Micro standards: IEEE std P1394

Various standards organizations hope to provide a higher speed for the transmission of serial data. One attractive project, proposed IEEE Std P1394, particularly appeals to users because of its convenience and-since it requires fewer driven signals than parallel methods-its lower cost. This alternative transmits serial data with smaller cables and connectors and also applies to emerging plug-and-play standards. Since it assigns device addresses automatically and requires no bus termination, P1394 is much easier to use than several existing parallel data buses. P1394´s serial bus supports low-cost desktop and mobile-computing applications. The inclusion of an isochronous data transfer mode makes P1394 especially attractive for use in consumer electronics as well as the more traditional computer environments. Isochronous means regular time measure. Thus, isochronous data transfers at regular time intervals, guaranteeing a latency period in the transfer