How to use these different types of USB 3.1 ports & Optical Drive

I am checking out some Windows 10 laptops on-line
Without regard to Make/Model at this time, please help me understand these USB 3.1 ports
Ports: 1 USB Type-C 3.1 Gen 1 (data up to 5Gb/s) • 2 USB 3.1 Gen 1 (data transfer only).

USB Type-C 3.1 Gen 1 (data up to 5Gb/s)
--- What description are they?
--- How is it best used?

2 USB 3.1 Gen 1 (data transfer only)
--- What description are they?
--- How is it best used?
--- Are they limited to how they are used?
--- What does data up to 5Gb/s mean?

Some laptops don't include an optical drive. Why?
--- Could it be because Media drive: Multi-format digital media card reader can do the job of what an optical drive can do?

Guess I've been lucky with USB of the last 10+ years [at least since Win98SE which was the first to give support for USB 2.0 drivers], all the ports on a computer have been indexed so the devices would plug in only one way. USB 3.0 ports [blue centers] mostly will fall back to USB 2.0 but have seen issues with printers losing communication if plugged into USB 3. Some Thumb drives and External HDDs have issues but the last few years have been better with those.

As to power, some External HDDs provide their own supply but if in doubt or have issues I always use a Self-powered Hub to assure smooth operation.

USB 3.1 is relatively new and very little hardware to connect to it, as yet. All these USB version transitions have taken years, good thing as most people use a mix of old and new hardware.

The speed of USB is the speed of the slowest hardware component in the route, that is why it's "up to". The port itself may in theory deliver data up to 5 Gb/s. But that is meaningless for say a Mouse or a cheap USB key drive.

"Some laptops don't include an optical drive. Why?"
A lot of people have problems burning Optical Disks, thus they are auto-rejected for spurious reasons. It also adds weight and size to a Laptop. It is one of personal choice and how your Laptop is used. If it sits almost permanently on the desktop then size weight does not matter so much.

I use CDs/DVDs as another backup 4+ copies onwards, to other backups for important stuff, cheap and easy (for me anyway), my oldest disks are about 16 years old. No HDD, floppy disk has lasted that long.
An Optical Drive has no need for the speed of any of the latest iterations of USB 3.1.

Caledon Ken said:

Hi MeAndMyComputer
USB Type C is the newest USB configuration. It is fast and it does not have to be plugged in with a certain orientation.

Are you sure it is a Gen 1 and not a Gen 2.

DVD / CD are slowly going the way of the dodo. Ken

The type C that do not need a certain orientation sounds good to me.

The information I posted is from the list of specs for one of the computers I was checking out on-line.

I was wondering if optical drives are on the way out. I create system image backups using Macrium Reflect Free and use DVD-R to create their rescue media but I'll try to use the USB method next.

@Berton, you reminded me of when I had a Windows 98SE computer. I believe it was originally Windows 98 and then became 98SE probably via a Service Pack? I even extended its use by a year beyond it's EOL date and thought I was accomplishing something especially because I used safe computer practices. But I don't do that anymore, when my subsequent computers reached EOL I just moveD on to the next OS.

Helmut said:

USB 3.1 is relatively new and very little hardware to connect to it, as yet.

That makes sense to me. I'm glad I asked the questions I did because I appreciate comments on what specs computers go by in todays world.

MeAndMyComputer said:

The type C that do not need a certain orientation sounds good to me.

The information I posted is from the list of specs for one of the computers I was checking out on-line.

I was wondering if optical drives are on the way out. I create system image backups using Macrium Reflect Free and use DVD-R to create their rescue media but I'll try to use the USB method next.

As for the Optical discs/drives, could be and it's similar to floppy disks and Zip disks, insufficient capacity. But maybe the Blu-Ray will catch on with their 25GB and 50GB discs? And costs of External USB HDDs are within reach of lots of folks.

As for the cable plugs, the standard USB 2 and USB 3 plugs can go only one way but the problem is that there's a 50-50 chance the wrong way will be chosen first and some research way back showed that a person has a 90% probability of making that wrong choice first.

I just noticed a couple of my USB's have Red "alignment tabs". What are the Red ones for?