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ADB icon

Apple Desktop Bus icon

Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) was a proprietary Mini-DIN-4 serial port used by many Macintosh computers to connect low-bandwidth devices, such as keyboards and mice. The connector is physically identical to S-Video.[1]

History[]

ADB was originally designed by Apple Computer co-founder Steve Wozniak for the Apple IIGS and was also in use by Power Macintosh computers.[1] Third party manufacturers developed modems and radio tuners for the Apple Desktop Bus, but the specialized driver software for some of these devices do not work with PowerPC processors.[2][3] With the exception of the "Wall Street" PowerBook G3 series, hot swapping of ADB devices is not recommended.[4]

Discontinuation[]

ADB and several other legacy technologies were eventually phased out by Apple, starting with Steve Jobs' introduction of the iMac G3 in May 1998.[5]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Fiber Optics Illustrated Dictionary by Julie K. Petersen, p.60. CRC Press. 2003.
  2. Le modem ADB de chez Global Village (French) by Pierre Dandumont, Le Journal du Lapin. 2019-07-26.
  3. La Radio FM de LaCie pour Mac (French) by Pierre Dandumont, Le Journal du Lapin. 2017-09-21.
  4. Le hot plug et l’ADB (French) by Pierre Dandumont, Le Journal du Lapin. 2019-03-26.
  5. #1 Temporal Loop - Birth of the iMac by Thomas Hormby, The Mac Observer. 2007-05-25.

See also[]

External links[]

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