Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iMac to Come in Both Dual-Core and Quad-Core Configs?
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
And there aren't any devices yet either. But how does that answer the question?
The problem that Joe Consumer is going to hit is when he inadvertantly uses a USB2 cable to hook up his USB3 device to his USB3 computer.
The cable fits just fine, but it won't run at USB3 speeds: it will "limp" along at USB2 speeds and Joe won't understand why his whiz-bang stuff isn't quite so whizzy or bangy.
EDIT: this is part of the basic difference between being backwards-compatible and forwards-compatible.
Similarly, Joe has been running great for 6 months, but then buys another widget and reorganizes his stuff. He remembers most of the USB2-3 gotcha, but not all of it: he has his USB3 device hooked up via a USB3 cable to his old hub, and then has another new USB3 cable between the hub and his USB3 capable computer. It works, but it isn't so whizzy or bangy, so what went wrong this time? The hub's only USB2.
Granted, we can say that we all have previously gone through the same headache in going from USB1/1.1 to USB2, but those old USB1 cables were 'forwards compatible' to USB2 (which isn't the case this time), so its not the same afterall.
Plus we should recall that USB1/1.1 really wasn't all that popular before the advent of USB2, so most of USB's adoption has occurred under USB2, so there's not really been any changes to have to try to manage.
Even back in the days of RS-232 serial interfaces, the physical cables didn't get changed or obsoleted as protocols got faster: if the cable fit, it worked at the full speed rating of the two devices being connected.
-hh
Doesnt mean anything at all, just means the deal ends on March 20th 2009
There are millions of rumors floating around about this non of which are true. What ever happens next will happen when it happens. I happen to stroll through my local Apple store over the weekend and saw every day people buying a bit of everything from iMacs to Mini's etc. each person was leaving the store with a huge smile on their face not worrying about what was coming next. I also asked about current stock levels and was told we have a full inventory of every model at which point the associate kindly ask me which model can I get for you today
I don't see this as becoming much of an issue. USB 3.0 devices will all come with USB 3.0 cables. A user would have to go out of his/her way to use the wrong cable. It will happen occasionally but users are going to figure that out pretty quickly. It's not like you buy a new device and then you find it is completely unusable with your old hardware. That would be a more serious problem.
Just release something already so these threads can switch to regular complaining. This acrimony is getting old.
That'll be novel.... it's rare to get a USB device that comes with a cable now. Except maybe keyboards where the cable is fixed.
Or use a hub.
Granted, USB hubs are such rare and exotic devices that they're virtually never found on anyone's computers.
But if it works (albeit at reduced capacity), how is the user expected to "quickly" figure out that something's wrong? The counterpoint here is that if it didn't work at all, then the user would immediately know that something's not right and thus, know that he has to fix something.
Granted, this is a trade-off, since one can also say that a reduced capacity "limp mode" isn't a bad thing either. The problem is how much of a diagnostic dilemma is created by something working, but not at 100%.
Uncle Bob is going to ask you to look at their system because its "acting slow", so is this slowness due to a virus/worm/malware (you know Uncle Bob!), or just this errant cable connection? Which then begs the question of how many other things are you going to check into before thinking about checking every connection to a peripheral? Particularly since Uncle Bob will tell you that the {relevant peripheral} is fine, since he just used it this morning. Its these sorts of troubleshooting headaches that's going to make this changeover a less-than-pleasant experience.
-hh
What USB devices don't usually come with a cable? You want some cables? What's your address? If anything they need to stop giving you USB cables because I have a drawer full. Same with phone USB charging cables. I have about 6 or 7 mini usb wall chargers.
Already solved on the dark side....
I don't know about Apples, but Windows systems display a popup window if you plug a USB 2.0 device into a USB 1.1 port - just to let you know that it will work, but perhaps not at full speed.
I'll wager that those innovators in Redmond have already extended that check to handle USB3....
(And I've also got a drawer full of USB cables - I can't recall when I've bought something that didn't have a cable or two in the package.)
I don't know about Apples, but Windows systems display a popup window if you plug a USB 2.0 device into a USB 1.1 port - just to let you know that it will work, but perhaps not at full speed.
I'll wager that those innovators in Redmond have already extended that check to handle USB3....
(And I've also got a drawer full of USB cables - I can't recall when I've bought something that didn't have a cable or two in the package.)
"You can make this device run faster if..."
Yeah, I frequently see that error when plugging in a USB2 to USB2.
Can't figure out why (since the error message is erroneous). So I then have to grab the mouse and click to clear the erroneous error message, unplug the device, plug it back in - - and voila! It works fine and no error message the second time. Wonderful Windows.
We all probably have a tangle of spare USB2's laying around, which is part of my point: when we're hooking something up and 'need another cable', we just grab any old one. And choosing a cable that's laying around loose can be preferable to one that's still neatly packaged / bagged because it reduces the mess.
-hh
oh really. No Apple computer has esata you say. Interesting cause i just bought a 15 inch MacBook Pro and guess what, I've got a 7200 RAID drive connected to it with esata.
I think what you meant to say is that no Apple comes with a build in esata card (I did have to buy a card which I didn't mind because it has two ports which I might need for this project). but there is certainly the possibility of esata if you want to add it. and very easy since the slot is right there on the side of the machine.
I can tell you 100% you will not see new models on the 16th. Why? because after all the time since the last one there is no way they will release new models without a big fan fare. We will know that new models are coming out soon because on X date the Media will be attending an event in Cupe to find out the when and the whats and the hows of the new items. and no such event has been set.
You are! 100% correct read my post from yesterday, I was told at my local Apple store that they had a full inventory of every model. Dont look for anything anytime soon.
These rumor sites are full of lies! if you need it go out and buy it!
On stock just means that they have some at the store. It doesn't means that they can order imacs if they run out of stock.
another tuesday slowly passes by ...
and another note intel not cutting prices on mobile CPUs and the new CPUs may be delayed
it is going to be painfully slow upgrade(s) for next 6 to 18 months ...
and another note intel not cutting prices on mobile CPUs and the new CPUs may be delayed
it is going to be painfully slow upgrade(s) for next 6 to 18 months ...
another tuesday slowly passes by ...
and another note intel not cutting prices on mobile CPUs and the new CPUs may be delayed
it is going to be painfully slow upgrade(s) for next 6 to 18 months ...
Last time, the iMacs were updated on a monday. Perhaps it doesn't have to be a tuesday. Wednesday, maybe?