| A | B |
|---|
| 6-pin mini-DIN | keyboard and mouse connectors introduced on the IBM PS/2; also known as PS/2 connector. |
| Bluetooth | a short-range wireless technology that allows computer and internet devices to talk to each other; these devices must comply with the Bluetooth Special Interests Groups testing. |
| Centronics interface | 36-pin connector used on the parallel printers and cables |
| Coax | connectors for cable TV connections |
| DB-25 | male port on older PC's for serial connector; female port is printer port LPT1. |
| DB-9 | male port is COM1 connector on PC |
| ECP | Extended Capabilities Portstandard for parallel ports for bi-directional printer communication and is about 10 times faster than the Centronics standard. |
| EPP | Enhanced Parallel Port; standard for parallel ports for bi-directional non-printer communication and is about 10 times faster than the Centronics standard. |
| Female connector | connector that has holes or sockets |
| Firmware | the IEEE 1394 standard for transferring digital audio and video at speeds of up to 400 Mbps; used mostly in digital cameras. |
| Gender changer | type of connector that allows the conversion from a male port to a female port or vice versa |
| Hot-swapping | the ability to add or remove a component from a computer while the power is on |
| IEEE 1394 | Firewire; the standard for transferring digital audio and video at speeds of up to 400 Mbps; used mostly in digital cameras |
| IEEE 1394b | Firewire 800; supports transfers up to 800 Mbps. |
| IEEE 802.11b | also known as Wi-Fi; provides 11Mbps transmission in the 2.4 GHz band. |
| IEEE 802.11g | provides 20+ Mbps transmission in the 2.4 GHz band |
| Infrared | wireless transmission needing an unobstructed line of sight between sending and receiving devices, like a television remote control |
| Male connector | connector that has pins |
| MIDI | Musical Instrument Digital Interface; standard for exchanging musical data between music instruments and computers. |
| Mini-jack connector | 1/8" connectors for line-in, line-out, and MIC on the sound card |
| Parallel | transmits 8 bits side by side at the same time |
| PS/2 | the 6-pin miniDIN ports for the keyboard and mouse |
| RCA connector | connectors color coded with red, white, and yellow for connecting video devices with TV's or VCR's generally |
| RF | Radio Frequency; wireless transmission in which electromagnetic waves can be created by alternating current and sent through an antenna. |
| S/PDIF | Sony/Phillips Digital Interface; connector found on many CD and DVD drives for connecting to a sound card. |
| Serial | transmits 1 bit at a time |
| SPP | Standard Parallel Port; older Centronics standard for parallel printers that has since been upgraded by ECP and EPP standards. |
| S-Video | Separated video; analog video signal that carries brightness and color on 2 different channels as opposed to composite video. |
| USB | Universal Serial Bus; standard designed to interface up to 127 daisy-chained devices. |
| USB 1.1 | allows a data transfer rate of up to 12 Mb/s |
| USB 2.0 | allows a data transfer rate of up to 480 Mb/s |
| USB Type A | connector on computers and USB hubs that is flat and wide |
| USB Type B | connector on USB peripheral devices that has a square shape to it |
