New Apple Portables To Drop FireWire Support?

[bigandy]

that's never going to happen - for one, almost every video camera on the planet uses it, and USB2 can't cope with the data rates of DV, let alone HDV..

if that happened, i'd seriously consider not buying an Intel-based Mac, because I need firewire so much. if FW800 was included that's more like it, because of the convertors, and i can seee FW400 being left out, but not at all? seriously silly move.

 

[pubwvj]

"We are very careful about what features we add because we can't take them away"-Jobs
kind of negate the whole rumor of Firewire going away?

Not true. Apple has discontinued many features: ADB, Serial port, SCSI and they're dumping Classic now. Apple does take them away.

What in the world could you possibly need Classic for today?

There is plenty of legacy data only accessible via legacy applications for which there are no upgrades. Accounting, payroll, customer databases, book and magazines at publishing houses, educational software, specialized utilities. Not everything is OSX. It doesn't hurt you in the slightest to simply not install Classic but it is important for many people and businesses to have the option. Perhaps you don't use other features of the Mac but they are there for those who need them. It amazes me that some people feel so threatened by the continued existance of a need for Classic. Get over your fears.

 

[Thanatoast]

Also, where are the USB camcorders?

They're around. My dad has one. It also does firewire, but when you've got both and only the one port...

I'll put in my two cents and say that if apple is dropping FW400, they damn well better replace it with standard 800, or a wireless spec. I'm already pissed they dropped support on the ipod just when PC's are starting to regularly carry FW400 ports. Way to kill the standar, Apple.

Assuming this isn't all talk out of someone's ass, of course.

 

[EricNau]

Not true. Apple has discontinued many features: ADB, Serial port, SCSI and they're dumping Classic now. Apple does take them away.

True, but they were all replaced with something better. If Apple didn't include Firewire, what would they have in it's place that was better?

 

[iEdd]

Not true. Apple has discontinued many features: ADB, Serial port, SCSI and they're dumping Classic now. Apple does take them away.

Everything they've dumped here has been replaced with something and adaptors for if they're needed. I know for one it's not quite time for it to be all FW800. USB replaced most of those, with FW for SCSI. What I want to know is, how do all these poeple move on from old peripherals, but still can't move on from classic? (And no, I'm not threatened by classic users, because if I can't see them, they're not real ) My mum used classic for heaps of accounting and stuff like that, but 1 to 2 years after OSX was released and a google search engine, we moved her entirely to OSX. I'm not saying all classic users can do that, but many can find other programs and ways to totally go OSX.

 

[MM2270]

I don't buy it

Well, it's been said a thousand ways, but I don't buy this rumor either. I don't see the logic behind dropping FW in any form at this juncture. I can see it if they plan on intro'ing a very low end laptop, i.e. a very basic iBook with only the bare essentials. But dropping it on ANY other Mac would be ludicrous. They would alienate so many of their long time loyal customers that I wouldn't be surprised to see marketshare take a nose dive after such an announcement. I know I wouldn't buy one of these new 'books. FW is far too useful to get rid of, for all the reasons already mentioned here. Booting, FW Target disk mode, the migration assistant and much much more.
However, I feel compelled to put the truth out there about one piece of MISinformation that keeps getting repeated on this forum. I hate to break it to everyone, but many of the newer digital camcorders from companies like Sony, Panasonic, JVC and others are now including USB2 ports as well as FW400 ports on their models. And YES, you CAN copy over movie files to your computer via these USB2 ports, not just still images or something. I only know this because a relative was in the market for their first digital camcorder and I went to a Best Buy with them to look at models. I was very surprised to see so many of them touting USB2 connectivity built-in, on top of the already ubiquitous FireWire. Checking out manuals for some of them confirmed that you can copy over video files to your computer for editing, at least on a PC- none of them mention Macs to my knowledge.

Now, this isn't to say that I believe this rumor, because I know that many pros already have expensive equipment which uses FW400 to transfer over video, and these folk are NOT going to just plunk down more money for a new model just for the "privilege" of using a new intelPB. They won't bite, and most others won't either. This isn't even talking about the tons of other peripherals which would be suddenly incompatible with these new models. So I call BS on this rumor. There may yet be a day when we will nee to say goodbye to FireWire, but that day will not be coming this year.

If it is, I may have to give up on using a Mac as my next new comp, because then I will know that Apple has TRULY sold out!

 

[superleccy]

Firewire rocks.

I'm not going to go into the details of comparing Firewire 400 to USB 2.0. But...

...through the one FW400 port on my iBook, I connect my Elgato EyeTV410, and from that I daisychain my 250Gb Lacie HD. (The EyeTV has a FW400 "thru" port). Common wisdom seems to suggest that this is a combination that should lead to reduced performance, but I've had that setup for well over six months now, and let me tell you it works a treat. It also reduces the number of cables I have spewing from my iBook, and I don't need to use a hub. I even use the Lacie as my target drive for shows recorded on the EyeTV, so often both peripherals are at it full whack through the same FW port. No performance problems whatsoever.

I bet you couldn't do that with USB2.0. Let's hear it for firewire!

An apple computer without firewire? I wouldn't buy one.

Superleccy

 

[MacPhreak]

More like 1995

Firewire first appeared on the B&W G3's. According to apple-history.com, they were introduced in Jan '99, and terminated in Sept '99.

 

[yellow]

One more reason not to buy MacIntel machines.
The lack of Classic support is a deal killer.

Really? You're still invested in OS9? Even after 4+ years?

 

[~Shard~]

If Apple didn't include Firewire, what would they have in it's place that was better?

SuperDuperFireWire???

 

[SiliconAddict]

Really? You're still invested in OS9? Even after 4+ years?

Some people expect Apple to support everything forever...

Let the damn OS die, migrate your data, and move on.

 

[morespce54]

what the...

How will I connect my Canon camcorder to my iBook????

and my external 160 GB HD ????

 

[iMeowbot]

Some people expect Apple to support everything forever...

And why not? New IBM machines will still run programs written for machines they sold 45 years ago.

 

[iHavenolife]

Not good. What about Video Cameras?

 

[Blue Velvet]

Not good. What about Video Cameras?

I'm sure nobody has asked that same question in this thread...

This is one of the slimmest, unlikeliest scenarios that I've heard for some time for good reasons that others have already stated. Why people are giving this credence is completely beyond me.

 

[ja0912]

x

 

[ChrisH3677]

Anyone who believes this shouldn't own a computer

MacRumors shouldn't have even run this story. The site that started it is just trolling.

 

[Dale_Nx26]

Maybe and if they are ridding FW400, then it must be to promote FW800. Very few electronics use FW800 so they're trying to make it more mainstream by abandoning FW400 and forcing manufacturers to implement FW800. That would be good as it is much faster than both 400 and USB 2.0. Just a thought.

 

[jer2eydevil88]

Tsk tsk

If apple actually goes through with this I wouldn't be able to use my camcorder, hard drive or ipod so basically I wouldn't be able to buy a new powerbook...

 

[Lynxpro]

Jobs is afraid of that. He created the thing we all love about Apple -- intelligent design.

Weird. I always thought he supported Darwinism.

 

[artifex]

don't discount an eventual move to be able to boot from USB someday, regardless of what happens to FW. I've seen a few Intel-based boards support that in BIOS; no reason for them not to allow it if the underlying hardware supports it.

 

[Lynxpro]

FireWire has also been around for much longer than USB 2.0 Firewire was introduced in late 1998 while USB was not introduced until late 2001.

Uhm, no. USB 1.0 has been around since 1996/1997. In fact, it was made a standard with the original iMac. It took the iMac to cement it as a standard because before the iMac, nobody in the WindowsPC arena took it seriously. They shipped PCs with USB ports, but there were hardly any items that used the ports then. It wasn't until Windows98 that there was decent USB support officially in the Windows world.

If you mean USB 2.0, write "USB 2.0". But seeing that you are referencing Firewire(400) in 1998, that leads me to believe you are incorrectly writing about USB 1.0.

 

[Lynxpro]

Please don't turn this into an intel debate thread with all the others. I wonder if some classic users also need SCSI, Serial and all that for their 'legacy' printers and scanners.

I would hope that this alliance with Intel will bring the other Intel technologies such as PCIe and SATA to all of Apple's product lineups; not just Intel microprocessors and "Centrino" chipsets. Of course, I'm currently amazed that Apple's "Airport" sub-brand has not been updated to include Pre-N transfers.

 

[mandoman]

This rumor is about as believable as saying
Apple is going to start putting serial, parallel, and ps/2
ports on their laptops so they can be like Dell. Yeah, right!

 

[JackAxe]

This is pure speculation on my part, but I think the real reason Apple dropped FW on the iPod in favor of Intel's USB, was because they worked out a deal with Intel to have exclusive rights to an upcoming Pentium M for a set period of time. Dropping it on the PB and IB would further my belief in this atrocity, but until something happens. Blah.

<]=)