This port helps computer users transfer large amounts of data very quickly. Usually camcorders and other video equipment use this port to get data onto a computer. Data can move across the port at up to 400 megabits per second. Apple invented this technology and called it FireWire. This technology was also adopted as an […]
Question: Can you give me a run-through of the different kinds of ports on the back of computer? I run Windows 98 on a Pentium II 400 MHz computer. —Ray Answer: Elsewhere, we’ve covered what USB, serial, and parallel ports are. You might want to check out that column titled Computer Ports and Connectors: A […]
A modem port (shown below) looks like a standard North American telephone jack. It connects an internal modem to a telephone line. A modem (for those who are new to the computer world) is used to connect a computer to the Internet by making a data call over phone lines to an Internet Service Provider […]
For faster Internet connections and for networking, an Ethernet port (or “network port”) is used. It looks like an extra-wide North American telephone jack but it has 8 pins instead of the phone cord’s 4 pins. Be careful not to plug a phone cord into an Ethernet port. The first picture below shows the Ethernet/network […]
A PS/2 port, sometimes called a mouse port, was developed by IBM. It connects a computer mouse or keyboard. Most computers come with two PS/2 ports. Sometimes webcams piggyback on the ports in conjunction with a parallel port. Many new mice and keyboards use USB connectors instead of PS/2 connectors and are plugged into USB […]