SIO Connector as viewed from the back
SIO Connector as viewed from the back

The Serial Input/Output system, universally known as SIO, was a proprietary peripheral bus and related software protocol stacks used on the Atari 8-bit family to provide most input/output duties for those computers. Unlike most I/O systems of the era, such as RS-232, SIO included a lightweight protocol that allowed multiple devices to be attached to a single daisy-chained port that supported dozens of devices. It also supported plug-n-play operations. SIO’s designer, Joe Decuir, credits his work on system as the basis of USB. — Wikipedia