<s>
A	O
dongle	B-Device
is	O
a	O
small	O
piece	O
of	O
computer	O
hardware	O
that	O
connects	O
to	O
a	O
port	B-Protocol
on	O
another	O
device	O
to	O
provide	O
it	O
with	O
additional	O
functionality	O
,	O
or	O
enable	O
a	O
pass-through	O
to	O
such	O
a	O
device	O
that	O
adds	O
functionality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
computing	O
,	O
the	O
term	O
was	O
initially	O
synonymous	O
with	O
software	B-Device
protection	I-Device
dongles	I-Device
—	O
a	O
form	O
of	O
hardware	O
digital	O
rights	O
management	O
where	O
a	O
piece	O
of	O
software	B-Application
will	O
only	O
operate	O
if	O
a	O
specified	O
dongle	B-Device
—	O
which	O
typically	O
contains	O
a	O
license	B-Application
key	I-Application
or	O
some	O
other	O
cryptographic	O
protection	O
mechanism	O
—	O
is	O
plugged	O
into	O
the	O
computer	O
while	O
it	O
is	O
running	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
adapters	O
that	O
convert	O
ports	O
to	O
handle	O
different	O
types	O
of	O
connectors	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
DVI	B-Application
to	O
VGA	B-Protocol
for	O
displays	O
,	O
USB-to-serial	B-Device
data	O
communication	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
modern	O
computing	O
,	O
USB-C	O
to	O
other	O
types	O
of	O
ports	O
,	O
and	O
Mobile	B-Protocol
High-Definition	I-Protocol
Link	I-Protocol
)	O
,	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
varying	O
accounts	O
on	O
the	O
etymology	O
of	O
the	O
word	O
"	O
dongle	B-Device
"	O
;	O
in	O
a	O
1999	O
paper	O
,	O
P	O
.	O
B	O
.	O
Schneck	O
stated	O
that	O
the	O
origin	O
was	O
unclear	O
,	O
but	O
that	O
it	O
was	O
possibly	O
a	O
corruption	O
of	O
the	O
word	O
"	O
dangle	O
"	O
(	O
since	O
these	O
devices	O
"	O
dangle	O
"	O
from	O
a	O
port	B-Protocol
on	O
a	O
PC	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
1992	O
Byte	O
magazine	O
advertisement	O
by	O
Rainbow	B-General_Concept
Technologies	I-General_Concept
claimed	O
that	O
dongles	B-Device
were	O
invented	O
by	O
and	O
named	O
after	O
a	O
person	O
named	O
"	O
Don	O
Gall	O
"	O
,	O
which	O
spawned	O
an	O
urban	O
legend	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Security	B-Device
dongles	I-Device
are	O
typically	O
used	O
to	O
help	O
prevent	O
unauthorized	O
use	O
and	O
copying	B-Application
of	O
certain	O
forms	O
of	O
software	B-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
Initially	O
using	O
ports	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
serial	B-Protocol
port	I-Protocol
or	O
parallel	B-Device
port	I-Device
,	O
most	O
are	O
now	O
in	O
USB	B-Protocol
format	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
mid-to-late	O
2010s	O
,	O
the	O
dongle	B-Device
form	O
factor	O
was	O
extended	O
to	O
digital	B-Application
media	I-Application
players	I-Application
with	O
a	O
small	O
,	O
stick-like	O
form	O
factor	O
—	O
such	O
as	O
Chromecast	B-Device
and	O
Fire	B-Application
TV	I-Application
Stick	I-Application
—	O
that	O
are	O
designed	O
to	O
plug	O
directly	O
into	O
an	O
HDMI	B-Protocol
port	B-Protocol
on	O
a	O
television	O
or	O
AV	O
receiver	O
(	O
powered	O
via	O
Micro	O
USB	B-Protocol
connection	O
to	O
the	O
television	O
itself	O
or	O
an	O
AC	O
adapter	O
)	O
,	O
in	O
contrast	O
to	O
a	O
larger	O
set-top	O
box-style	O
device	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Single-board	B-Device
computers	I-Device
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Intel	B-Device
Compute	I-Device
Stick	I-Device
,	O
have	O
also	O
been	O
produced	O
in	O
a	O
similar	O
means	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Chromecast	B-Device
devit	O
negates	O
the	O
need	O
for	O
a	O
short	O
adapter	O
cable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cassette	O
adapters	O
enable	O
cassette-radios	O
to	O
allow	O
AUX	O
in	O
,	O
like	O
with	O
iPod/MP3	O
player/smartphone/portable	O
CD	B-Device
player	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Personal	O
FM	O
transmitters	O
allow	O
content	O
from	O
a	O
portable	O
media	O
player	O
,	O
portable	O
CD	B-Device
player	I-Device
,	O
smartphone	B-Application
,	O
portable	O
cassette	O
player	O
,	O
or	O
other	O
portable	O
audio	O
system	O
to	O
be	O
heard	O
on	O
an	O
FM	O
radio	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IDE/PATA	O
connectivity	O
can	O
be	O
re-channeled	O
with	O
some	O
dongles	B-Device
:	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
and	O
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
drives	I-Device
have	O
been	O
emulated	B-Application
on	O
solid-state	O
"	O
dongles	B-Device
"	O
to	O
ensure	O
legacy	O
recognition	O
,	O
allowing	O
SD	B-Device
cards	I-Device
to	O
serve	O
software	B-Application
to	O
old	O
Commodore	O
64	O
and	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
era	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Everdrive	B-Device
series	O
of	O
game	O
cartridges	O
has	O
enabled	O
classic	O
systems	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Sega	B-Operating_System
Mega	I-Operating_System
Drive	I-Operating_System
and	O
Nintendo	B-Operating_System
64	I-Operating_System
to	O
allow	O
one	O
cartridge	O
to	O
have	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
games	O
that	O
were	O
formerly	O
on	O
multiple	O
cartridges	O
of	O
their	O
own	O
,	O
by	O
use	O
of	O
an	O
SD	B-Device
card	I-Device
with	O
ROMs	O
on	O
them	O
;	O
since	O
it	O
can	O
allow	O
a	O
real	O
game	O
console	O
to	O
access	O
ROMs	O
,	O
which	O
an	O
emulator	B-Application
would	O
normally	O
do	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Sega	B-Device
32X	I-Device
was	O
an	O
add-on	O
for	O
the	O
Sega	B-Operating_System
Megadrive	I-Operating_System
which	O
allowed	O
a	O
32-bit	O
library	O
of	O
games	O
to	O
play	O
on	O
a	O
system	O
that	O
was	O
normally	O
just	O
16-bit	O
,	O
though	O
it	O
suffered	O
from	O
having	O
its	O
own	O
AC	O
adapter	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
work	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Nintendo	B-Device
DS	I-Device
contains	O
a	O
cartridge	O
slot	O
used	O
primarily	O
for	O
Game	B-Device
Boy	I-Device
Advance	I-Device
games	O
,	O
but	O
was	O
also	O
used	O
as	O
a	O
slot	O
for	O
add-on	O
dongles	B-Device
such	O
as	O
the	O
Rumble	B-Device
Pak	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Older	O
cars	O
that	O
"	O
externalized	O
"	O
their	O
CD	B-Device
players	I-Device
and	O
changers	O
from	O
the	O
head	O
unit	O
can	O
now	O
use	O
"	O
emulators	B-Application
"	O
that	O
allow	O
USB	B-Protocol
and	O
SD	B-Device
cards	I-Device
with	O
MP3s	B-Application
and	O
other	O
audio	O
files	O
to	O
be	O
recognized	O
as	O
"	O
tracks	O
"	O
to	O
the	O
CD	O
control	O
unit	O
circuitry	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
commonly	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
"	O
dongles	B-Device
"	O
,	O
the	O
alternative	O
term	O
"	O
Pig-tail	O
"	O
is	O
favoured	O
by	O
some	O
in	O
the	O
IT	O
industry	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
appearance	O
of	O
a	O
full-sized	O
connection	O
element	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
short	O
,	O
thin	O
wire	O
extending	O
,	O
somewhat	O
reminiscent	O
of	O
the	O
rear	O
of	O
porcine	O
animals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
is	O
somewhat	O
descriptive	O
,	O
and	O
allows	O
one	O
to	O
avoid	O
using	O
the	O
word	O
dongle	B-Device
except	O
for	O
its	O
original	O
meaning	O
.	O
</s>
