USB 3.0 and Faster FireWire in Next Mac Pro, iMac?

[Manzanito]

Apple is not going to add bluray playback to Mac OSX if the drive is BTO.



Even if i had there are only so much movies i would buy, because most are crap. I will take good movie on DVD over bluray any day if that's what it takes. bag of hurt for 4/5 of the world ... and others don't even care.

Again, this are your personal preferences, which I of course respect and can even understand, but most certainly don't share.

You take DVD over BD any day. Good for you, you'll save money. BUT it doesn't make BD a bag of hurt in any way, and if I get the chance to order a BD burner directly from Apple it sure won't hurt you. I promise.

By the way, how do you get the 4/5 ratio? Has there been a poll? You seriously think that 80% of the world hates BD?

 

[pmz]

Um, how does this make any sense?

I'm not up to date on USB 3.0, but is it that much of a disappointment that we'll still need Firewire, albeit faster Firewire?

I was hoping to move forward with USB 3 and forget Firewire entirely. I had no idea that 10 years in the making, USB 3 was so slow.

 

[Rudy69]

If they add FW3200 I'm going to get a 2.5" enclosure and an SSD for my iMac and use it as my OS drive

 

[gmcalpin]

SO EXPENSIVE!

Um, how does this make any sense?

I'm not up to date on USB 3.0, but is it that much of a disappointment that we'll still need Firewire, albeit faster Firewire?

I was hoping to move forward with USB 3 and forget Firewire entirely. I had no idea that 10 years in the making, USB 3 was so slow.

Firewire (of any flavor) has Target Disk mode.

 

[eponym]

I want Apple to bring back FireWire 400: Digital medium format cameras, pro camcorders and tape decks all use 400. Having to use an expensive adapter for everything is a pain, and finding out that your entire university is filled with macs but you can't download the pictures from the medium format camera because you forgot your freaking adapter at home makes me really angry!

Expensive? $2 to $4 for a cable is expensive?

Just go get some cables off monoprice.com

 

[zed]

Its simple really and its a disservice to customers for Steve Jobs to deny supporting standards so that he can force his "vision" on the rest of the industry.

Steve's "vision" is what makes Apple what it is.

 

[toke lahti]

I have all my bluray movies ripped to WD TV HD 1080p@ ~12 GB each and quality is great + no need to change discs.

What do you use for re-encoding & what settings?

 

[the editor]

here's what i find funny.

people are acting as if USB3.0 is like a hallucinating cool thing to have in a 4000$ computer labeled by Apple as the "ultimate" PRO machine. LMAO! Its the least they could do don't you think i mean, hey, its only been almost 2 years for the damn thing to get an update. for 9 months (maybe even longer) there are Mobo's out that support USB3.0.

the reason most people are surprised that MacPro's are going to get USB3.0 (and may i remind you that its still a rumor) is just proof at how much lack of confidence there is regarding Apple computers. People are so used of getting disappointed with outdated basic crap for loads of money that something as basic as USB 3.0 in a 4000$ computer looks like something beyond magical LOL.

all of this hoopla shows that Apple has allot of idiots brainwashed, they give you crumbs and y'all are over the moon. but hey at least it looks good...i guess.

 

[Manzanito]

This trhead turning to about BD is yet another sign how much people want BD in their macs. I bet almost every thread about new mac will turn to this until Apple adds BTO BD.
Hope they fix the memory architecture in new MP. It has been embarrassing...

Indeed. Fortunately we can get third party burners. At this point it's plain stubbornness on Apple's side not to include them as BTO, they could be making money by selling them at twice the price as they usually do, but...

I also hope they give us more options with the graphics cards, instead of forcing us to buy the GT120 and then order the GTX285 if you want to.

 

[Eidorian]

A Mac without FireWire just isn't a Mac.

 

[VicMacs]

wawawawawaaaiit

i typed iphonerumors.com

dont gimme this mac pro rumor… whats up with that!?

 

[toke lahti]

I work in a movie trailer house - around 50 people here. How many of us have a Blu-Ray player?
2 maybe 3.
Says it all about that format for me. People aren't interested.

Says all about how important the format is for content makers and nothing about importance for consumers.
How many of your customers have BD?
If people in your work like movies, how do they watch them?
Or trailer makers don't watch movies..

 

[dempson]

As the MacPro has been delayed for so long it will then probably come out together with the MacBook Pro. All with USB 3 then ? Then, I'll hold before getting a new notebook.

Assuming this rumour is accurate, the new Mac Pro will be out in roughly August, iMac in September.

The latest MacBook Pro was released in April. Major revisions of the MacBook Pro are generally six to ten months apart, so an update as soon as August would be highly unusual. An update just for USB3/FW3200 seems unlikely, especially given that Intel is supposed to be releasing the next batch of processors suitable for the MacBook Pro in Q4 2010.

I'd be expecting to see another round of MacBook Pro updates somewhere around November, or early next year, when Intel is due to introduce the next major architecture change: "Sandy Bridge".

USB 3.0 support on laptops is harder to predict. Intel isn't supposed to be adding it as a standard feature of their chipset until about Q2 2011, so if Apple wants it sooner, they will have to use a separate USB 3 controller chip. They can easily do this in the Mac Pro or iMac (plenty of space), but the laptops have less room for extra components. It might show up on the next 15" and 17" models but not in 13" models or the Mac Mini until mid 2011.

Firewire support is already a separate component, so a faster version could appear sooner on laptops, but Apple may want to update to USB 3.0 and Firewire 1600/3200 in sync for each model.

For comparison:

USB 2.0 was introduced on the PowerMac G5 in June 2003, most other models got it in September or October 2003, and all models by April 2004.

Firewire 800 was more complicated as it was limited to high end models for several years. It started on the PowerMac G4 and 17" PowerBook G4 in January 2003, 15" PowerBook G4 got it late that year, but the 12" PowerBook G4 never got it, and it didn't show up on the iMac until late 2006. The Mac Mini was the last model to get Firewire 800, in early 2009.

 

[Lord Vader]

What do you use for re-encoding & what settings?

MakeMKV with default settings mostly (i adjust bitrate of course and audio tracks/quality).

 

[Rafterman]

Steve's "vision" is what makes Apple what it is.

Vision doesn't mean you need to ignore the obvious. Macs are great machines, but supporting blu-ray would make it better. Simple.

 

[alfonsog]

FWIW, I don't give a toss what comes in this Mac Pro refresh - my 2006 Mac Pro is actually still going strong; it's the first time I've had a computer serve me so well for so long.

I agree completely, I have the original 2006 Mac pro as well. Upgraded ram, drives, and video card and it's still a beast. I won't buy another computer with an included optical drive unless it has blu-ray.

 

[dempson]

Will the iphone 4 be able to take advantage of USB 3? I am thinking ipod pin connector in one end and USB 3 connector in the other.
Would it be able to gain the speed advantages?

No. The iPhone 4 is almost certainly USB 2.0. Even if it did support faster communication with USB 3.0, writing data into the flash memory in the iPhone will be a speed limiting factor. (Transferring data from the iPhone might go faster.)

USB 3.0 is most likely to be useful for fast/large external hard drives, as USB 2.0 is a definite bottleneck there.

 

[MacClassic]

#1) the iMac 21.5" needs Core i5/i7 options, period. I don't need 27" screen but I DO need max performance. Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't the Core i5 750 run cooler than the Core 2 Duos being used? If that is the case, someone tell me why I can't get a current chip with the smaller screen choice? Also, why is Apple charging $200 for the i7 upgrade when in real life the chip is only about $50 more expensive? (cough, Apple Tax, cough).

#2) Mac OS needs Blu-ray playback, period. Those saying downloads are better or are the future must have never had a proper home theater experience. I haven't seen a single download that can remotely touch the audio/video quality of Blu-ray. The closer viewing distance of a typical computer screen increases the importance of resolution. So no, I don't consider upscaled low bit rate 720p on a 27" iMac satisfactory for "HD" viewing. I would like to watch concert/music BD discs in my computer/music studio as opposed to my home theater buy Apple won't allow. And using Boot Camp as a solution is not a solution. If I wanted a Windows PC, why would I bother with Mac in the first place?

#3) I feel sorry for more recent Apple fanboys. Original Mac users such as myself remember when Apple used to stand out from the crowd with unique hardware and intuitive software. Now that Apple is using run of the mill Intel internals, they have switched focus to aesthetics. When Apple was using RISC chips, you could understand that paying more got you something different under the hood compared to the typical PC. No, apple is slow to release the latest Intel hardware because they instead like to obsess over "design" which has NO impact on the useability of performance of the hardware. Why does my desktop have to be razor thin? What benefit does that have for me as an end user? Steve, can you add some thickness so I can have so front facing ports please? Can you put aside your vision of a what computer should be and just build me a computer that is more convenient to use? I'm sorry but Apple has completely lost their focus and the reason folks like me started using Apples in the first place. Perhaps you trendy people think Apple is made from the best stuff on Earth but I remember when they are all about computing, not the outside shell.

With that said, I have money waiting to get a new Apple but they don't have anything I really want right now at an acceptable value. Since my current iMac is still running, I'll just hold out until the next release. If it's yet another stupid thinning down with laptop grade internals, then maybe I'll just get a current Core i7 (even though i don't need all that screen) at a steeply discounted price.

Apple knows they have the best OS out there and it's a shame users like me can't extract the fully supported OS on uncompromised hardware. I'm not interested in extreme thinness or this "industrial" design. Just give me a nicely powered desktop with good connectivity and I'm happy. Mac Pro is overkill and iMac is compromised so there is no happy medium. Steve must go.

 

[kiljoy616]

No blu-ray? That stinks but I like the idea of USB 3.0... just not as much as having blu-ray!

Blu-ray for the most part will never come to mac. I would eat into Apple revenue. I can't see them taking that chance, you can buy 3rd party hardware if you want to do that, but the demand seems small.

I have blu-ray on my PC and for the most part have used it only once in the last 12 months so I can't say its that big a deal. Sure nice to have it if you like watching movies on a monitor, but the price for read/write blu-ray is still high when it comes to price.

 

[Bubba Satori]

Bluray is a bag of hurt.

Only if you're not allowed the choice of having it in order to force to use junk iTunes "HD".

 

[Lord Vader]

Only if you're not allowed the choice of having it in order to force to use junk iTunes "HD".

OK.

 

[Bubba Satori]

Blu-ray for the most part will never come to mac. I would eat into Apple revenue. I can't see them taking that chance, you can buy 3rd party hardware if you want to do that, but the demand seems small.

I have blu-ray on my PC and for the most part have used it only once in the last 12 months so I can't say its that big a deal. Sure nice to have it if you like watching movies on a monitor, but the price for read/write blu-ray is still high when it comes to price.

What an incredible rationalization.

How much money does Apple have to make and how many 10s of billions of dollars in the bank do they have to before they allow their customer the simple CHOICE to have the latest optical technology?

Give people a freaking choice !
Don't want it? Don't tick off the option. Jeebus.
Bunch of brainwashed zombies.

 

[chas0001]

I am personally looking forward to the iMac update. I had the current version but had to send 3 back because of problems. In the end I got a refund. Hopefully all the problems will be sorted in the new release.

 

[ukmacpro]

I agree completely, I have the original 2006 Mac pro as well. Upgraded ram, drives, and video card and it's still a beast. I won't buy another computer with an included optical drive unless it has blu-ray.

Add me to the original 2006 Mac Pro users list! Absolutely love it! Just upgraded my hard drives in it to larger speedier ones and upgraded the RAM a while back. That's the best thing about the Mac Pros, they're almost endlessly upgradeable. I know there are some people, for whatever reason, who need the latest and greatest processors... But Mac Pro 1,1 has performed faultlessly (running Logic Pro in my studio mainly) so far and I hope it will continue to for another couple of years.

Yes I know it's frustrating that it's not been upgraded in a while, but it still is a great machine that looks beautiful and performs well... Although, of course, I am excited to see the new improves machines... Who wouldn't be!

 

[HLdan]

no blu-ray, no sale.

how can someone justify getting a 27 inch top of the line iMac and not able to legitimately buy and watch 1080P movies??

No blu-ray? That stinks but I like the idea of USB 3.0... just not as much as having blu-ray!

I don't which gets on my nerves more, the mention of Blu-Ray or the mention of Magical.