1. A first-in first-out (FIFO) apparatus for use with an external input device and an external output device, the apparatus comprising: memory configured to store data during a write operation and output the stored data during a read operation; an input register coupled to the memory and configured to buffer input data from an external input device and output at least a portion of the buffered input data to the memory during the write operation; an output register coupled to the memory and configured to buffer the stored data output by the memory during the read operation and output at least a portion of the buffered stored data to an external output device; logic at least externally coupled to the memory, the input register and the output register, and configured to control the write operation in response to a write request signal from the external input device, and the read operation in response to a read request signal from the external output device; a means for verifying that the memory is not full and that a previous write operation is not being conducted prior to buffering the input data in the input register; and a means for verifying that the memory is not empty and that a previous read operation is not being conducted prior to accessing the stored data within the memory.