Get the Right Connection for All of Your Hardware.

This article presents several connection devices for computer hardware available in the U.S. market as of February 2005. Bluetooth, firewire, and Universal Serial Bus (USB) are all different, but they all do the same thing: connect devices to the personal computer. Each of these technologies has pluses and minuses, as well as old and new versions. Users can expect to see more Bluetooth devices in stores and on Web sites in 2005--and not just keyboards, mice, and personal digital assistants (PDAs). A survey by market research company InStat/MDR found that people are considering Bluetooth stereo headphones for their desktop computers, notebooks, MP3 players, PDAs, and mobile phones, among other consumer applications. Think of Bluetooth as a wireless, low-bandwidth version of USB. Simply pop a tiny Bluetooth hub such as Belkin's Bluetooth USB Adapter into a computer's USB port to connect up to seven devices wirelessly. But Bluetooth doesn't replace the Wi-Fi 802.11b or 802.llg standard: It moves data at only 1 mbps, while Wi-Fi is up to 50 times faster. Also, users can't use Bluetooth to connect to the Internet. Some external hard drives support both USB 2.0 and FireWire standards. Maxtor's OneTouch series is one prominent example. INSET: GET A BETTER GRIP.