One word: FireWire.
As in, 3200, which is backwards compatible with 1600, 800, and 400.
That's all we need.
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.
[Merged] USB 3.0 Discussion (Next-gen USB Promises 10x USB 2.x Speeds)
- Thread starter Veritas&Equitas
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
One word: FireWire.
As in, 3200, which is backwards compatible with 1600, 800, and 400.
That's all we need.
As soon as it hits mainstream.... once there are enough devices and everyone begins adopting them.
I have a feeling that Apple will adopt USB as soon as the first revision after the spec is announced. To make good with all the loss of Firewire, I think they would want to show that they are moving forward.
Of course, I've had very bad feelings in the past so this one would be no exception
Of course, I've had very bad feelings in the past so this one would be no exception
2010, not before. Probably mid to late 2010 if Apple's record is anything to go by with USB 2.0.
2010. I want USB 3.0 to replace all other ports, lol. And it's possible that Firewire might die off seeing as how they dropped it from the Macbooks.
I can't believe USB is preferred more than FireWire. 
FireWire is much better in my opinion. What are the specs of USB 3.0? Probably still pants I bet?
FireWire is much better in my opinion. What are the specs of USB 3.0? Probably still pants I bet?Isn't there some feature of firewire, that data is transferred in order or something, while USB is not? therefore making firewire more accurate for real time analysis via data transfer (IE if you are anayzing/editing a file on another drive real time over firewire). please don't quote me on that
Maybe USB 3.0 will be super awesome.. it would be kind of nice to have a single form factor that can do it all... im really hoping for improved current supplying abilities in usb 3.0 so we can run more powerful tools off of bus power.. although that might tax pretty heavily on battery power if you aren't plugged in.
Maybe USB 3.0 will be super awesome.. it would be kind of nice to have a single form factor that can do it all... im really hoping for improved current supplying abilities in usb 3.0 so we can run more powerful tools off of bus power.. although that might tax pretty heavily on battery power if you aren't plugged in.
Firewire cost too much for companies to use, and USB is in everything. Yes, it sucks that it isn't getting picked up, but its hit a point where unless USB 3 starts eating children, its going to be the new standard which is used by people instead of Firewire 3200.
"A new major feature is SuperSpeed bus, which increases a maximum transfer rate to 4.8 Gbit/s."
"USB 3.0 devices supporting SuperSpeed bus are expected to be available in commercial controllers in the second half of 2009. Consumer products are expected to become available in 2010"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB
"USB 3.0 devices supporting SuperSpeed bus are expected to be available in commercial controllers in the second half of 2009. Consumer products are expected to become available in 2010"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB
Isn't there some feature of firewire, that data is transferred in order or something, while USB is not? therefore making firewire more accurate for real time analysis via data transfer (IE if you are anayzing/editing a file on another drive real time over firewire). please don't quote me on that
Firewire supports an isochronos transfer mode. That means that a device can specify an exact amount of bandwidth per second that it needs to have dedicated to it, and as long as too many other devices haven't done the same it will get it.
So if you are streaming data that requires 3.5MB/s (DV video) it will have a dedicated 3.5MB/s for that stream, with much less of a need for buffering or worrying about dropouts due to the host/bus pausing.
Firewire also requires smarter controllers so that a transfer requires less CPU work to make happen, USB requires the host CPU to do a lot of the work. This allows for lower overhead transfers, but a greater cost.
I have no idea if USB 3 includes any of those features, or continues to exclude them. I do know that some HDTV equipment manufacturers are experimenting with it for data transfer between devices. However that doesn't necessarily have to be isochronos, just have to make sure everything gets to the other side within a reasonable amount of time.
I can't believe USB is preferred more than FireWire.
What do you expect with a standard that has three different connectors? I'd say the move from the 400 connector to the 800 connector is what killed it. It starts to get confusing for consumers when you have two different connectors for 400, then you have a different connector for 800. Also, it looks like even Apple is getting out of the Firewire business, first with the ipod then with the Macbook.
3.0 looks to be better than Firewire 800 and Esata in terms of speed, and even Firewire 3200. So I'd say get rid of Firewire (and Esata for that matter) so we don't have to deal with port confusion.
Just like USB 2 which runs at 480mbs is half the speed of Firewire which runs at 400mbs?
If USB 2 is anything to go buy for USB 3, then Firewire 3200 will hand USB 3 its own ass.
I read on Engadget a few weeks back of a test done with USB 3.0. They were able to stream data at quite a high speed (3.6 Gb/s). Though I doubt we'll see much hardware capable of streaming (or copying) data at that speed.
If USB 3.0 gets released early it's possible that Apple will release it with their Nehalem refresh. If not it will probably not be introduced until the next big refresh which would be the 32nmn Nehalem shrink (probably sometime in late 2010 to early 2011).
If USB 3.0 gets released early it's possible that Apple will release it with their Nehalem refresh. If not it will probably not be introduced until the next big refresh which would be the 32nmn Nehalem shrink (probably sometime in late 2010 to early 2011).
big deal if it's slower. Universal compatibility is what we know will win out. And even if it's half as fast as 4.8 Gb/s, that's still 2.4 Gb/s. At those speeds, I wouldn't care if Firewire 3200 is faster.
BTW, here's the Engadget post. link. It says it's 3.6 Gb/s, so if it really is that fast, then it's faster than Firewire 3200 could ever possibly be (3.2 Gb/s)
Apparently you don't remember the early days of USB 2.0, when a lot of devices pushed the fact they were 2.0 and implied that they were faster, but where only actually USB2.0 full speed (12Mbps) rather than USB2.0 High Speed (480Mbps).
Flash drives and even some hard drive enclosures being sold as though they would speed up your file transfers, but were just as slow as before.
And they all looked the same connector-wise, so until the labeling got a little bit better it was rather chaotic. I say a little bit better as they added a different color stripe to the top of the logo to help differentiate full speed and high speed devices.
Under Firewire 400 there were already two types of connectors, and no one seemed to have an issue with it. 4 pin and 6 pin. Adding the 9 pin made it obvious when a device was capable of 800 speed, and a simple $3 cable could interconnect them since they are all fully compatible.
USB 3.0 is going to be a big deal. That's a no-brainer. But yeah, I have bad feelings about the future of FW. I love FW. I do high-fidelity audio work and I can record something at 5x-10x CD quality and my FW800 drive doesn't even blink at it.
USB is almost just the same story as the HDMI battle. There were some better options as far as some are concerned, but HDMI won out because it can carry audio and video and it's prettier, right?
I'm not going to say what is going to happen to FW vs. USB right now, but I personally like the idea of keeping an array of ports on my computers.
I guess we'll see.
USB is almost just the same story as the HDMI battle. There were some better options as far as some are concerned, but HDMI won out because it can carry audio and video and it's prettier, right?
I'm not going to say what is going to happen to FW vs. USB right now, but I personally like the idea of keeping an array of ports on my computers.
I guess we'll see.
Doesn't make it any less of a pain in the butt. Think about it, which do you prefer, paying $3 for an adapter or not?
Plus I assume at the time most flash drives maxed out at 12 MB/s. (I don't even think they're that fast now.)
Also I think the Macbook Pro is the only laptop with Firewire 800 built in, whereas USB is built in to every laptop. That alone tells you enough about Firewire vs USB.
Most USB devices I have purchased do not come with a cable. If I have to purchase a cable anyway this point is rather moot.
Full speed is 12Mbps, not MBPS, that would be 1.5MB/s, which flash drives and especially hard drives are very capable of outperforming both then and now. And yes I have some flash drives that can perform at above 12MB/s.
It is the only current Apple laptop made of aluminum with firewire. They still sell the plastic Macbook, although I can see why that would be ignored (it is an older model). But other manufacturers of Windows laptops have options with firewire. Plus there are plenty of Express card solutions and such which many people do use. If nobody bought them the companies wouldn't make them.
USB3 won't change the fact that there are still tons of people (including me) with FireWire audio interfaces with absolutely no desire to change them for USB3 versions.
To me USB3 means nothing more than getting my **** in/out of USB sticks, iPod/iPhone, digicams etc faster. It will still have an inconvenient connector (hard to tell which way it goes) and I wouldn't be surprised if the speed also fell short of what's promised in the spec.
To me USB3 means nothing more than getting my **** in/out of USB sticks, iPod/iPhone, digicams etc faster. It will still have an inconvenient connector (hard to tell which way it goes) and I wouldn't be surprised if the speed also fell short of what's promised in the spec.
Most USB products I have use a standard USB cable that I have a dozen of already. I know the point is moot, but I still say convenience is better.
Yeah I realized that right after I posted
They all have Firewire 400 4-pin. Or almost all of them do. It still means that you can't take advantage of 800 without an Expresscard. Yeah people buy these products, but it's not nearly as popular as USB.
I think that when we go USB 3.0, we'll probably see less and less of Firewire. Although you'll still be able to buy Expresscards. Don't be mad if Apple doesn't even use Firewire one day
