Ports Continued (visual)

The USB port (or Universal Serial Bus) is probably the most used port out ther today. It is used for anything from printers to USB flash drives. It has two versions USB 1.1 and USB 2.0. The only real difference between the two versions is the speed: USB 2.0 is about 40 times faster the 1.1. Since all USB transfers go through the computer's processor, USB ends up being significantly slower then FireWire during data transfers. Look for the USB symbol to find the ports. To see the different plugs of USB cords click here.

The Ethernet port is used for networking computers together, but for a lot of consumers out there it is primarily used to connect to a DSL router for internet. The Ethernet cable is very similar to a phone cable, but the connection is just a little wider. Phone lines will not fit in the ethernet port gracefully, and ethernet will not fit in a phone jack at all.

FireWire ports come in a few different varieties: FireWire 400 4-pin, FireWire 400 6-pin, and FireWire 800 9-pin. To easily find firewire ports look for its symbol. FireWire is also known as IEEE 1394 (the 4-pin connection is sometimes called i.Link ©Sony). 6-pin and 9-pin cords carry power and data while the 4-pin cord carries only data. FireWire does not use the processor during data transfer so it is ideal for external hard drives and video cameras. FireWire 800 is twice as fast as FireWire 400. It is not used in keyboards, mice, and other low power devices due to its expense and no need for data rates faster then what USB provides. Firewire can but is rarely used for networking computers.