CeBIT 2000 Hall Nine at CeBIT is the noisiest place in Hannover, and also the most crowded, with firms like 3dfx demonstrating their wares at ear-numbing decibels. Right at the front of the show, there is a large area devoted to smaller companies from Taiwan, with many showing the elements that make up a PC (such as cases and power supplies), and others demonstrating peripherals from the island. It appears that some of these firms still wish to emulate the iMac look-and-feel, with plenty showing cases, keyboards and speakers with that transparent, highly coloured Maccy feel about them. Concept PCs were, however, pretty thin on the ground. On show from these vendors was a vast array of USB hubs and devices, so we thought it worthwhile to ask when we could expect to see peripherals for USB 2.0, which Intel promoted heavily at its Developer Forum a fortnight ago. "The specification hasn't been finished yet," said one Taiwanese vendor. "It's likely that the specification for 2.0 will not be completed for another two to three months, with peripherals arriving later on this year." That was the consensus from other Taiwanese USB vendors too, who hoped, but were sceptical, that the specifications would be complete sooner rather than later, so they could exhibit their wares to buyers at Computex 2000, the Taiwanese trade show held in June. ® CeBIT 2000: Full Coverage