New Apple Portables To Drop FireWire Support?

[Morky]

Page 2, please

This obviously ridiculous claim should be on page 2. Home video editing is a major draw to the Mac an this would kill it for consumers. How would you transfer video off cameras? Get real. Apple hasn't made a mistake like that since before Job's return. The reason for dropping it in the iPod is that most PCs don't have firewire and USB 2 is pretty much as fast at transferring files.

 

[phonic pol]

Just had a thought

This just occured to me. Perhaps apple is dropping wired firewire support because the next generation 'firewireless' is gonna feature in the new machines.

This would of course be backward compatible through some kind of accessory.

I'm happy now...

 

[iMeowbot]

It would be cool to see FW cut down to a single legacy port to make room for external SATA disks, to get proper SMART support out there.

 

[phonic pol]

... uhhh. I should have read it. Missed the iBook comment.
It's understandable for the Powerbooks. FireWire is backward compatible and use is limited to video auditing or external drives only.
But dropping it from the iBook is not the right thing to do. Too many miniDV camcorders are using it, and that's what non pro users have.

BOLLOCKS - it's not understandable for powerbooks; lots of non pro video editors use powerbooks. I'm a photogrpaher and designer so in that aspect I'm a pro but when it comes to video I only dabble i.e. I'm a consumer. I and many others need firewire in their powerbooks, we also need all the power we can get our hands on to speed workflow in pro apps like aperure, photoshop, illustrator etc. The only line of macs that I use and will use in the future are their pro machines.

Transfer rates or raw images using firewire card readers is far superior to usb2 readers i.e. essential on location. A powerbook is the only computer on location with the majority of pro photographers.

 

[Stella]

Don't believe it for one second.

The reason for dropping FW from iPods was to make the device smaller and cheaper.

Cutting money off a $1200 unit is a drop in the ocean - the price of a FW controller from a $375 unit may be significant, but not for $1200.

Cutting $1200 will make too many devices incompatible and piss a lot of people off. Do Apple want to reduce their market share?

 

[imikem]

Out with the old

And in with the new.

I could easily believe that FireWire 400 is being deprecated in favor of FW 800. That would simply reflect ongoing enhancement to technology and would help foster broader availability of FW 800 peripherals.

A FireWireLess technology is a possibility, but a slim one for the moment, I think.

Eliminating it entirely? I really really doubt it. I think that would have a drastic negative effect on their user base. Suddenly many mobile professionals in digital video and photography might be forced to buy laptops from other vendors. Not the group of users one wants to alienate.

 

[ITASOR]

Heh, so much for that new miniDV camera.

 

[superleccy]

This would be a disaster. How am I supposed to connect my LaCie? And my Elgato EyeTV? Please Apple, don't do this.

Superleccy

 

[Les Kern]

Crap news from a crap source. Think about it... Apple announces a new digital hub based on Intel, but sorry folks, there's no way to get the digital IN to the Intel product. Oops! If it IS a single 800 port, that's FINE... just include the damned adaptor.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

there's nothing like using the power of mac rumour sites to start a rumour like this so everyone buys the last PPC ones and hey presto, old stock depleted, and new releases have firewire 400 and 800 as standard.

or am i missing something here?

Perhaps the iBooks will lack Firewire. They might even look like the new iPods, to intice switchers. Thin, Light, medeocre battery life, alright performance and specs. Than, apple rolls out the powerbooks, with one firewire port. the powerbooks would have the same sort of specs of the current iBooks and ONE Firewire 800 port (as stated). Lastly, Apple rolls out a Probook, with everything and the dish washer.

I really don't see the point of a firewire port in a sub $700 machine. No pro will ever use it, and if you do get a sub $700 computer, you can get a PC card if you need one that badly. Otherwise, get the higher end models.

Of course, this only works if the iBooks become sub $700, and are so crappy that only n00bs would want them.


If my predictions are wrong, I'll be pissed


P.S. Doesn't OS X REQUIRE a firewire port? And would apple really kill their own superior technology because they might save a few dollars. Something no one's mentioned this far is that Firewire doesn't tax the CPU like USB does. That makes for better transfers, and I really can't see apple removing it from any 'book that has more than basic (by basic I mean slow, old, etc) features.

 

[revisionA]

What needs to be there

firewire 400 x2 firewire 800 x2 wimax & wifi, usb 2.0 x4, pcmcia II, dvi

if you want a hub, make it a friggin HUB! The less additional hubs to pack in your bag, the more you will get out of your portable.

standardized connections will help it sell more than an ipod dock integration. If the dock breaks, you need to fix your book... no good.

Yes firewire takes power to run, so does usb... anything that is vampric (not self powered) will lower battery time. And that may be why they think apple is losing firewire, and also the ipod losing it... battery life.

if that happens, revision E powerbooks will be in demand for at least one revision of the intelbooks.

$

 

[Little Endian]

Apple is betraying it's own technologies.

I am still pissed that Apple completely dumped Firewire for the ipod nano and new Video ipods. I use a G5 and it has USB 2.0 in addition to Firewire Connectors so no prob but I also have an older G4 imac and ibook that have only USB 1 and syncing ipod to these machines is slow as hell!!!

I need Firewire!! I have an isight and DV camera that are FireWire only. I also have Firewire external Hard drives and I often transfer files between computers via FireWire Target disk mode. I prefer Firewire over USB. I do not want only one FireWire 800 port, why should I have to buy an adaptor to go down to 400 besides one port is not enough. My mom had to spend extra to get a Firewire cable that was not included with her second generation ipod mini and I thought that was bad. It's crap like this that makes me feel Apple would rather make it's current and past user base make sacrifices to appease the PC world and make it easier and cheaper for converts.

I am not to happy over Apple's recent Push toward becoming more "PC" like.
Apple dumps PowerPC, Apple gives Firewire the backseat, Apple introduces mighty mouse, (mighty mouse is a step in the right direction though). What's next!! Apple dumps real video cards for intel integrated graphics crap!! Oh how scary that is but I see it happening. Say bye bye to Nvidia and ATI graphics in consumer macs like the mini, ibook, and perhaps even imac!!

 

[decksnap]

I'm not even going to read all the previous posts, because I can't imagine any of them being positive. Just wanted to post my opinion:

REALLY STUPID IDEA!!

 

[fixyourthinking]

Jason O Grady: Separated from Dvorak at birth

Jason O' Grady is nothing but a Bill Palmer like, Dvorak like website editor - when hits are low ... he manufactures some lame rumor or regurgitates some flame to incite Mac users to visit his site.

That said, if this happens ... I won't credit The PowerPage with the rumor because this is actually a logical progression for ALL Apple product lines.

Here are some plausible scenarios:

Apple does drop firewire 400 and goes w/ additional USB 2.0 ports - leaves firewire 800 (which having 400 is just redundant if you have an adapter)

Apple drops firewire 400 and 800, but (and this would be AWESOME) - includes a wireless firewire (which exists) breakout box w/ pro machines and makes it an option on consumer Macs.

Think about #2 scenario - a high end video transfer ... wirelessly that doesn't interfere with airport or bluetooth - a possible connection standard for iPods/Tivo (and the VIIV stuff)

 

[nxent]

if apple drops firewire support, i will be pissed

 

[jdechko]

Noooooooooo... they can't drop firewire. It's too useful. Digital Video, booting from an external drive (IMO, more useful than Digital Video). The list goes on and on.

 

[Gasu E.]

This would be insane. Video production at both the professional and amateur levels is a distinctive competence of Apple. Every switcher I know first looked at the Mac because of the iPod, but actually made the leap because of iMovie.

 

[jdechko]

I really don't see the point of a firewire port in a sub $700 machine. No pro will ever use it, and if you do get a sub $700 computer, you can get a PC card if you need one that badly.

Except the current iBooks don't have a PC card slot. So Apple takes out the FW port and the contoller, and puts in a PC Card slot (which is much bigger). If it's a size thing, I don't buy it.

 

[freeny]

Absolute ********. Dont buy it for a second

 

[hyperpasta]

Not happening

This isn't happening. Camcorders all use Firewire. All Apple computers must retain 1 Firewire 400 port, pro computers must have an 800 as well.

 

[ccool2ax]

Remember the outrage with intel?

Apple's really bold for even remotely thinking abot dropping FW.
I can imagine Steve announcing it, and all of our opinions will be different. Everybody thought it would be the end of the world with Intel. Isnt USB 2 faster anyway? (Intel is faster than PPC) Cant we just make a USB-FW conversion module? (Rosetta) USB is cheaper than Firewire (Intel cheaper than PPC.) We even bundled the camera latch iSight we patented in October! (Etc.)

 

[dernhelm]

Very disappointing and totally expected at the same time.

Glad I got my PB when I did!

 

[MazaGRANDEman]

And what's ADB?

If no-one answered you yet, ADB stands for Apple Desktop Bus which was used to connect mouse & keyboard (possibly other peripherals too) on the old macs.

And for the topic, I don't see it happening. FW is just too commonly used to be thrown away from the game just yet. But when Apple introduces the FirewireExtremeUltraTurboNuclearBoostHyperdrivebus, it may then be dropped, but not in the near future, no.

Not believing this rumors either.

 

[whooleytoo]

If it IS a single 800 port, that's FINE... just include the damned adaptor.

Fair enough, but:

a) Having to carry an extra adaptor around with your iBook is annoying.
b) If you plug a FW400 device into the FW800 port, do other FW800 devices slow to FW400 speeds?
c) Knowing Apple, they'll bundle the adaptor and say "so what's the fuss?", and then quietly stop including the adaptor a few months later so it becomes an extra expense.

a) Having to carry an extra adaptor around with your iBook is annoying.
b) If you plug a FW400 device into the FW800 port, do other FW800 devices slow to FW400 speeds?
c) Knowing Apple, they'll bundle the adaptor and say "so what's the fuss?", and then quietly stop including the adaptor a few months later so it becomes an extra expense.

d) I just realised, I hate it when people break their posts into individual points as above...

 

[~Shard~]

The more and more I think about this and read these comments, the more I think this simply will not happen. It would be foolish of Apple to remove FW, plain and simple, even if it's just in the portables and not across the line.