Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: ????
Originally posted by patrick0brien
-MorganX
I'm not usually one to get involved in arguments here, but I feel this must be said:
It almost appears that you are trolling for an argument. Please open your mind up a little. Sure, the wording of "Apple *sets* industry standards. almost 100% of the time. " was a bit extreme and blanket. But there is a lot of historical truth to this.
No, I was trolling for discussion, the comment that was made, was so extreme, I felt it was trolling for an argument. What good is it if is not true?
Most of what's inside a Mac today are PC standards.
AGP
DDR
PCI
(and I'm sure Apple will adopt PCI-Express.)
USB (with an asterisk, see below)
Given that, the comment was just unnecessary. I personally don't care much for who was first to use what. What I would like to see is more Mac users, creatively criticize Apple where appropriate. When I'm on a PC board and say hey, MS is getting a margin of 85% on Windows XP, why are they charging for the cheesy Digital Media Plust pack I get people who agree and disagree. But no one acting like I just called their mama fat and ugly.
BTW, Apple does set the standard for Aesthetics and UI design, realizing of course that everything has its strengths and weaknesses.
Originally posted by patrick0brien
Apple did introduce the world to USB 1 in the first place. Sure the didn't invent the technology, Intel did that, but they did set the standard, from an introductory standpoint.
I don't have a problem giving Apple credit for that. Though prior to Apple adopting it, it was on IBM and Dell PCs. We have refreshed many PCs that never had them enabled because Microsoft chose to wait for Windows 98 to fully support USB in a hassle-free manner. Apple jumped on board a train it new was not going to be stopped.
Originally posted by patrick0brien
USB2 is nifty, but just not a clear improvement over FireWire 400. You still need drivers and even then it may never reach the ceiling of it's theoretical max of 480. Firewire devices rarely need drivers, and that's the point. And it does reach its ceiling. USB2 is cheaper, but that's the operative word: cheaper.
Also, don't forget FireWire is an industry standard: IEEE 1394.
Firewire is a standard, and because it can power many devices, I prefer it. The connectors could be as easy to insert/remove as USB, but that's trivial.
The point isn't to say IEEE 1394 isn't a great technology (I still haven't written off 1394 Networking). But it is not going to be nearly as ubiquitous as USB2. And if the only reason Apple isn't moving to it is to push FW4 and FW8. I see that as a self serving (licensing) disservice to its loyal customers.
Regarding drivers, Cameras and storage devices do not need drivers on either platform. The only USB2 devices I've seen that need drivers are of course, printers (don't think there are firewire printers) and small number of scanners.