what is the diference between usb data cable,wifi, infrared and bluetooth in trnsferring data to/from computer

Question

please i need help where i can find the answer.

Answer 1

Well, out of all the options you mentioned, only USB is a "wired" kind of connection. The other three are "wireless."

Starting with the wired option, USB stands for "Universal Serial Bus," and is probably the most common way to connect external devices with computers these days. The older "serial" and "parallel" ports can still be found, but they are being replaced by USB ports (and also another kind of wired connection option called Firewire, but we'll leave that out of the answer since you didn't ask about it). By using the simple USB cable, you can connect all kinds of things to your computer, from a mouse or other pointer device, a digital camera, printers, headsets, speakers, and so on. Things like cameras and scanners certainly do transmit data to a computer, but often when you're talking about data transfers, you're talking about using something like a CD-ROM drive or an external hard disk, both of which can be connected to a USB port. USB cables are different at each end, meaning that the end that goes into the external device looks different from the end that goes into the computer. USB connections are extremely reliable, and support really fast data transfer rates (the USB 2.0 ports can manage up to 480 megabits per second). USB devices are also normally "hot swappable," meaning that you can plug them into the computer without any need to restart or reboot it. Those little data sticks are great USB devices that let you quickly copy files from one computer and move them to another.

"WiFi" is sort of a shorthand for "wireless networking," and is a simple way that various computers (and, in theory, other kinds of devices) can communicate together without the need for wire-based so-called "Ethernet" connections. Wireless networking is great because it is becoming more and more available in places like hotels, airport terminals, and often in your favorite coffee shop! There are a number of protocols for wireless networking, but the most important thing you should realize is that the data transfer rates using wireless approaches are MUCH SLOWER than with the USB option. If all you're doing is transfering data from one device (or computer) to another that is in the form of word processing documents or spreadsheets, or if you're downloading most internet content, you won't be driven too crazy by the slower data transfer rates, but if you're doing something like moving huge audio files around (if you're into computer-based recording, as I am), then the speed of a wireless connection is completely unacceptable.

Infrared connections can exist within relatively short distances, such as when two computers with infrared capabilities are basically right next to each other. There is a little bit of configuration you need to do, but infrared is a great way to move files from one machine to another when you don't have any other option. What typically happens is that once one of the computers notices that another computer is in range, you'll get some kind of message on the screen saying, "There's another computer nearby. Do you want to connect to it?" That little initiation can start the process whereby you can move or copy data or files from one device to the other. Using infrared in this way, it is possible for a computer of one brand to talk to a computer of another brand, since the configuration is largely controlled by the operating system of the computer. In my home office I used to have a Toshiba laptop and an IBM laptop, and if they were in the same room together, they'd start pinging each other saying, "There's another computer nearby. Do you want me to connect?" A major drawback with infrared is that it's "line of sight," meaning that the devices basically need to "see" each other pretty clearly. In addition, the data transfer rate is SLOW. This is fine when you're moving relatively small amounts of data around, like between your PDA and your computer, but things more extensive than that can start to present problems.

Bluetooth is something that gets around the infrared "line of sight" problem by using radio waves (rather than infrared waves) to transmit data between devices. It's really taken off in terms of connecting wireless devices related to communications (like phones), and for that purpose it works really well. You see all kinds of Bluetooth hands-free wireless earpieces that connect with mobile phones, as well as with USB-based Bluetooth devices that enable you to talk on the phone using just the internet alone! In theory you can connect any kind of compatable device and move data around, but again the slow transfer rate makes Bluetooth the wrong option for large volume data transfers.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Connectivity:
> USB - cable (12v or 5v voltage supply)
> Infra-red - LINE of SIGHT wireless connectivity
> WiFi - wireless
> Bluetooth - wireless (32 FT / 10 meters)

Transmission rates:

> USB v1.1 - 12 Mbps
> USB v2.0 - 480 Mbps
> Infra-RED (Fast Infrared transmit mode [IrDA 1.1 Standard]) - 4 Mbits/sec.
> Infra-RED (Serial Infrared transmit mode (IrDA 1.0 Standard) - 115.2 Kbits/sec.
> WiFI - (variable) 1,2,5.5,11,54 Mbit/s
> Bluetooth - 1 Mbps (2 Mbps in new generation technology)

Answer 3

usb data cable = you insert a cable from your device to your PC
to transfer files..
infrared and bluetooth = you will use this to transfer one file to the other in a wireless way and in a short distance, where as wifi ,wireless internet usually in laptops or wireless computers, transfer file through net in a wireless way and in a long distance way..