Identify common input and output ports

USB
USB cable
  • The Universal Serial Bus or 'USB' is a serial bus standard that allows you to connect devices to a computer.

  • USB is intended to replace many varieties of serial and parallel ports.

  • USB was created to allow many different to be connected using a single standardised interface socket and to improve 'plug and play' capabilities by allowing hot swapping. Hot swapping allows devices to be connected and disconnected without rebooting the computer or turning off the device.

USB ports
  • Other USB features include providing power to low-consumption devices and allowing many devices to be used without requiring extra device drivers to be installed.

  • USB can connect computer peripherals such as mice, keyboards, PDAs, gamepads and joysticks, scanners, digital cameras, printers, personal media players, flash drives, and external hard drives. For many of those devices, USB has become the standard connection method. Before USB a mouse would often use a PS/2 connection for example.

  • USB was designed for personal computers, but it has become commonplace on other devices such as PDAs and video game consoles, and as a power cord between a device and an AC adapter plugged into a wall plug for charging.