To complement the specification and enable measurement of compliance products, the USB-IF has instituted a Compliance Program that provides reasonable measures of acceptability. Products which have passed compliance testing have the rights to use the USB-IF certified logo, and offer the consumer a degree of certainty that this product will function as expected, with no undesired surprises. Please check www.usb.org/developers/compliance for more information on compliance testing. Recently a number of independent test labs have recently been certified to test all USB devices at all speeds, as well as full-speed (so-called "1.1") hosts and hubs. A complete discussion of the test labs and their capabilities may be found at www.usb.org/developers/compliance/labs.html. Hi-speed hosts, hubs, and devices using silicon that has not been certified are still tested at the Peripheral Integration Lab. Contact for details and scheduling information.

Winner: "Hi-Speed USB 2.0 for Technical Excellence"!

PC Magazine has bestowed the Eighteenth Annual Award for Technical Excellence to USB 2.0 in the Specifications category. This award is given to innovators who have found new solutions to old problems. USB 2.0 was selected for this honor because of the common interface it provides and the high data transfer rate. Please see www.usb.org for more details.

CNET's 'Best Emerging Technology' award goes to USB 2.0 at PC Expo

In the area of Best Emerging Technology, CNET's award goes to USB 2.0. This award does not go to any one company but to all of the industry pioneers that recognize the value of this new standard. The factors that make USB 2.0 so promising are its speed, its backward compatibility with USB 1.1, and its broad industry support. Please see www.usb.org/press/ for more details.

Hi-speed USB 2.0 peripherals are hitting critical mass during the 2001 Holiday shopping season. See the latest list of peripherals at http://www.usb.org/data/channel in the USB Buyer Information area.

Hi-Speed USB 2.0 drivers are ready. Windows XP drivers are available now, via Windows Update. 2000 Beta drivers are currently available with final drivers expected soon. For other Windows drivers (98, 98SE, ME), you will need to work with 3rd party vendors such as Orange Micro, and Adaptec.