Installing a peripheral on your PC can be highly frustrating, time-consuming process resulting in many angry mutterings. The Universal Serial Bus (USB) port, which can be found on many of the computers being sold today, promises to alleviate much, if not all, of that pain.

Like a parallel or serial port, the USB port connects peripherals to a computer. Unlike these older ports, the USB port is truly "plug and play." You no longer have to finagle with dip switches or install special cards to have the computer recognize the peripheral. Just plug in your device and the computer should do all the work in establishing a connection.

Apple computer owners may not find this terribly innovative, since "plug and play" has been available on the Mac since the early days. But they may appreciate the fact that USB devices can be hot swapped. That means that you don't need to shut down your computer to move, let's say, a scanner from one computer to another. And since you can theoretically link up to 127 devices from one port, taking the time to switch between devices is no longer an issue.

After Apple launched the iMac, which has only USB ports, manufacturers finally started producing a decent array of USB peripherals. You can now find USB-compatible scanners, digital cameras, mice, and keyboards. What's nice about these devices is that they are not much more expensive than their non-USB counterparts--if at all. And since USB works on either a PC or Mac, Mac owners will probably find that they'll have more options to consider in the future.

Although USB hard drives and CD-ROM drives are available, I'd recommend not getting one unless convenience is your primary consideration. The USB port's maximum throughput speed may not be enough to ensure top performance from these products. For a plug and play version that handles more data, you'll have to wait and see if FireWire takes off as a data-intensive plug and play connection standard.

If you want to use USB, you can either buy a computer that comes with the ports built in, install an upgrade card in your existing computer for about $40, or use an $80 converter that takes a parallel or serial port and converts it to a USB port. But keep in mind that you may need to upgrade your operating system to make it work. Although some versions of Windows 95 do support USB, unless you're computer proficient, you're better off using Windows 98 instead. Similarly, on the Mac side, you'll need MacOS 8.5 or higher to ensure the fewest problems.

The good news is that going USB doesn't mean that you need to replace all your existing non-USB peripherals. There are converters available for about $50-$80 that can make your parallel, SCSI, or serial device work with your USB connection.

With the backing of big players like Microsoft, Apple and Intel, it looks like USB is here to stay. So add these letters to your repertoire of computer-related acronyms.

Quick tips

Power provided. One nifty feature of USB ports is that they can provide enough power for some devices to run without requiring an additional power source. Hub or daisy chain. To connect multiple devices to one port, a daisy chain that links one device to the next is not your only option. USB hubs that contain multiple connections like a power strip can be used, too.