Basic Peripheral Ports

The functionality of modern computers can often be extended by connecting external devices to its peripheral input and output (I/O) ports. Most modern Apple computers contain most if not all of the following ports: sound in, sound out, FireWire, modem, USB and Ethernet. Of all of these ports, USB is the most versatile and will be discussed next.

USB stands for Universal Serial Bus is common to all Macs since the original iMac was released. Being the most versatile I/O port, USB allows us to connect a wide range of devices from keyboards and mice, to printers, scanners, security devices, cameras and even speakers. USB devices are hot-swapable meaning that they can be connected and disconnected why the power of the computer is still on. Many ports based around older technology require that the computer be shut down before connecting new devices to the port.

USB also includes other advances including speed increases (12Mbps for USB 1.1 and 480Mbps for USB 2.0), increased daisy chain lengths, the ability to use hubs similar to networking technology, standardized plugs, the ability to provide power to some devices, and dynamic loading and unloading of device drivers.

FireWire ports are another type of I/O ports that you will find on all modern Macintosh computers. It is also known as IEEE1394 and iLink. While similar to USB in that it is hot-swapable, FireWire is generally reserved for high bandwidth devices. FireWire, like USB comes in two speeds, FireWire 400 and FireWire 800. The numbers refer to their respective bandwidth in Mbps. Common devices which use this interface include external hard drives, digital video cameras, iPods, and external DVD burners.