The trade group responsible for marketing the USB peripheral interface has given the older 1.1 specification a speed-boost -simply by changing its name.

Of course 1.1, superseded by the much speedier 2.0 specification, hasn't really got any faster. But the USB Implementors Forum (USB-IF) has decided that vendors can describe USB 1.1 ports as USB 2.0 ports.

USB 2.0 was never intended to be branded with a version number. Instead, the USB-IF dubbed it 'Hi-speed USB'. USB 1.1 was to be known as plain old 'USB'. Manufacturers have nevertheless insisted on sticking with the version numbers, which is what seems to have cause all the trouble.

Apparently consumers were shunning older models.

"I now understand the new full-speed and high-speed naming, but what is going to happen when USB 3.0 is released? Is it going to be 'Really High Speed'?," asks an editorial in GeekNews

It's not the first bit of semantic ethnic cleansing we've seen this year. A handful of vendors have hijacked the 4G bandwagon, hoping that this will put them in the driving seat when the real 4G specification is passed. ®