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CompTIA A+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide

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Table 23-1 ExpressCard Speeds

Storage Card Slots

Many portable computers offer one or more flash memory card slots to

enable you to add storage to the portable. These slots also enable the fast

transfer of data from the card to the portable, and vice versa. They come in

the standard varieties that you already know from Chapter 10, “Essential

Peripherals,” such as SD or microSD.

General-Purpose Ports

Portable computers rarely come with all of the hardware you want. Today’s

laptops usually include at least USB ports to give you the option to add more

hardware. Some special-purpose laptops may still provide legacy generalpurpose

expansion ports (PS/2, RS-232 serial ports, eSATA, FireWire, and so

on) for installing peripheral hardware, while other portables focus on more

modern ports like Thunderbolt. If you’re lucky, you will have a docking

station so you don’t have to plug in all of your peripheral devices one at a

time.

USB, Thunderbolt, FireWire, and eSATA

Universal serial bus (USB), Thunderbolt, and FireWire (or more properly,

IEEE 1394) enable users to connect a device while the computer is running—

you won’t have to reboot the system to install a new peripheral. With USB

and FireWire, just plug the device in and go! Because portables don’t have a

desktop’s multiple internal expansion capabilities, USB and Thunderbolt (and

FireWire to a much lesser extent) are some of the more popular methods for

attaching peripherals to laptops and other portables (see Figure 23-16).

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