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OWNER'S HANDBOOK
MIDI
The Musical Instrument Digital Interface is a
standard way of connecting musical instruments,
synthesisers, computers and other devices. More
than merely digitised sound, MIDI encoding
provides a complete musical description of a
composition and its performance. To connect your
computer to other MIDI devices, you'll need a port
adapter to provide separate MIDI In and MIDI
Out ports. A MIDI adapter can be obtained from
most good music equipment stores. A MIDI
sequencer program is required to record, save and
edit MIDI files.
Universal Serial Bus
The USB is a new way of connecting peripherals to
your computer. It has several advantages over
existing serial and parallel ports. If necessary, several
USB devices can be "daisy-chained" together. USB
devices are "hot-pluggable"; that is, they can be
plugged in and disconnected without turning off
the computer. The USB can supply DC power to
certain devices, so that they do not need an
independent power supply. It is also quite fast,
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M u l t i m e d i a
operating at 12 megabits per second, which is
appropriate for a wide range of applications
including video conferencing cameras. The Apricot
MS Series has one USB port on the front bezel and
another on the rear of the system unit.
FireWire
FireWire (more formally, IEEE 1394) is a new way
of connecting devices such as Digital Video (DV)
camcorders, VCRs and DVD players to your PC. It
can also be used for colour printers, film scanners,
or indeed any device that requires the very fast
transfer of digital information. Like USB, FireWire
devices are hot-pluggable and can be daisy-chained
together. However, FireWire is much faster than
USB – up to 400 megabits per second. Apricot MS
Series computers equipped with FireWire have one
port on the front bezel and one or two ports at the
back, provided by an expansion card.
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