Possible way to get Firewire on new MacBooks

[Ken Sp.]

I was looking for number of drives SATA supports, and came upon this wiki with good SATA-USB-Firewire speed comparisons. It doesn't account for the USB overhead "speed killing tax" difference between USB and FireWire.

Scroll down to the eSATA in comparison to other external buses chart

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_ATA

Now for the MacBook part.
More research sent me to this this Wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FireWire

and came up with this. Makes things more interesting-maybe?

FireWire S800T (IEEE 1394c-2006)

FireWire is enhanced to share gigabit Category 5e cable
IEEE 1394c-2006 was published on June 8, 2007.
It provides the following improvements
A new port specification which provides 800 Mbit/s over the same RJ45 connectors with Category 5e cable which is specified in IEEE 802.3 clause 40 (gigabit Ethernet over copper twisted pair)
An automatic negotiation that allows the same port to connect to either IEEE Std 1394 or IEEE 802.3 (Ethernet) devices.
Various minor updates to IEEE 1394b
Though the potential for a combined Ethernet and FireWire RJ45 port is intriguing, as of December 2007, there are no products or chipsets which include this capability.


Additionally regarding the new MBP,
Since FW 1600 and 3200 use the same type of port/connector as FW 800, would a firmware upgrade be all that was needed for the upgrade like when the Airport Extremes in MBP got upgraded to 802.11n?

[ztirffritz]

Maybe it is like the 802.11n chipsets that Apple included, but didn't turn on until later.

[Robert M]

Ken,

Possible, but would it be worthwhile? I doubt the removal of firewire is going to impact the average user of a Macbook. Prosumers and professional users, sure. But, the average user on the street? Probably not. I'd rather see Apple put the resources to use elsewhere in their product lines.

Robert

[Harbourmaster]

You still need to have the FW chipset on the motherboard or this does you absolutely no good..."as of December 2007, there are no products or chipsets which include this capability"

[Jimmypoo]

I have to agree with Robert......

the average user most like doesn't understand the difference nor appreciate the
benefits of FireWire nor even use (or know they have) Target Disk Mode.... I've seen this
watching others for a few years more closely, and seeing that without a digital camera
and without thought given to the need, regarding external drive differences, it
it something that probably only hurt a handful of MacBook users, like not having
a slot hurt expanding the unit... but again, only to a small handful.

That dual use slot (for USB/eSATA) would have been a nice offering, and so would
have been a card slot - so we could put it back, but again, paying for what they don't even
know they have.... is better if left off, FOR APPLE - because now they're paying MORE for what they
don't know they DON'T have.

[Jimmypoo]

btw.... chipsets, et. al., for FW3200 and USB 3 are due first Q or so of '09.

[MacMagus]

So then you give up your Ethernet port and have to use yet another adapter to connect your FireWire devices?

I don't think that's Apple's plan.

[Jimmypoo]

Other interesting stuff of note - updated since I last read it.......

(and in '05, FW3200 had already been tested over small distances of 1-2 meters, but this 100 meter deal is fsckin' awesome. Would love to see it be able to plug to GigEthernet, with some guts in the adapter, and provide FW800 or better over 5e cable. That would make me satisfied with whatever is lost.)



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The FireWire host interface supports memory-mapped devices, which allows high-level protocols to run without loading the host CPU with interrupts and buffer-copy operations. [18] FireWire 800 is substantially faster than Hi-Speed USB.[19]

Alternative uses for IEEE 1394

Aircraft
IEEE 1394b is used in military aircraft, where weight savings are desired. Developed for use as the data bus on the F-22 Raptor, it is also used on the F-35 Lightning II.[20] NASA's Space Shuttle also uses IEEE 1394b to monitor debris (foam, ice) which may hit the vehicle during launch.[20] This standard should not be confused with the unrelated MIL-STD-1394B.

Automobiles
IDB-1394 Customer Convenience Port (CCP) is the automotive version of the 1394 standard. [21]

Sexual Devices
IDB-1394 Customer Convenience Port CCP is the iBrator version of the 1394 standard (implementation pending, device is currently USB ) (69)

[AllGold]

I'd rather we all collectively bust some heads at Apple and get them to put back the FW port they shouldn't have removed in the first place.

[Robert M]

All,

Considering the primary user of the machine, there was no reason to keep the firewire port. That's not even factoring in the increased cost of having the port, i.e. electronics, necessary design changes to the case, etc.

Robert