Jump to content

The Origin Of The Term Dongle


Monsta®

Recommended Posts

I came across the term in the mid 70's. Originally it was applied only to devices intended to lock software to one computer at a time - an anti-piracy device.

Then, I imagined it to be a play or corruption of dangle. It could even have been a typo. Because dongles dangled from the printer or serial port. It could also have been because the software DON't Go LEss one (is fitted).

Thinking back maybe the first one I saw was fitted to a Commodore PET, but soon many expensive pieces of software were shipped with either a serial (RS232) one or a PC Parallel Port one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create a free account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


×
×
  • Create New...