Yesterday afternoon Microsoft posted on its Building Windows 8 blog—always a momentous happening—this time announcing native Windows 8 support for the USB 3.0 hardware connection standard. Microsoft's Dennis Flanagan, the Director of Program Management for the Devices and Networking group, wrote that at up ot 5GB per second, USB 3.0's data rate was ten times faster than that of USB 2.0. He also notes that the newer standard's improved power management features have positive implications for battery life on laptops and tablets.