Apple Desktop Bus

Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) is a proprietary bit-serial peripheral bus connecting low-speed devices to computers. It was introduced on the Apple IIGS in 1986 as a way to support low-cost devices like keyboards and mice, allowing them to be connected together in a daisy chain without the need for hubs or other devices. Apple Desktop Bus was quickly introduced on later Macintosh models, on later models of NeXT computers, and saw some other third-party use as well. Like the similar PS/2 connector used in many PC-compatibles at the time, Apple Desktop Bus was rapidly replaced by USB as that system became popular in the late 1990s; the last external Apple Desktop Bus port on an Apple product was in 1999, though it remained as an internal-only bus on some Mac models into the 2000s. Early during the creation of the Macintosh computer, the engineering team had selected the fairly sophisticated Zilog 8530 to supply serial communications. This was initially done to allow multiple devices to be plugged into a single port, using simple communication protocols implemented inside the 8530 to allow them to send and receive data with the host computer. During development of this AppleBus system, computer networking became a vitally important feature of any computer system. With no card slots, the Macintosh was unable to easily add support for Ethernet or similar local area networking standards. Work on AppleBus was re-directed to networking purposes, and was released in 1985 as the AppleTalk system. This left the Mac with the original single-purpose mouse and keyboard ports, and no general-purpose system for low-speed devices to use. The first system to use Apple Desktop Bus was the Apple IIGS of 1986. It was used on all Apple Macintosh machines starting with the Macintosh II and Macintosh SE. Apple Desktop Bus was also used on later models of NeXT computers. The vast majority of Apple Desktop Bus devices are for input, including trackballs, joysticks, graphics tablets and similar devices. Special-purpose uses included software protection dongles and even the TelePort modem.

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Apple Desktop Bus

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