Braided USB Cable

I was doing a little research about this. In some articles (that I could only find regarding cables in general) I couldn't tell what they were meaning by "braided", were they talking about the insides of the cable or an exterior sheath? I'm interested to find out about exterior braiding.

Specifically about this item: http://www.amazon.com/USB-Cable-Sing...3338514&sr=8-3

This Sony USB cable is "braided" in that instead of having a smooth, rubber exterior, it has braided shielding, but what is the braid made of? At first I thought it was like a fabric-like braiding (don't laugh ) but looking at it more closely, it seems to be like a shiny plastic or metal...though can't tell exactly. Generally speaking, when USB cables are "braided" like this, what substance are they braided with? This, to me, is an important factor in my decision to stick with rubber or "braided" cables.

Thanks!

Copper or aluminum, and it's COMPLETELY useless. USB doesn't have a high enough transfer rate to need shielding.

I'll second that - a while ago I worked on a project where part of the team were looking at USB as a low cost bus for some parts of an aircraft (where EMI is a big concern). On the ground (especially with < USB 3.0) the twisted pair wiring is good enough without a shield . Save your pennies and just go for a decent quality, but cheaper USB cable - should only cost a few £/$ and will work just the same.

Is that a married man posting?

Not yet! He's taking the proverbial plunge in a couple of weeks. We'll know when his future posts end with the following... Yes Dear! I'll be right there!.