Well PassWolf (and you newbie lurkers!
)
1. UTP cabling has 8 wires inside the jacketing - 2 transmit and 2 receive - when connecting two devices directly you need these 4 wires to line up in the other devices jack oppositely so you switch their places on one end and a baby crossover is born!
2. generally, I think most would say "standard" refers to a straight cable
3. both cables carry data the same but the difference is just the arrangement of the wires