Cable Enabler: Part Deux

I have a nagging feeling I've forgotten something. Oh, yes, that's right. I promised you two articles on cables. In my first cable article, I discussed all the AV cables you can connect to your Xbox 360™ console. In this article, I'll cover everything else.

Left to right: USB, Ethernet, power.

USB
USB (Universal Serial Bus) has become the most common connector for PC devices. Just about any PC peripheral you can think of has a USB connector: mice, keyboards, cameras, portable media players. If you have a device that connects to a PC, it is probably USB.

Not to be outdone, your Xbox 360 console also uses USB to connect controllers and other devices. The console has three USB ports: two in front and one in the back. The following devices have a USB connection and can be plugged into your console:

• Xbox 360 Controller
• Xbox 360 Play & Charge Kit
• Xbox 360 Wireless Networking Adapter
• Xbox Live Vision camera
• USB mass storage devices
• Portable music players
• Digital cameras
• USB keyboard

You probably already know about the first three items on the list, and you may have heard that Xbox Live® Vision is coming soon. But what about storage devices, music players, and cameras? Xbox 360 supports many media devices, so you can just plug them in to listen to music or view pictures directly from your device. Pretty nifty, huh?

As for the USB keyboard, you can plug one into your console to make writing messages a breeze, or simplify text input in games. Keyboard text input is probably one of the best unsung features of the console. If you've ever entered a WEP key using the controller, you know what I'm talking about.

Ethernet
To many of us, a high-speed Internet connection and its attendant cabling seem ubiquitous; that is, it's everywhere. We often forget, as happy consumers of broadband, that not everyone has a home network or has used an Ethernet cable. So, here's a quick primer.

An Ethernet cable, also known as CAT5 (or, more recently, CAT5E) is the most common cabling for office and home networks. For Xbox 360, one end plugs into your console, and the other plugs into a router or other network equipment. The connector at each end is known as an RJ-45 connector.

The reason I bring up RJ-45 is that it can be confused with a similar-looking connector called RJ-11. If you don't think you know what that is, think again. RJ-11 is just the techie name for the connector at the end of your regular, mundane, run-of-the-mill phone cord. How do you tell the difference? Simple. RJ-45 is wider than RJ-11, with more pins (most home RJ-11 connectors have just four pins, while RJ-45 has eight).

Left: RJ-45; right: RJ-11.

Now, before you start saying, "But Elle, I have fiber in my house," or "I'm using HPNA," remember, I'm talking about the typical home network. Yes, there are myriad network setups out there, and if you know what that's all about, then you don't need me to explain it.

Another use for Ethernet cables: you can use them to connect two consoles together. On original Xbox®, this setup was known as "system link" and required a special network cable called a "crossover cable." I am happy to report that on Xbox 360, you no longer need this crossover cable to connect two consoles together. Xbox 360 has the switching capability to do the job with a regular "straight-through" Ethernet cable.

Power
Just to round out the set of things you can plug into your Xbox 360 console, you have, of course, your power cable and power supply. The power supply has a permanently-attached cable that connects to your Xbox 360 console using a special connector. On the other side of the power supply is a detachable cord that plugs into an electrical outlet. Not much else to say about it, really. There's not much to get confused about; you just plug it in and it works.

Anything Else?
So, there you have it, a brief overview of the stuff you can plug into your Xbox 360 console. If any of this piques your interest, check out:

• Xbox 360 Accessories
• USB.org
• Wikipedia: Ethernet
• Wikipedia: RJ45

Article by Elle