FireWire:įireWire (also known as IEEE 1394) is a technology for connecting compatible devices.

Three styles of USB connectors are available: the standard rectangular one you find on your Mac the trapezoid-shaped mini-connector that some digital cameras and hard drives rely on, and the tiny Micro-USB connector that you would use with a modern Kindle reader.

USB is backward-compatible, so you can use a device designed for USB 2.0 in combination with another device using USB 3.0 ports. Newer versions of USB are faster than their predecessors. The main difference between them is speed. There have been three major working USB specifications-USB 1.1, USB 2.0, and USB 3.0. USB can also deliver power to devices that don’t demand a lot of the stuff.Ī regular USB connector appears at one end of this cable (the upper end in the photo), and a Micro-USB connector appears at the other end. You’ll find USB connectors on computers, keyboards, pointing devices (mice and trackpads), digital cameras, camcorders, printers, portable media players (such as iPhones, iPods, and iPads), hard drives, network adapters, AV receivers, hubs, music keyboards, microphones, headphones, and just about any other device that can be attached to a computer. This connection standard supports the transfer of data between devices and their peripherals. Below, I discuss the technologies that support such connections. We routinely attach things like printers, cameras, and external hard drives to it. Connecting computers to peripheralsįor many of us, our Mac isn’t a one-stop shop. Let’s rectify that now with a meander through some common tech terms. But with the gentle persuasion of this column’s readers, I’ve come to realize that-all too often-terms and acronyms that many of us take for granted leave users new to technology scratching their heads. Throughout the life of Mac 101, we’ve talked a lot about Apple technologies and terms.

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