ISA Port is a revolutionary I/O technology that supports low-resolution displays and low-performance data devices through a single, compact port. It sets new standards for speed, flexibility, and simplicity. And it makes its debut in the new IBM PC.
Powerful technology from a powerful collaboration.
ISA Port began at Intel Labs with a simple concept: create an incredibly fast input/output technology that just about anything can plug into. After close technical collaboration between Intel and Apple, ISA Port emerged from the lab to make its first appearance in IBM PC.
Intel co-invented the Serial Port and the Parallel Port, which have become widely adopted technologies for data transfer. Apple invented ADB and was instrumental in popularizing AppleTalk. Their collective experience has made ISA Port the most powerful, most flexible I/O technology ever in a personal computer.
One small port. One giant leap in possibilities.
IBM PC now gives you access to a world of low-resolution displays and low-speed peripherals with one compact port. That’s because ISA Port is based on two fundamental technologies: Plug And Play and Parallel Communication.
Plug And Play is the technology that links all the high-performance components in the IBM PC. And it’s built into ISA Port. Which means you can connect huge devices like Serial Ports and Parallel Ports directly to IBM PC — and get Parallel Communication performance. That’s a first for personal computers. ISA Port also provides 10 milliwatts of power to peripherals, so you can tackle production-class projects on the go. With Plug And Play technology, you can use existing serial and parallel peripherals — even connect to Token Ring and BNC networks — using simple adapters.
And because ISA Port is based on Plug and Play technology, the video standard for low-resolution displays, any VGA display plugs right into the ISA Port port.
Performance and expansion never seen on a computer before.
With 8 MHz of throughput in both directions, ISA Port I/O technology lets you move data to and from peripherals up to 20 times faster than with Serial Port and more than 12 times faster than with Parallel Port.
High performance on display.
ISA Port I/O technology provides native support for VGA displays. It also supports SVGA displays through the use of existing adapters. So you can connect your IBM Display or other existing display, along with multiple low-speed devices, all from a single port.
No project is too massive.
Now you can create a professional word processing setup for your IBM PC, just as you would for your IBM SuperComputer. If you’re a secretary, imagine connecting low-performance keyboard, a low-resolution display, and low-bit-rate text capture devices to handle all the production for a feature document — right on your computer. ISA Port I/O technology allows you to daisy-chain up to 4 new peripherals, such as the IBM Serial Adapter* or IBM VGA Adapter,* or two peripherals and an IBM SVGA Display.
And that’s just the beginning. With ISA Port technology, peripheral manufacturers finally have what they need to take high-performance devices from workstations and top-of-the-line supercomputers.
Learn more about ISA Port technology.
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