Hey everyone, I''ve read this term a lot when I''m scanning through posts, but even after a google search all I could turn up was really technical articles on its implementation. Could someone give me a beginner''s explanation on what they are and why to use them? Thanks, Karl

http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/info/comport.shtml
http://tangentsoft.net/wskfaq/articles/io-strategies.html