USB Battery Charging (???)

[mark4man]

What's the deal w/ USB battery charging? I bought my wife a Kodak v1233 for Christmas; & it came w/ a USB battery charger. Now...I'm a little skeptical of this...'cause I'm thinking that the charging of any battery generates heat; & I just got a new PC for the studio; & I'm not sure I want to generate any heat across the USB bus.

Am I old fashioned or unfounded in this way of thinking? Does anyone have any experience in this area?

The other thing that makes me wonder is...USB (like telephone cable) is only capable of carrying 12 volts, correct? So wouldn't it take forever to charge a battery in this way?

Any experienced feedback would be helpful.

Thanks,

mark4man