The future of Firewire on the MacBook Pro

[Phrasikleia]

Is there a future? Can we expect to see Firewire disappear within a couple of years?

I expect to buy a new pro-level laptop in about two years. I intend to buy a new 1TB hard drive right now and want to future-proof it. Should I get one that has eSata or will I be safe with just Firewire?

 

[TJunkers]

You never know with Apple. I'd say your best bet is to get one that has multiple outputs and you'll be set. My WD MyBook has Firewire 400, 800 and USB 2.0. It's awesome!

 

[Chaos123x]

Well if Apple wants to send all it's FCP users to PC and Avid.

I could see them doing that.

But if they value their pro users they will just add FireWire 3200 which is backward compatible with 800 and 400.

 

[Freewayjim]

You can get a MyBook Studio External HD and get FW400, FW800, eSata & USB ports all in the same drive, and it is formatted for the Mac. The two FW ports are actually the FW800 interface.

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?DriveID=374

 

[Phrasikleia]

Thanks, yeah, I do realize that I can get a drive with multiple interfaces, but they do cost more. So I was wondering if I could get away with one or the other instead. But perhaps I should hedge my bets and get one with the works.

 

[Chaos123x]

You can transfer data to other drives and the price of drives are going down all the time.

Who cares what format you choose now? Hard Drives die, and do not last forever especially externals. Just choose the drive that is best for today.

 

[840quadra]

An other option is to (if you need to), remove the drive from the firewire enclosure, and put it in a generic USB enclosure for continued use.

I did the opposite with a Seagate USB 2.0 Drive, and put the actual hard drive into a generic Firewire enclosure.

 

[Freewayjim]

Thanks, yeah, I do realize that I can get a drive with multiple interfaces, but they do cost more. So I was wondering if I could get away with one or the other instead. But perhaps I should hedge my bets and get one with the works.

Fry's Ad in Todays paper had a MyBook Studio 1TB for $199, that's pretty hard to beat.

 

[tcphoto]

Unfortunately, Apple has closed the chapter on FW400 and I'll wager that they do not go back. As a beautiful girl once told me, "progress, not regress". Applying that philosophy to my photo business, it may be time to upgrade from the 1Ds MarkII to the MarkIII. Canon switched from the FW400 interface to USB2, they just didn't tell me why and it seems apparent to me now.

 

[sushi]

Is there a future? Can we expect to see Firewire disappear within a couple of years?

I expect to buy a new pro-level laptop in about two years. I intend to buy a new 1TB hard drive right now and want to future-proof it. Should I get one that has eSata or will I be safe with just Firewire?

Gut feeling says that FW800 will remain and that sometime in the future we will see FW3200.

If you are going to purchase a new laptop in a year or two, then I would wait to purchase the supporting external HDs then. More capacity at less cost. Plus you will know for sure if FW800 or FW3200 is around then.

And today, purchase what you need, not want, external HD wise. Or as others have said, get one with multi-interfaces (FW400, FW800, eSATA and USB 2.0).