Is Firewire about to DIE in new Macbook Pro's

[jpcman]

Hi there,

Are there any ideas/rumors about the plans of Apple in regards of the Firewire port in their laptops?
I'm about to buy a Firewire audio interface, because of its superior technology and throughput, but I don't want to spend a bunch of money for a piece of Hardware that won't be able to run on newer macs.
I can buy a USB one (hoping USB3 to be backwards compatible), but it features far les audio channels, ressolution and expandability for the price.

My current dilema is based on the idea that upcoming Macbook Pro iterations may not fetaure this port, because we recently saw the little macbook pro not having such port.
Moreover, as Light Peak is supposed to appear sooner or later, I wonder if now it will be too late for a FW device.

So, any insights about Firewire and Apple?

Would it be possible to think of some wrapper/adapter for Firewire to run over Lightpeak, eventually?
I know it's too soon to say, but I don't want to waste money because of planned obsolescense. I would even consider avoiding a new mac if my FW device was the "problem".

Thank you!

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Would it be possible to think of some wrapper/adapter for Firewire to run over Lightpeak, eventually?
I know it's too soon to say, but I don't want to waste money because of planned obsolescense. I would even consider avoiding a new mac if my FW device was the "problem".

So just get the firewire audio interface, and if Apple doesn't come out with a firewire equipped macbook, get a PC? Also, the new macbook without the firewire is a Macbook Air, not a Macbook Pro.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

WE DON'T KNOW. We speculate though.

Btw, the little MacBook Pro always had a Firewire port, the little and first aluminium Unibody MacBook had no Firewire port and Apple just rebranded the MB to MBP and added the FW port and SD card slot and removed the audio in port.

Anyway, if Apple removes FW, which I doubt, and you have waited for the new MBPs, you can always buy an older MBP via the Refurbished Store.

Btw, three threads is the charm.

And just so you know, Apple currently offers these Macs: www.apple.com/mac
And Apple also offered these Macs too: www.everymac.com

 

[skiltrip]

If FireWire went bye bye, there'll be a lot of pissed audio and video professionals.

 

[ZenErik]

No FireWire = me switching to Sony or wherever else I can actually get it...

 

[Nermal]

Would it be possible to think of some wrapper/adapter for Firewire to run over Lightpeak, eventually?

I don't know about Lightpeak, but there are FireWire ExpressCards that might do the trick if necessary.

 

[jpcman]

Thanks for your fast comments

WE DON'T KNOW. We speculate though.

In a place that's known as "Mac rumors" one won't expect people to 100% know the future
But sometimes there are some of these "secrets" that everybody knows and that's what I wanted to ask about.

If Lightpeak is supposed to replace "everything", this includes FW and USB... Not much space for three different connectors to fit in a unibody MPB, and one can guess which one of them would be the first to be sacrificed...

Again, thanks for posting!

 

[MisterMe]

...

If Lightpeak is supposed to replace "everything", this includes FW and USB... Not much space for three different connectors to fit in a unibody MPB, and one can guess which one of them would be the first to be sacrificed...

...

Say what? On the left side of my Unibody MacBook Pro are the following:

• 1 MagSafe power port
• 1 10/100/1000Base-T Ethernet port
• 1 FireWire port
• 3 USB ports
• 1 MiniDisplayPort
• 1 ExpressCard bay
• 1 3.5 mm analog/digital combo audio-in jack
• 1 3.5 mm analog/digital combo audio-out jack

Bottomline: There is more than enough space for three-different connectors on a Unibody MacBook Pro.

 

[Black107]

Don't forget folks that Apple ditched firewire with the aluminum 13" macbook (which was then rolled into a 13" MBP and thus gained firewire back).

I think they're eager to get rid of it, the question of course is when. I personally love FW and will be bummed when its gone. Target mode is AWESOME

 

[lPHONE]

If FireWire went bye bye, there'll be a lot of pissed audio and video professionals.

There already are.

This whole thing is so stupid. FireWire is more powerful than just speed, it supplies power.

• USB networks use a tiered-star topology, while FireWire networks use a tree topology.
• USB 1.0, 1.1 and 2.0 use a "speak-when-spoken-to" protocol; peripherals cannot communicate with the host unless the host specifically requests communication. USB 3.0 is planned to allow for device-initiated communications towards the host (see USB 3.0 below). A FireWire device can communicate with any other node at any time, subject to network conditions.
• A USB network relies on a single host at the top of the tree to control the network. In a FireWire network, any capable node can control the network.
• USB runs with a 5 V power line, while Firewire in current implementations supplies 12 V and theoretically can supply up to 30 V.
• Standard USB hub ports can provide from the typical 500 mA [2.5 W] of current, only 100 mA from non-hub ports. USB 3.0 and USB On-The-Go supply 1800 mA [9.0 W] (for dedicated battery charging, 1500 mA [7.5 W] Full bandwidth or 900 mA [4.5 W] High Bandwidth), while FireWire can in theory supply up to 60 watts of power, although 10 to 20 watts is more typical.