Steve Jobs on Lack of Firewire in MacBooks

[Tummy]

Not true. Many consumers use firewire external hard drives.

I don't know of any. Most consumer level people I know (I define consumer as office worker types, college kids, housewife, etc) don't even know what Firewire is or even have external drives. The ones that do buy the cheapest drives possible, Western Digital USB external drives, or whatever is cheapest from Office Max, Staples, or Best Buy.

I wouldn't call people who know what they're doing or doing this stuff for money, consumers.

 

[editguy]

Observations dude, observations and Steve Jobs seems to agree with me.

Yes, and apparently Steve Jobs, like you, know nothing about professional video and audio.

 

[AppleMojo]

Okay, all. I just got an email from Steve responding to your complaints.

"Quit your sniveling, and if you don't like it go buy a PC. hahaha - good luck with that."

In addition, he added:

"And one more thing, only n00bs get all worked up, whine and complain about an email they believe came from me, when in fact there is no real evidence."

... lol, this is way too funny to watch.

I think the firewire issue is simply an Apple marketing plan to get users to jump to the next highest Pro machine if they need Firewire. That simple. Whether you like it or not, who cares.

 

[corinhorn]

Why is Apple abandoning the technology that they introduced?

Because Apple is focusing more at Windows switchers rather than its customer base. Apparently, FireWire scares and confuses Windows users.

 

[editguy]

I don't know of any. Most consumer level people I know (I define consumer as office worker types, college kids, housewife, etc) don't even know what Firewire is or even have external drives. The ones that do buy the cheapest drives possible, Western Digital USB external drives, or whatever is cheapest from Office Max, Staples, or Best Buy.

I wouldn't call people who know what they're doing or doing this stuff for money, consumers.

Just because you don't know them doesn't mean their not out there. There was a 15 y.o. girl on one of these threads the other day talking about her external firewire hard drive.

 

[synth3tik]

Apple eliminated firewire from their MB.
I eliminated any need to give Apple money

 

[Adjei]

I'd like to see you tell the shareholders (as Apple's stock has tanked from 180 to ~100 -- yes, I know certainly not because of this issue) that even though they could have made more money, they're point is moot.

Apple's stop tanking has nothing to do with how much money they are making, last time I checked most stock exchanges in the world are tanking.

 

[unwinded]

Talk about something you know about, because it's obviously not video, I've been producing video professionally for over twenty years and firewire is not going anyplace. Why do you think there's a new firewire standard coming it it was a dying technology. Plus, firewire is the standard for professional audio. The ignorance of people talking about things they know nothing about is overwhelming.

Depending on where you buy, SD cards can be higher capacity and around the same price as miniDV tapes. Firewire and capturing in general is going to go away sooner rather than later. Why bother with capturing if you can just slap an SD card and copy a file over? Isn't that why tape drive became obsolete in the 70s?

A 60 min minDV tape is 13gb. They have SD cards available in much higher capacities.

 

[Adjei]

Yes, and apparently Steve Jobs, like you, know nothing about professional video and audio.

Right but he knows more about his customers and running a company more than you.

 

[Shagrat]

I also have an MB Air and live without Ethernet. My house, most hotels I stay at are wireless, what's the problem? They could also drop a headphone jack because I also have BT headphones (but prefer my old Bose QC2s).

I was ridiculing the selective application of the use of the phrase "Think different" that the poster was employing.

You may not need Ethernet, I do. You may not need a headphone jack, but I do. One man's meat is another mans poison, and all that.

What i really think is sticking in people's craw here, is that an FW port on the MB would have increased it's usability for a minimal outlay, but the ONLY reason, in my opinion, as to why it was removed, is to force those of us who are running MBs and who DO use firewire, to have to upgrade to MBPs.

I think THAT is the sticking point.

After all Apple ISN'T Dell/HP/Acer, etc. Or wasn't.

 

[dernhelm]

I too will post on this thread for purposes of Catharsis...

It IS too bad. I bought a new camcorder less than a year ago, it wasn't top of the line or anything, but it was Firewire and it works great.

I won't be upgrading my Powerbook G4 anytime soon, because now I have to wait until I can afford an MBP so I can use my camcorder.

My experience is that Steve is simply wrong about Firewire, and they should have left it in.

 

[localoid]

Apple used to make the perfect laptop for musicians. You couldn't go onto a music maker related forum without finding a group of new Mac users who were bragging about how well their MacBooks worked (for digital audio) compared to their old Windows machines. The 13" MacBook was the perfect size for use as a mobile recording studio and just as perfect for a bedroom studio.

Much of the "magic" that made the MacBook "perfect" was the fact that it had a 6-pin Firewire jack that could provide bus power for most Firewire audio devices. You were totally free from needing 120AC for power. And Apple's laptops were the _only_ laptops that could provide bus power via Firewire.

But that was then and this is now. Since Apple has crippled the MacBook for any serious audio recording use, the company should expect more articles like the one below to show up in the future within the audio world.

Why musicians shouldn't buy Apple's new MacBook

"As the dust settles on the launch of Apple's new laptop range, one thing is becoming clear: if you're a musician, the new MacBook could be best avoided."

"Yes, you could use a USB 2.0 audio interface – there are now plenty of these on the market, too - but you'll be limiting your expansion options. Excellent, laptop-friendly products such as Focusrite's Liquid Mix and SSL's Duende Mini are also FireWire-only – do you really want to prohibit yourself from using these in the future?"

 

[xsel]

Not true. Many consumers use firewire external hard drives.

I love my firewire external HD.

Anyway, apple... this is epic fail

 

[Shagrat]

Depending on where you buy, SD cards can be higher capacity and around the same price as miniDV tapes. Firewire and capturing in general is going to go away sooner rather than later. Why bother with capturing if you can just slap an SD card and copy a file over? Isn't that why tape drive became obsolete in the 70s?

A 60 min minDV tape is 13gb. They have SD cards available in much higher capacities.

FW is used for other things apart from DV capture...
Just announced...

 

[kabunaru]

I wonder if Steve Jobs was drunk when he chose to remove the FireWire from the MacBook.

 

[Sceneshifter]

Audio...

Imo the Firewire removal has little to do with Video. It has everything to do with Audio. The current (and previous gen) Macbooks are extremely good at audio processing, it has plenty of power. I see more then several 'pro' musicians with MBs instead of MBPro, for the simple fact that the only thing MBP really had going for it (from an Audio perspective) was a slightly faster processor and more ports + one extra screen for studio use. For AUDIO you can get by, for live use and really even studio use, with just one firewire port (usually just an external HDD, just watch some concerts and be amazed) and have a blast. It is true, USB devices can be good, but the firewire audio devices are fantastic. If firewire is 'legacy' then entire inventories in prominent music stores just became ancient history according to a previous poster. FW is not at all legacy, it's basicaly the only viable option for AUDIO. Have you seriously ever heard of someone buying audio HD's and related accessories that are USB 2.0?

The reasoning behind this 'If you can afford a guitar then you can afford a MBPro' is just beyond my logic. For 400 dollars you can buy an entire new musical instrument, 400 dollars is a heap of money, 400 dollars gets you freaking LOGIC, a PRO APP, 400 dollars buys you two iPhones for the non-musicians... I mean, since when did 400 dollars become 'just' 400 dollars? Seriously?

 

[danny_w]

Because Apple is focusing more at Windows switchers rather than its customer base. Apparently, FireWire scares and confuses Windows users.

Then why do most Windows notebooks over $500 include a firewire port?

 

[slu]

Are you watching your DV movies on an HDTV? Most people are upgrading to HD and old movies look like crap in comparison to even a cheapie HD camcorder.

Clearly the market Apple is positioning the MB for video is towards Youtube style video, casual home users / college kids.

How do I burn HD Content to a watchable disk on a Mac? Oh yeah I can't.

Unless you don't edit your video and hook your HD camera up to your TV, you are watching SD anyway.

I don't see much value in buying an HD camera until I can edit HD footage and burn to Blu-Ray so I can watch it on a TV that has a Blu-Ray player. Until then SD it is. And footage shot with my Panasonic PV-GS250 and edited with FCE looks pretty damn good on my HDTV.

 

[editguy]

Depending on where you buy, SD cards can be higher capacity and around the same price as miniDV tapes. Firewire and capturing in general is going to go away sooner rather than later. Why bother with capturing if you can just slap an SD card and copy a file over? Isn't that why tape drive became obsolete in the 70s?

A 60 min minDV tape is 13gb. They have SD cards available in much higher capacities.

Not for prosumer cameras. They use proprietary cards because the record at superior data rates.

 

[Peace]

The reasoning behind this 'If you can afford a guitar then you can afford a MBPro' is just beyond my logic. For 400 dollars you can buy an entire new musical instrument, 400 dollars is a heap of money, 400 dollars gets you freaking LOGIC, a PRO APP, 400 dollars buys you two iPhones for the non-musicians... I mean, since when did 400 dollars become 'just' 400 dollars? Seriously?

As a musician I can say there is no way you can buy a good guitar for $400

The ones I have cost anywhere from $1500 to $3000

 

[synth3tik]

I too will post on this thread for purposes of Catharsis...

It IS too bad. I bought a new camcorder less than a year ago, it wasn't top of the line or anything, but it was Firewire and it works great.

I won't be upgrading my Powerbook G4 anytime soon, because now I have to wait until I can afford an MBP so I can use my camcorder.

My experience is that Steve is simply wrong about Firewire, and they should have left it in.

I would just click on in the the refurb store. Kind of silly to spend $500 just to get firewire. At that point you may look at a different camera. I would go to the refurb store.

 

[pubwvj]

Apple making another mistake

As a long time Apple customer I've seen them do this over and over during the past three decades. They introduce or promote some great interface and then later abandon it after lots of people have equipment that uses that. It is very annoying. I won't be buying a MacBook. I need Firewire.

 

[jssheffield]

I'm not a Pro, but a reasonably clued up amateur who uses this stuff as a hobby, but does stuff from time to time that aspires to be a bit better than that. And as I DON'T make a (good) living from my gear, it hurts me in the pocket even more.

And I'm willing to bet there are plenty others out there like me, too.

Yeah, I think it is a real shame that in the past several years Apple has shifted from thinking about its user-base as a broad set of producers to just another set of consumers.

It was always exciting to show regular people the kind of creative stuff which was relatively easy to do with an entry level computer (Rip-Mix-Burn, Firewire, iLife). Now, I guess I could tell them how my computer was made or how environmentally friendly it is as I browse the web or check my email.

I am starting to wonder what the future holds for iLife.

 

[the vj]

I wonder if Steve Jobs was drunk when he chose to remove the FireWire from the MacBook.

No, the cancer treatment affected his judgment and now he is angry to the world. That is his way to manifesting.

 

[unwinded]

FW is used for other things apart from DV capture...
Just announced...

That looks expensive. If somebody buys that, they should probably not be buying the 13" MacBook directed at consumers.

Firewire's main purpose has been video capture since it's inception. Firewire hard drives might be technically better than their USB 2.0 counterparts but you really don't see any around. The only thing I've use firewire for recently is target disk mode and I don't think new buyers will care as much.