FireWire

a.k.a. "IEEE-1394"

A standard established by the IEEE for a very fast port that may eventually replace serial ports. It is a high speed data bus protocol sometimes referred to as "Serial SCSI." Originally developed by Sony and Apple, Firewire has several advantages for connecting peripheral devices such as scanners, DV camcorders, CD burners and external hard drives. Some of its benefits include: 50 MB/sec throughput, it is "hot swappable" meaning devices can be connected and disconnected without shutting down your computer, no device termination is needed, up to 63 devices can be connected to a Firewire bus, and cables can be up to 30 meters long.