4.11Many Types of Ports

Parallel
An interface on a computer that supports transmission of multiple bits at the same time;
almost exclusively used for connecting a printer. On IBM or compatible computers, the
parallel port uses a 25-pin connector.
Serial
It is a general-purpose personal computer communications port in which 1 bit of
information is transferred at a time. In the past, most digital cameras were connected to
a computer's serial port in order to transfer images to the computer. Recently, however,
the serial port is being replaced by the much faster USB port on digital cameras as well as
computers.
SCSI
A port that's faster than the serial and parallel ports but slower and harder to configure
than the newer USB port. Also know as the Small Computer System Interface.
A high-speed connection that enables devices, such as hard-disk drives and network
adapters, to be attached to a computer.
USB
USB (Universal Serial Bus) is a plug-and-play hardware interface for peripherals such as
the keyboard, mouse, joystick, scanner, printer and modem. USB has a maximum
bandwidth of 12 Mbits/sec and up to 127 devices can be attached. With USB, a new
device can be added to your computer without having to add an adapter card. It typically
is located at the back of the PC
Firewire
FireWire is simply a really fast port that lets you connect computer peripherals and
consumer electronics to your computer without the need to restart. It is a simple
common plug-in serial connector on the back of your computer.
It has the ability to chain devices together in a number of different ways without
terminators for example, simply join 2 computers with a FireWire cable for instant highspeed
networking.
4.12 Processor
Pentium
Celeron
Athlon
PowerPC
StrongARM (PDA)
Crusoe (Laptops)
SPARC (Workstations)
4.13 Memory/Storage
RAM
RAM (random access memory) is the place in a computer where the operating system,
application programs, and data in current use are kept so that they can be quickly
reached by the computer's processor. RAM is much faster to read from and write to than
the other kinds of storage in a computer, the hard disk, floppy disk, and CD-ROM.
However, the data in RAM stays there only as long as your computer is running. When
you turn the computer off, RAM loses its data. When you turn your computer on again,
your operating system and other files are once again loaded into RAM, usually from your
hard disk.