What is a dongle?

[NamNB]

Just came here from a linus video. I keep noticing that he use the term "dongle" a lot. I did some google searches and the results are very weird. Can someone please help me?

[19_blackie_73]

Basically a simple adapter. Most time USB C to various other connectors like lan, usb a, displayport, ....

Needed as most higher end modern laptops only have a few usb c ports and literally nothing else

[NineEyeRon]

Google says. 

 

Quote

1. a small device able to be connected to and used with a computer, especially to allow access to wireless broadband or use of protected software.

Dongles have been around a long time now, since the early days of wireless devices like keyboards but before that wireless internet.

 

It has come to mean any active device (and sometimes passive) that connects a device to another device where normally that connection couldn’t happen. Such as USB A to a dongle to USB C on a tablet or computer.

[minibois]

32 minutes ago, NamNB said:

Just came here from a linus video. I keep noticing that he use the term "dongle" a lot. I did some google searches and the results are very weird. Can someone please help me?

It's one of three things:

- Wireless USB receiver

- Verifying key

- Adapter

 

The official definition is:

Quote

a small device able to be connected to and used with a computer, especially to allow access to wireless broadband or use of protected software.

 

Wireless USB receiver:

'dongle' is the colloquial term for '[little] device which typically plugs into a USB port to provide wireless connectivity'.

For example, this is an image of a wireless mouse and its dongle, through which it can connect wirelessly to another device:

 

Verifying key:

Certain paid programs (like video editing programs) have two ways you can receive their product:

- A license key, which is used to verify you bought it through them (like how Steam games work, for example)

or

- A USB 'flash drive'/'stick' which has some of that company's software on it, which acts like a verifying key.

So that could also be the dongle he refers to. Just depends on the context.

 

Adapter:

There are loads of different cable/connector standards. To adapt one to the other (so your 'normal' USB/USB A to ethernet for example), you can use a 'dongle'. An adapter cable.

[FlappyBoobs]

8 minutes ago, NineEyeRon said:

 

Dongles have been around a long time now, since the early days of wireless devices like keyboards but before that wireless internet

Dongles have been around since before the Internet was a thing, well before wireless anything. We used to use LPT Dongles for software keys before Windows 3.1 even became popular. 

[NineEyeRon]

1 minute ago, FlappyBoobs said:

Dongles have been around since before the Internet was a thing, well before wireless anything. We used to use LPT Dongles for software keys before Windows 3.1 even became popular. 

This is correct, google says the word “dongle” became popular in the 1980s. But I considered this to be a little too detailed for my response here.

[Enderman]

It can be many things.

 

 

 

 

[jones177]

I used a dongle for a 3D program called Lightwave 3D by NewTek.  I used Lightwave from 1990 to 2000.

It was a parallel port passthrough that did not like switches and it interfered with printers so Lightwave always had its own computer. 

[amckern]

Its like a Widget...

[StDragon]

"Just plug the dongle into the port"

 

This is how you get functional replication. AKA port replicators