Which Ports Work on Both Macs and PCs
When you’re deciding what Mac model to buy (and what you can afford), you need to figure out which of the ports that you already own will work with your selected model. The good news is that Apple keeps things simple by limiting the number of ports it uses on a Mac and has a good track record of picking the most useful ones. The following ports are available in new Macs currently on the market and are also common on late-model PCs.
Universal Serial Bus (USB): Intel invented USB technology to let a wide variety of low- and medium-speed devices connect to a computer using one type of port. Apple was the first to popularize it for use with keyboards and mice. The current version, USB 2.0, can support high-speed devices like disk drives, as well. All new Macs have two or more USB 2.0 ports.
FireWire: Apple created a different serial bus, called FireWire, to support connecting high-speed devices; it’s also known as IEEE-1394. It comes in two speeds: 400 megabits per second (Mbps) and 800 Mbps. All Macs have FireWire 400 ports. High-end Macs also sport a FireWire 800 port, which uses a different connector, although 800 to 400 adapters are available and inexpensive.
Ethernet: Ethernet is the most popular technology for getting computers to talk to each other over a wire. Ethernet is available in 10-, 100-, and 1,000-Mbps versions. Macs support all three. Ethernet connectors look like fatter versions of the connectors used on most telephones in North America. Just like the telephone connectors, you find a little, easy-to-break plastic tab you have to squeeze to get the connector out. Be gentle.
Don’t plug your telephone line into this port. Current Macs don’t have built-in telephone modems. Apple sells an external modem that plugs into a USB 400 port.
Digital Visual Interface (DVI): Older (analog) methods of sending signals to displays limit the quality of pictures that can be shown. DVI sends images to the display in digital form, preserving their full fidelity for viewing on flat-panel computer displays and high-definition televisions (HDTVs). The iMac and MacBook use a variant called the mini-DVI connector. Apple sells inexpensive converter cables that let you hook up DVI and mini-DVI ports to most digital and analog video displays, including most large-screen television sets.
Audio input and output: All Macs come with two little round jacks that look like the earphone jacks. One of them is just that and is marked with a tiny pair of earphones. The other is a line-in jack that accepts audio from other devices. These diminutive jacks o can also work with newer optical digital audio devices that use a standard called TOSLINK, which is becoming more popular in the world of consumer electronics.
Infrared: Infrared (IR) is a form of invisible light that is used in most remote controls that come with televisions, stereos, and other devices. When you press a button on the remote, it projects a beam of invisible light out the front that is coded with a signal that tells the device what button you pushed. Macs come with their own Apple Remote, so they have a magic spot, too.
WiFi and Bluetooth: Strictly speaking, WiFi and Bluetooth aren’t ports in that there is no place to connect a wire. That’s because they support wireless communications. WiFi is mostly used for networking computers within a home or office and is essentially Ethernet without wires. Bluetooth has a shorter range and is mainly for connecting small devices. It’s used for wireless keyboards and mice and for wireless headsets that can be used with cell phones. Macs generally support both, though they are optional on the Mac Pro.
ExpressCard/34 (MacBook Pro only): ExpressCard/34 is a new standard for expansion modules, which are basically cards that you can slide into personal computers, though they’re mostly used with laptops. Only the MacBook Pro series has an ExpressCard/34 slot. Accessing wide-area networks is probably the most common use for the ExpressCard/34 slot.
PCI Express (Mac Pro and Xserve only): Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCI Express or PCIe) is the newest, blazingly fast incarnation of the classic open-the-cover-and-plug-a-card-in-the-motherboard expansion model. Only the Mac Pro and the Xserve currently have these slots. These capabilities excite video producers and serious gamers, but if you don’t know why you need expansion cards, you probably don’t.
Macs and OS X Glossary
802.11x wireless
A protocol for connections to your Ethernet network and your Apple TV unit.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Address Book
The place for addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses on the Mac. You can also add a picture and note about the person.
Macs and OS X Glossary
alias
A pointer to another application of folder.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Bluetooth
A short-range wireless technology that lets your Mac communicate with other compatible gadgets, from up to 30 feet away.
Macs and OS X Glossary
ColorSync
A printer setting that lets you add black and white, blue tone, sepia, or other filters.
Macs and OS X Glossary
cookie
A small file that a web site automatically saves on your hard drive. It contains information that the site will use on your future visits. For example, a site might save a cookie to preserve your site preferences for the next time or ¯ in the case of a site such as Amazon.com ¯ to identify you automatically and help customize the offerings that you see.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Dashboard
A translucent screen that lays on top of your desktop and houses clever little applications called widgets.
Macs and OS X Glossary
desktop
The whole of your Mac’s computer screen. Also called the Finder.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Discoverable mode
Helps other Bluetooth devices find your Mac.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Dock
The colorful bar on the bottom of the Mac screen. It’s a rough cross between the Windows taskbar and the Start menu.
Macs and OS X Glossary
double-clicking
Left-clicking twice in rapid succession while keeping the cursor in the same location.
Macs and OS X Glossary
dragging
Positioning the cursor on top of a symbol or icon and then holding down the mouse button and rolling the mouse across your desk, which moves the symbol or icon to a new location.
Macs and OS X Glossary
driver
A software program provided by the printer manufacturer that tells Mac OS X how to communicate with your printer.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol; DHCP
A protocol that enables a computer to automatically get connection information for communicating with a network or your ISP.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Exposé
A Mac feature that, with a click of a button, organizes your Mac desktop.
Macs and OS X Glossary
FileVault
A Mac feature that automatically scrambles, or encrypts, the data in your Home folder.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Finder
The application that Mac OS X runs to display the operating system’s menus and windows.
Macs and OS X Glossary
FireWire
A speedy connector often used with digital cameras.
Macs and OS X Glossary
FTP
Part of the TCP/IP protocol suite; (the hoary acronym FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. FTP is one of the oldest methods for sharing files between computers
Macs and OS X Glossary
function keys
Housed on the top row of the Mac keyboard, the keys with the letter F followed by a number.
Macs and OS X Glossary
iCal
The Mac’s built-in calendar.
Macs and OS X Glossary
iDVD
The application that lets you burn movies onto a disk.
Macs and OS X Glossary
iMac
A Mac desktop computer.
Macs and OS X Glossary
iPhoto
The application where you store and touch up digital images.
Macs and OS X Glossary
iSync
The application that keeps your calendar, Address Book, and Internet bookmarks synchronized across multiple devices.
Macs and OS X Glossary
iTunes
Apple’s renowned musical jukebox.
Macs and OS X Glossary
iWeb
The tool that lets you create personal Web sites, blogs, and podcasts.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol; LDAP
With LDAP, you can search a central company directory from anywhere in the world as long as you have an Internet connection.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Lightweight Extensible Authentication Protocol
An encryption protocol developed by Cisco Systems for superior security in the business world.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Mac Mini
Apple’s budget desktop computer. Weighing less than 3 pounds, it’s portable, but not in the same sense as a notebook.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Mac OSx
The operating system that Apple included with all new Mac computer systems since 2002.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Mac Pro
A Mac desktop intended for professionals facing demanding graphics and other computing tasks. Its arrival completed the transition of the Mac line to Intel processors.
Macs and OS X Glossary
MacBook Air
Apple’s super-thin Mac. Encased in aluminum with a 13.3-inch display, Air measures just 0.16 inches at its skinniest point and just 0.75 inches at its thickest. But it still boasts a full-size keyboard and very good battery life.
Macs and OS X Glossary
MacBook, MacBook Pro
Apple’s successor to the PowerBook.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Mail
Apple’s built-in calendar.
Macs and OS X Glossary
MobileMe
The application that keeps your e-mail, contacts, and calendar synchronized, no matter what device you’re using.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Network interface card
A hardware device that your computer uses to talk to the rest of the network.
Macs and OS X Glossary
operating software
The software that makes a Mac work.
Macs and OS X Glossary
parental controls
Safety features that let you place limitations on your child’s computer use.
Macs and OS X Glossary
partition
A formatted section of a disk that contains data.
Macs and OS X Glossary
PDF
A special document display format developed by Adobe; they display like a printed document but take up minimal space.
Macs and OS X Glossary
phishing
A form of Internet fraud where identity thieves, posing as a respectable financial or Internet company, tries to dupe you into clicking phony links to verify personal or account information.
Macs and OS X Glossary
RAID set
A group of multiple separate disks, working together as a team.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Safari
The Mac’s Web browser.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Smart Groups
A way to group contacts in your Address Book.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Smart Mailboxes
Searches for e-mail that matches specific search criteria.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Spotlight
The Mac’s search technology.
Macs and OS X Glossary
start-up disk
The boot drive that contains the Mac OS X system you’re using at the moment
Macs and OS X Glossary
thread
Contains an original message and all related replies, which makes it easy to follow the flow of an e-mail discussion without bouncing around within your Inbox, searching for the next message in the conversation.
Macs and OS X Glossary
trackpad
The smooth surface below your Mac keyboard that’s your laptop’s answer to using a mouse.
Macs and OS X Glossary
USB port
The place on your Mac where you plug in devices you want to connect, such as printers, scanners, digital cameras, and more.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Voiceover
A screen reader designed to make using a Mac easier by speaking the contents of the screen.
Macs and OS X Glossary
wireless network
A network that isn’t connected by wires but uses radio waves, instead.
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