Copy protection Software protection dongles are typically used to help prevent
unauthorized use and
copying of certain forms of software. Initially using ports such as the
serial port or
parallel port, most are now in
USB format.
Small peripheral appliances stick plugged into the HDMI port of a TV. The cable attached to the other end is the USB power supply. In the mid-to-late 2010s, the dongle form factor was extended to
digital media players with a small, stick-like form factor—such as
Chromecast and
Fire TV Stick—that are designed to plug directly into an
HDMI port on a television or
AV receiver (powered via
Micro USB connection to the television itself or an
AC adapter), in contrast to a larger
set-top box-style device.
Single-board computers, such as the
Intel Compute Stick, have also been produced in a similar means.
Adapters • Very short cables that connect relatively large jacks to smaller plugs allow cables to be easily installed and removed from equipment with limited space available for connectors.
Other •
Cassette adapters enable cassette-radios to allow AUX in, as with
iPod/
MP3 player/
smartphone/portable
CD player. •
Personal FM transmitters allow content from a
portable media player, portable CD player, smartphone,
portable cassette player, or other portable audio system to be heard on an
FM radio. •
IDE/
PATA connectivity can be re-channeled with some dongles: • Both
floppy disk and
hard disk drives have been emulated on solid-state "dongles" to ensure legacy recognition, allowing SD cards to serve software to old
Commodore 64 and
Apple II era computers. • The
Nintendo DS contains a cartridge slot used primarily for
Game Boy Advance games, but was also used as a slot for add-on dongles such as the
Rumble Pak. •
USB host connectivity grants more flexibility to computer-based devices •
Bluetooth • legacy game controllers have special adapters •
GPS receivers •
SD card readers •
Flash drives •
Mobile broadband modems •
Network interface controllers • Older cars that "externalized" their CD players and changers from the head unit can now use "emulators" that allow USB and SD cards with
MP3s and other audio files to be recognized as "tracks" to the CD control unit circuitry. • Adapters that convert miniature implementations of an interface to the full-sized equivalent, or are required to provide the electrical and mechanical interfaces for expansion cards that cannot physically accommodate them (such as PCMCIA, Compact Flash and ExpressCard expansion cards which are just millimetres thick, too small for a standard connector without having the connector and housing extend beyond the dimensions specified by the standard). Although commonly referred to as "dongles", the alternative term "Pig-tail" is favoured by some in the IT industry, due to the appearance of a full-sized connection element, with a short, thin wire extending, somewhat reminiscent of the rear of porcine animals. The term is somewhat descriptive, and allows one to avoid using the word dongle except for its original meaning. ==See also==