[angelmb]

After all the rant regarding FireWire I guessed I played it sure buying the new MBP instead of the cute MB but… it comes only with a FW 800 port LOL @ me. Anyhow, would you care to list your FireWire peripherals so one can wonder if the lost is huge or marginal… just curious OK?

Items I still use on a daily basis:
- LaCie d2 FW400, my most trusty external HD
- iSight, which anyway goes to the Mac Pro

Items I rarely or don't longer use:
- QPS FW 400 burner
- LaCie CDRW FW400 burner
- FireZip FW400 drive

That's all. I guess FW Target Disk Mode is going to have a stellar presence but that's another story thought…

[turtle777]

FW HDs
iPod G3

That's it.

For me, it's not a loss. If I get a MB, it would not connect to any of these devices. They all hook up to my iMac.

-t

[IceEnclosure]

The missing Firewire 400 port(s) has me slightly upset, but I'm trying to remain neutral.

That said I have an external Firewire/USB2 HD, currently hooked up via firewire(duh) to my iMac G5.

I had a firewire webcam up until a couple of months ago, but other than that only a handful of firewire cables.

Last time I hooked up a USB2 video camera to my computer getting the files off it and then converted for use with iMovie was a hassle. Not so with EVERY firewire camcorder I've ever used, always like butter.

[Big Mac]

Originally Posted by angelmb 

After all the rant regarding FireWire I guessed I played it sure buying the new MBP instead of the cute MB but… it comes only with a FW 800 port LOL @ me.

Uh, you do know that your 400 devices can be used on the new MBP with a simple 800 to 400 cable (referred to as 9 pin to 6pin), right?

[slpdLoad]

Multiple FW400 and 800 hard drives
External audio devices via 400
DV Cameras (I'm talking nice Canon GL2s here - a lot of places haven't bought HD camcorders yet)
iPod 3G

FW disk mode! This is a huge loss, as nothing comes close to replacing it.

And USB might be nice, but the ability to daisy-chain FW devices meant you could be all set with just a single FW port.

[Eug]

1) FW Target Mode

2) Several FW hard drives. My portable one only supports FW. One of my desktop ones supports USB2, but you have to remove the physical port and replace it with a USB2 one. (It's a modular design.) I do have the USB2 module though.

3) A couple of FW DVD burners. For some reason USB 2 doesn't work consistently on one of them, but FW has always worked perfectly. However, if necessary, I could probably find a new enclosure for it. I use these still because they're region free and one of them also is capable of burning DVD+R flagged as DVD-ROM. This maintains backwards compatibility with DVD players and my Cube for dual-layer media. Luckily I can continue to use my iMac for this stuff.

4) MiniDV camcorder

I do have a MIDI device, but it's actually USB. I actually was considering getting a FW one at one point, but I guess I won't now.

[ajprice]

An iSight camera that I had for my G4, its connected to my white macbook but I don't really use it anymore.

An external hard drive which is USB and firewire connection (Lindy Mac Mini style case), and a Belkin FW/USB2 hub (again Mac Mini shaped).

Thats it, the rest is USB or USB2.

[Dakar V]

I don't have any FireWire devices, but I've used TDM countless times. I would have been dead without it long ago.

[Eug]

USB to FireWire converter



Unfortunately it is NOT compatible with OS X, or even Vista. It's only compatible with XP. Boot Camp?

Oh and it's really expensive too.

[sek929]

iPod 4G, that's it.

Besides editing video off of my friends DV cam, which only has a FW connection.

[IceEnclosure]

Oh and of course count me in for TDM. Saved my ass and others asses many times.

: \

[OreoCookie]

Two external harddrives (a LaCie d2 and an Icy Box enclosure). That's all.

[analogika]

Main workhorse:
Metric Halo Mobile I/O 2882

occasionally,
PreSonus FireBox
or
RME Fireface

Four LaCie d2 hard drives and a 2.5 inch portable HD

and a 1st-gen 5GB iPod.



On the Mac mini server, an additional five or six hard drives of varying origin.


And on tech support jobs, FireWire networking and Target Disk Mode galore, of course.


No Firewire means no more 13" 'book for me.

That sucks total donkey balls.

[analogika]

Originally Posted by angelmb 

After all the rant regarding FireWire I guessed I played it sure buying the new MBP instead of the cute MB but… it comes only with a FW 800 port LOL @ me.

FW 800 and FW 400 are DIRECTLY and fully compatible. All you need is an appropriate cable (or $8 adapter).

[Gankdawg]

mini-DV camera
FW400 HDD (used as secondary backup device)
FW800 HDD (used for TM)

[shifuimam]

Target Disk Mode is one of the very few things I really like about Macs - I'm assuming with the FW800, it'll still be around, but it means it's gone from the MB entirely.

I mean, you can yank the drive and stick it an enclosure, but TDM is so much easier. Oh well.

[Railroader]

The only firewire items I own are hard rives, but the all have a USB 2 port, so I am good to go.

[Cold Warrior]

three external fw hard drives of varying ages

one old iPod

one DV cam (4 pin to 6 pin FW)

[brassplayersrock²]

LaCie HD (can use fw800 on it though)
LaCie LITESCRIBE disk burner.
iSight (which is just sitting in the drawer now)
a few older iPods
edit: 23'' cinema display

just had a thought Should C.E.O X out the 400 on his tat?

[Eug]

Originally Posted by brassplayersrock² 

LaCie HD (can use fw800 on it though)

? If you can use FW800 on it, then you can use FW400 on it, and vice versa.

23'' cinema display

?

[mduell]

My iPod supports Firewire, but I don't have the FW cable for it.

I'm Firewire free!

Originally Posted by Eug 

USB to FireWire converter



Unfortunately it is NOT compatible with OS X, or even Vista. It's only compatible with XP. Boot Camp?

Oh and it's really expensive too.

And it only works for DV, not mass storage or audio devices or anything else.

[brassplayersrock²]

Originally Posted by Eug 

? If you can use FW800 on it, then you can use FW400 on it, and vice versa.


?

cinema display has built in firewire ports. Technically, it's a firewire hub device.

[angelmb]

Originally Posted by Big Mac 

Uh, you do know that your 400 devices can be used on the new MBP with a simple 800 to 400 cable (referred to as 9 pin to 6pin), right?

FW 800 and FW 400 are DIRECTLY and fully compatible. All you need is an appropriate cable (or $8 adapter).

Thanks to both of you !!, wish me good look finding one over here though… can't find it on Apple Store Spain.

[CharlesS]

FW800 hard drive

FW400 tray-loading CD-RW, for those times when the built-in slot loader decides not to work

And of course... FireWire Target Mode, too many times to count.

[Don Pickett]

External 1TB FW800 drive used for Time Machine.
2G iPod. Not used any more, but I could if I wanted to!

[DCJ001]

FW400 hard drive

FW400 tray-loading CD-RW,

FW400 Scanner

FireWire Target Mode

I saw this blog this morning:

http://seekingalpha.com/article/9999...e?source=email

[Big Mac]

I just wrote this reply to that post:

I agree that this headline is sensational and the article is misleading. The MBP still has Firewire. It appears that Apple removed Firewire from the MB line because there was no physical room left on the left side of the logic board to accommodate the extra port. It is very bothersome that Apple removed it. Apple's choice of including USB as the only major peripheral bus on the original iMac (when Firewire could have been included as well) was instrumental in my mind in feeding the USB monster. I would never consider buying in modern times a computer with int-degraded graphics as the MacBook has, and this is one more strike against the line.

[Dakar V]

Originally Posted by Big Mac 

I would never consider buying in modern times a computer with int-degraded graphics as the MacBook has, and this is one more strike against the line.

Hilariously, one MacBook has integrated graphics and the other doesn't have FireWire. Pick your poison.

[k squared]

FW 400 DVD burner and two external drives (without USB ports...)

Anyone have links to nice and affordable enclosures?

[Big Mac]

Originally Posted by angelmb 

Thanks to both of you !!, wish me good look finding one over here though… can't find it on Apple Store Spain.

Can't you get one shipped internationally?

[Dalhectar]

2 FW800 HDDs. One is a portable 120GB which has my mac's original hard drive in it. The other is a 750GB drive which I use for TM.

[angelmb]

Originally Posted by Big Mac 

Can't you get one shipped internationally?

I will check that if it is nowhere available here. After all I also need to buy the iSight magnetic mount from these guys since no Apple Service has it available here… needless to say that usually doubles the price of these small items… or even worse, books.

Moral: It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to paint it.

[B Gallagher]

Two external FW400 HDDs.
My PB when it's in target disk mode.

[vmarks]

I've got a few USB2 AVCHD camcorders that record to flash drives.

I'll miss TDM and have to find another set of enclosures for drives moving forward. Too bad eSATA didn't make it in.

[Stogieman]

External Hard Drives:
- FW400 (120 GB)
- FW400/USB 2 (250 GB)
- FW800/FW400/USB 2 (2 TB)

Camcorders;
- Sony HandyCam TRV310 - 8mm and Hi8 tapes
- Canon HV20 - minDV tapes

[jretzner]

Two external HDS:
-- FW400 160 GB
-- FW400 500GB

[cSurfr]

None. . . My MBP has FW800, but I could care less. Everything I've purchased in the past two years has been USB2.

[DCJ001]

Originally Posted by cSurfr 

None. . . My MBP has FW800, but I could care less. Everything I've purchased in the past two years has been USB2.

You could care less? So that means that you care a lot; right?

Or did you mean to say that you could not care less (because you don't care at all)?

[joe]

My Firewire devs:
- Mercury Elite external dual hard drive
- EyeTV 200
- Griffin iFire
- Apple iSight
- Apple Target Disk mode (?)

USB2.0 is possible with the Mercury Elite. And there's really no need for an external web cam these days. As for the rest... it's either upgrade them or move to a 15" MacBook Pro.

While I'm very impressed by all of Apple's new notebooks, there's really none that I'd want to buy for various reasons. The consumer models lack Firewire which is a very nice feature. And the pro models aren't uniformly "pro" IMHO (no matte option, 3MB cpu on $2K model). It's as if Apple always wants to hold back a key feature so that you'll always want to upgrade. And they're already holding back features that competitor's offer such as: multiple card slots, card readers, docks (I use this one DAILY on my work PC)...

Yeah, it sounds like the start of a rant. And I really don't want those features anyway. I just think Apple has a tendency in going one step further by removing something I'd either expect or want to have on my next computer. And it's been going on long enough that's it's starting to bug me. Especially when it's an Apple innovation like Firewire

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by DCJ001 

You could care less? So that means that you care a lot; right?

Or did you mean to say that you could not care less (because you don't care at all)?

We have had this specific discussion SO MANY TIMES that it is not at all useful, interesting, or appropriate to inject this subject into someone else's thread. Got it?

ON TOPIC NOW...

I have a DV camera and a combination USB/Firewire drive enclosure. Both are quite nice, especially the drive enclosure, since I can put ANY drive I like in it and make it available through either interface.

[issa]

Devices or services that see regular service:
– 5 external HD enclosures (3 x 3.5"; 2 x 2.5") - All are FW400 without USB ports
– Target Disk Mode
– 23" Apple Cinema Display - included because I do connect devices through its FW hub

Devices that remain in the house, but aren't used regularly
– Apple iSight camera (that I sometimes still connect to the 23" ACD)
– iPod mini that I should sell or donate to some needy person

[Ted L. Nancy]

None.

I'm a USB guy. (I like how it is more "universal.") If I need real speed, my Mac Pro's got an eSATA card.

This whole FW upset is already old. Everyone will be one the bandwagon within a few months.

[Kenneth]

G-Tech 500GB FireWire 800 HDD (Time Machine drive)
LaCie 250GB FireWire 800 HDD (miscellaneous storage)
OWC 160GB FireWire 400 HDD (miscellaneous storage)
CalDigit 1.5TB RAID FireWire 800 (miscellaneous storage)
Portable 2.5-inch 160GB FireWire 800 HDD (for work)
iPod 10GB (touch wheel)

[Atheist]

Been using Macs for 4 years. Never used FireWire. My digital video cam and digital camera both use SDHC cards / USB. All my external drives are USB.

Needless to say, the whole FireWire is dead thing is lost on me.

[lpkmckenna]

PowerBook G4 owner. Haven't decided whether to upgrade to MB or MBP. I've got:
iSight
10 GB iPod (which I stopped using 'cause I got an iPhone)
250 GB LaCie drive (FW400, FW800, USB2) which is close to death.
160 GB iomega drive (FW400, USB2)

So basically, I can live without FW.

[Grand Wazoo]

JVC GR DVP9 Camcorder - Sarotech high speed 2.5"external drive - Firewire 410 Audio interface - Miglia Dual disk

[slugslugslug]

I've got a 200 GB drive which I haven't used in ages. I think it might be erased, or whatever's on it is also on my MacBook or Time Capsule. I've actually been meaning to give it away or sell it for a while now.

[lenox]

The only thing I have left that is FireWire (and a recent purchase, at that) is my MOTU UltraLite. An audio interface which I don't plan to sell or replace any time soon.

On my G4 (which had two firewire ports), I also connected a firewire webcam and 4g iPod.

Why are they phasing this out?

[analogika]

Originally Posted by lenox 

Why are they phasing this out?

They aren't.

They've just re-positioned it (as Firewire 800) to the pro market. The consumer market no longer cares about Firewire.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by analogika 

They aren't.

They've just re-positioned it (as Firewire 800) to the pro market. The consumer market no longer cares about Firewire.

Best, most concise analysis of this issue I've seen.