FireWire, we hardly knew ya…
IEEE1394x is a technically superior, yet market underperforming standard that never really got a break. Better known by its trade name, FireWire, the serial bus interface is used by millions worldwide, especially in the burgeoning digital video segment.
Still, you’d think the sky was falling the way some people are carrying on. Of Apple’s 14 traditional computer models, only the new “unibody” MacBooks and MacBook Airs lack FireWire. That’s 10 of 14 products, which means that every MacBook Pro, Mac mini, iMac and Mac Pro still has FireWire.
However, many of the faithful believe that Apple’s decision to drop FireWire from the MacBook line makes it a dead-end technology whose lease on life is rapidly drawing to a close. That said, if the introduction of the original iMac is anything to go by—Apple added FireWire and USB while simultaneously phasing out the floppy drive, SCSI and ADB peripherals—then the Chicken Littles may well be right, IEEE 1394x is doomed.
Why? In spite of the fact that FireWire is an Apple-created technology and greatly superior to USB 2, its closest competitor, it never fully took flight in the marketplace.
Perhaps FireWire’s fate was sealed when the Cupertino, CA-based company decided to make the iPod USB-only in order to drive its acceptance among PC users. The calculus of that decision was clear—USB was available on kerjillions of PCs and Macs, whereas FireWire was standard on Macs only and generally required Windows users to add-on or upgrade.
According to the Wikipedia, the third generation (3G) iPod was the first to include a dock connector that allowed for FireWire or USB connectivity. This provided better compatibility with PCs, as most of them did not have FireWire ports at the time. The dock connector also brought opportunities to exchange data, sound and power with an iPod, which ultimately created a large market of accessories, manufactured by third parties such as Belkin and Griffin.
See also—Firewire Isn’t Alone: A Brief History of Features Apple Has Killed
FireWire is the connection standard in high-end video and audio, and it’s also the standard for storage among old-school Mac users, the ones who made the original transition from SCSI, the serial interface IEEE 1394a was designed to not just replace, but surpass.
Still, although there are perhaps 10-million FireWire users worldwide, there are hundreds million USB users and it’s that ubiquity and economy of scale that ultimately decide which technologies live or die.
Although it might be some years before Apple fully and formally pulls the plug on IEEE 1394x, some users (especially Mac heads) are already beginning to mourn its passing.
What’s your take?
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October 20th, 2008
FireWire RIP. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now that video cameras come with memory cards, it’s kind of redundant.
October 21st, 2008
It’s amazing to me how ignorant seemingly the entire Internet is about this issue. First of all, telling us that 10 out of 14 models “still” have FireWire is pointless. The only model that matters is the one we are currently using or want to use, which is the MacBook. It is fully capable of doing video editing and audio editing with even pro-level software. It’s the best fit for many users.
Secondly, they just removed FireWire from MacBooks so what makes you think they won’t remove it from the Mac mini and iMac lines during the next revision? If they get away with it this time without serious and ongoing protestation, they probably will.
Third, Apple wanting to market to Windows users was a reason for them to ADD the USB connection to their iPods. That was not the reason they REMOVED FireWire from the iPod later on. The reason for that was merely cost and the fact that the vast majority of people were now using USB to connect to their iPods.
Fourth, FireWire is NOT just used by “old-school” Mac users stuck in the SCSI days. It’s used by everyone who understands that it works better than USB despite the paper specs that everyone keeps pointing at because they think 480 just has to be faster than 400. In the real world, USB is slower than FireWire 400 and has very inconsistent throughput which makes it worthless for tasks like audio recording.
Let’s see, what’s left? Oh yes, pointing out how “popular” USB is compared to FireWire, as if that justifies getting rid of FireWire. USB has ALWAYS been more popular and ubiquitous than FireWire, especially in PCs. If that could be used to justify dropping FireWire don’t you think Apple would have dropped FireWire years ago?
The simple fact is that there is no replacement for the functionality that FireWire provides, the same way that Ethernet still can’t be removed even though “everyone” uses wireless these days. And without an ExpressCard slot it is impossible to add FireWire back to the MacBook because it’s not possible to make a functional USB adapter for FireWire. Do the research.
Last but definitely not least, most of the video cameras that are USB only use the USB for transferring still shots, and they are mostly consumer-level cameras that record compressed video. There is a whole spectrum of headaches and incompatibilities with USB video cameras that FireWire equipped video cameras don’t have, which is why even consumers buy millions of them. Now they are all useless unless we want to spend $700 extra to buy a laptop that is bigger and more powerful than we want or need.
(No, the FireWire port is most certainly NOT redundant, Phil.)
For all these reasons and more, many of us think this is the by far the dumbest decision Apple has ever made. What’s worse is the only possible reason they did it is because the MacBook is now too close to the MacBook Pro in specs and they didn’t want to lose MacBook Pro sales to the MacBook. Well, they are losing Mac sales to PCs instead because of this boneheaded decision. It’s already happening.
October 21st, 2008
I forgot about this because I was never really into the iPod thing, but I’m pretty sure it was only the last generation or two like the iPhone and the new iPod Touch where Apple actually removed FireWire functionality from the device itself. With all previous iPod generations all they did was leave out the FireWire CABLE to reduce manufacturing costs! Those who wanted to continue using their iPods via FireWire have always been able to simply buy a FireWire iPod cable.
This point should make it obvious that bringing up the iPod to justify removing FireWire from the MacBook is just silly.
October 21st, 2008
“For all these reasons and more, many of us think this is the by far the dumbest decision Apple has ever made. ”
I’d have to vote for licensing clones. It damn near put them under.
October 24th, 2008
These are not surprising my anymore, but thanks..
October 24th, 2008
thank you, jar jar.
March 11th, 2009
I shudder to think of every having to resort to USB for an external hard drive. Even firewire 400 is better.
What I’d hate to lose more, though, is Target Mode. That has been an utter lifesaver.