Chapter 11. Ports

No computer has everything you need built in to it. The computer gains its power from what you connect to it—its peripherals. Somehow your computer must be able to send data to its peripherals. It needs to connect, and it makes its connections through its ports.

Today's computers include two or three of these modern interfaces. Those that you're likely to encounter include Universal Serial Bus (USB), today's general-purpose choice; FireWire, most popular as a digital video interface; IrDA, a wireless connection most often used for beaming data between handheld computers; Bluetooth, a radio-based networking system most suited for voice equipment; legacy serial ports, used by a variety of slower devices such as external modems, ...

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