless USB was supposed to provide speeds pretty darn close to USB 2.0","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":75.96,"end_s":81.88,"text":"Which was the dominant USB revision when the first wireless USB products hit the market in 2007","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":82.64,"end_s":89.76,"text":"Specifically it had a maximum of 480 megabits per second the same as USB 2.0 from 3 meters away","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":89.76,"end_s":98.0,"text":"That's 10 feet for our American friends But it would also still operate at up to 110 megabits from 10 meters away","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":98.0,"end_s":101.52,"text":"Meaning that you could still reach a peripheral in another room like a printer and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":102.04,"end_s":106.32,"text":"Wireless USB didn't even need a direct line of sight between connected devices","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":106.32,"end_s":110.6,"text":"Thanks to the fact that it used a fairly low frequency that could penetrate objects and walls","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":110.88,"end_s":116.84,"text":"Kind of like Wi-Fi with lots of big industry players involved in trying to make this new untangled world of reality","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":117.04,"end_s":123.52,"text":"Including HP, Intel, Samsung and Microsoft a wireless future seemed assured and yet","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":124.56,"end_s":131.04,"text":"It never happened Probably the biggest reason that wireless USB failed is that it was late to the wireless party","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":131.32,"end_s":134.96,"text":"Although the industry started working on the standard back in 2004","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":135.72,"end_s":144.04,"text":"Device makers had to get permission to use certain frequencies from communications authorities and that approval process took time as it often does with government","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":144.12,"end_s":150.28,"text":"bureaucracy by the time wireless USB gadgets started appearing then the convenience that they were supposed to enable was","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":151.0,"end_s":156.52,"text":"Pretty much already taken care of by Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Take our printer example","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":156.96,"end_s":163.84,"text":"Why is wireless USB necessary when you could just connect your printer to a Wi-Fi network that has significantly greater range?","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":164.04,"end_s":167.2,"text":"Or let's say you're trying to connect a wireless display","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":167.48,"end_s":174.44,"text":"Intel's Y die was already a thing by the time wireless USB came out and as the name implied it used Wi-Fi direct","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":174.44,"end_s":180.0,"text":"Which later evolved to support faster speeds at longer ranges than wireless USB could","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":180.56,"end_s":184.08,"text":"Wireless USB was also touted as something that could be useful for storage","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":184.08,"end_s":191.2,"text":"But unfortunately it also came out right around the time that internet connected cloud storage was starting to gain traction","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":191.24,"end_s":196.16,"text":"And people were more drawn to having their smart phones sync their photos with the cloud or","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":196.76,"end_s":201.12,"text":"Upload them to social rather than mess around with storing them on their own hard drives","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":201.32,"end_s":208.28,"text":"But regardless of the specific use cases it was going to cost PC manufacturers more money to put wireless USB","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":208.6,"end_s":216.0,"text":"Transponders inside their machines and there just wasn't much incentive to do it if everyone was just gonna use alternative technologies anyway","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":216.0,"end_s":220.58,"text":"I mean heck one of those alternatives was none other than USB","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":221.24,"end_s":227.08,"text":"3.0 which ran at 5 gigabit per second much faster than both wireless USB and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":227.4,"end_s":232.24,"text":"Even Wi-Fi for that matter so if you really needed that extra speed for quick file transfers","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":232.24,"end_s":238.48,"text":"You were gonna be using a cord anyway so wireless USB was quickly relegated to the dustbin of tech history and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":238.8,"end_s":247.4,"text":"Maybe one day it'll make a comeback But until then we can admire Apple's pioneering work in giving consumers as few ports as they possibly can","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":247.48,"end_s":251.08,"text":"If you guys enjoyed this video go ahead and give it a like if you didn't well","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":251.08,"end_s":257.88,"text":"Hey, there's that other button not that you'll know if anybody used it Leave a comment if you have a suggestion for a future fast as possible and don't forget to subscribe","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0}],"full_text":"USB connects everything from keyboards to crypto wallets to those little nerf turds that you can use to repel your co-workers So with it having so many common lightweight applications, why hasn't it just gone fully wireless as it turns out? There was an effort to do just that all the way back in the mid 2000s there was an official standard developed simply called wireless USB and the idea was to come out with a whole bunch of devices That would simply work with computers that had wireless USB Transponders built in so we're not talking about using a dongle where the actual device that you're trying to use such as a mouse is Not actually handling the USB signal itself This was supposed to be native Wireless USB was designed to be as close as possible to wired USB Just without the wires the protocols over which the signals were sent were very similar to how traditional USB communicates meaning Wide compatibility with many devices should have been less of a challenge compared to introducing an entirely new standard Of course wireless communication is nearly always slower than a wired equivalent Just compare your home Wi-Fi to a PC connected via Ethernet if you don't believe me But wireless USB was supposed to provide speeds pretty darn close to USB 2.0 Which was the dominant USB revision when the first wireless USB products hit the market in 2007 Specifically it had a maximum of 480 megabits per second the same as USB 2.0 from 3 meters away That's 10 feet for our American friends But it would also still operate at up to 110 megabits from 10 meters away Meaning that you could still reach a peripheral in another room like a printer and Wireless USB didn't even need a direct line of sight between connected devices Thanks to the fact that it used a fairly low frequency that could penetrate objects and walls Kind of like Wi-Fi with lots of big industry players involved in trying to make this new untangled world of reality Including HP, Intel, Samsung and Microsoft a wireless future seemed assured and yet It never happened Probably the biggest reason that wireless USB failed is that it was late to the wireless party Although the industry started working on the standard back in 2004 Device makers had to get permission to use certain frequencies from communications authorities and that approval process took time as it often does with government bureaucracy by the time wireless USB gadgets started appearing then the convenience that they were supposed to enable was Pretty much already taken care of by Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Take our printer example Why is wireless USB necessary when you could just connect your printer to a Wi-Fi network that has significantly greater range? Or let's say you're trying to connect a wireless display Intel's Y die was already a thing by the time wireless USB came out and as the name implied it used Wi-Fi direct Which later evolved to support faster speeds at longer ranges than wireless USB could Wireless USB was also touted as something that could be useful for storage But unfortunately it also came out right around the time that internet connected cloud storage was starting to gain traction And people were more drawn to having their smart phones sync their photos with the cloud or Upload them to social rather than mess around with storing them on their own hard drives But regardless of the specific use cases it was going to cost PC manufacturers more money to put wireless USB Transponders inside their machines and there just wasn't much incentive to do it if everyone was just gonna use alternative technologies anyway I mean heck one of those alternatives was none other than USB 3.0 which ran at 5 gigabit per second much faster than both wireless USB and Even Wi-Fi for that matter so if you really needed that extra speed for quick file transfers You were gonna be using a cord anyway so wireless USB was quickly relegated to the dustbin of tech history and Maybe one day it'll make a comeback But until then we can admire Apple's pioneering work in giving consumers as few ports as they possibly can If you guys enjoyed this video go ahead and give it a like if you didn't well Hey, there's that other button not that you'll know if anybody used it Leave a comment if you have a suggestion for a future fast as possible and don't forget to subscribe"}