Connecting Peripherals

Modern Macintosh computers use two buses to attach the majority of peripherals. Traditionally, USB has been used for slower devices, such as keyboards and mice, while FireWire has been used for high-speed devices, such as hard drives, digital camcorders, and the like. However, with the advent of a faster USB specification, the distinction between the two buses is blurred.

USB

Although developed as an industrywide standard, the USB specification didn't take off until it premiered on the Macintosh line with the August 1998 iMac. USB was originally intended for slower, less demanding peripherals such as input devices, but in a pinch it can connect disk drives and cameras to the Mac.

USB supports up to 127 devices on one bus, ...

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