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Especially considering Nvidia is the one making the upgrade and not Apple, there might not be as many USB3 ports on the MacBook as the Pro -- but because it is built into the chipset, it would be much harder for Apple to eliminate it.

But of course this is Apple, who tends to software cripple the MacBook versus the Pro ... like they do with the external monitors and spanning vs. mirroring.

I'd count on a number of port difference myself, and Apple to simply use what Nvidia hands them.
 
It would be stupid for Apple to not put a USB 3.0 port in the MacBook. It's the latest of the USB technology and it fully supports USB 2.0.

That would be like Apple putting USB 1.1 in the MacBooks and USB 2.0 in the pro... retarded.
 
USB 3 questions

- Will USB 3.0, ever be adopted by Professional audio equipment like Firewire was?

- Will Apple bring back firewire in a new revision of the Macbook, even though you can buy new white macbooks with firewire right now?
 
I would expect USB 3.0 to replace Firewire completely. It doesn't make sense to go back, especially since 3.0 is so much faster than everything out there.
 
I would expect USB 3.0 to replace Firewire completely. It doesn't make sense to go back, especially since 3.0 is so much faster than everything out there.

Or maybe Firewire S1600 and S3200 will be popular. S3200 will be faster then USB3 and will use a lot less CPU overhead.

But we can only guess at this point
 
Or maybe Firewire S1600 and S3200 will be popular. S3200 will be faster then USB3 and will use a lot less CPU overhead.

But we can only guess at this point

if they lower the price of the connectors it would probably be even more widely adopted. thats why USB gained such a larger following compared to FW: cost.
 
How many manufacturers are bothering with Firewire on their Cameras anymore? I think Apple may have given it up as a lost cause... It's still including them for backward compatibility for the Pro's.
 
When USB, 3 comes out!

Now I know that know one in this forum is a fortune teller , but likely have some knowledge of this in the past.

USB 1 was released in 1996, while usb 2.0 was released 4 years later in 2000. So its very likely that Apple laptops had usb 1 until 1999.

- Now my question is from the knowledge you may have from the past, when Apple went to usb 2, how long till Apple adopts usb 3 after its release?

- And do you think computer running usb 2 will loose more value then they would normally?
 
Much 'What to do' discussion in the forum, but any interest in USB 3.0?

Alot of discussion is popping up all over the forum regarding various anticipated updates (nothing unusual of course). People are requesting advice as to whether they should purchase their desired machines now or wait for the next update; Potential updates ranging from minor spec bumps to Apple's implementation of new quad-core CPUs into their Macbook and iMac range (Clarksfield/Arrandale?). And although I haven't kept up with it all, there seems to be alot of other stuff inbetween.

I'm wondering why we're not seeing more of this speculative type discussion surrounding USB 3.0. Alot of the info I have accumulated indicates that we may see the new standard on the market early-mid 2010, even late '09! Likewise, discussion over the Clarksfield/Arrandale chips indicate similar ETAs.
Is there a lack of interest? I think so. I'd have though this would be something worth holding off purchasing for, more so than anything we may see in updated Macs between now and 2010. Particularly if you're not one to upgrade with every, or every other update. In the end people will buy what they want when they need it, people can't wait forever. But my only qualm regarding purchasing a new iMac right now is that when USB3.0 comes out IT will be the thing that pushes my need to upgrade way ahead of schedule.

Or will it? Can I turn this into a speculative discussion by accumulating people's opinions on when they think we'll see this in our machines? And even when we do, will we be able to take advantage of it or will we be initially limited by the rest our our hardware (eg. HDDs and compatible devices)?
 
I agree USB 3.0 would be a great spec bump but I can't see it happening before a lot of devices come out using it or at least one lol. I would love it though since its almost eSATA speeds and much faster then firewire :) as well as extra power that it can output ( which unfortunately means less laptop batt time lol ) Apple has always been a slow adopter though :(. What I would really like to see is what you have mentioned, I would love to see a macbook pro 17 inch with a 9800m gt ( Why did apple even bother with a 9600? ) and a nice quad core :)

Oh and I forgot : yes your older external hdds and any other usb 2.0 device will not go any faster with a usb 3.0 capable computer :( ( plus these external hdds will probably cost a lot more then normal versions for the usb 3.0 version :(
 
USB 3.0 will be great for hard drives, and also the iPhone, iPod and digital cameras as well as camcorders.

But not only do you have to upgrade your Mac, but all your devices as well.

And for many people the speed difference won't matter in their daily use and thus won't be an immediate selling point.
 
USB 3.0 may gain foothold with premium manufacturers (I use that with extreme caution since we all know how apple works lol), but anyway if the price of the electronics are high then you'll probably see it on the performance model machines.

So far it looks like the only advantage for USB 3.0 over 2.0 is speed and power, oh and thicker cables (which are nice in some situations). Mice, keyboards, tv tuners, game pads, printers, scanners all , in their current state, are great on the 2.0 bus and don't really need the extra speed. This can all change if we have 10808p tv tuners, extreme high definition mice or giant large format printers (most of which I've seen have firewire anyway) which can use the extra speed, but there is no apparent push.

As we've all seen, FW and eSATA suffer poor consumer adoption rates for a few issues. FW of course costs more to license, so manufacturers may not use it. In any event, the places where FW shines is audio (with the reduced latancy and redundant daisy chaining capabilities) and both offer quick storage transfers.

Unfortunately not every one has twin ssd raid built enclosures or needs to capture uncompressed video on the go. Most consumers, while fustrated with the slow speeds offered by USB when trying to copy large files, will not see it as a big enough issue to spring for the "studio"/performance models of external hard drives which offer eSATA and FW, nor will they spring for the additional costs of expansion cards should their machines not have the interface.

RAID , as we've seen, will saturate the bandwidth of both protocols easily, but general consumers (who control the market) will scouff at the price of a fast 500gb external will all the bells and whistles when they can get this 1tb western digital elements for a fraction of the price.
 
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