firewire

**speedster123** · 11-17-2008, 07:53 AM

did firewire ever really catch on? seems as if usb still rules

DonaldG · 11-18-2008, 03:57 AM

Firewire? Er - wots that?

I don't know about the 'industry' but I haven't seen any product/peripheral that I have bought that needs firewire support. Everything seems to be USB or Bluetooth.

3 Canon cameras - All support USB link (but I use a card reader - its quicker)
Video Camera - USB
Dell PDA - USB & Bluetooth
Mobile phones - USB & Bluetooth
Laser printer - USB
Photo Printer - USB
Image scanner - USB
2 graphics tablets - Both USB
2 Card readers - USB
3 external hard drives - all three USB.... I lied! One of them also supports Firewire but I use the USB port!
Topfield PVR - USB
Audio headset - USB

My homebrew has 12 USB ports & I'm thinking of adding another 4 port card!

bonyolddoc · 11-18-2008, 04:03 AM

I was wondering about that myself. It is supposed to be blazing fast. And apparently, you can network over it. The range is extremely limited though. I think 14 feet or something like that. That would be ok with me because the other computers are right over my head upstairs. I don't know why it never caught on. Probably for the same reason rambus never did. Some industry smuck decided they could make more money with their own idea.

**WereBo** · 11-18-2008, 05:02 AM

Wasn't FireWire supposed to be the 'Apple' equivalent of USB? The only thing that's got a Firewire port in my flat, is an old dead Sony VAIO laptop - everything that's working is either USB or Bluetooth

Garryson01 · 11-25-2008, 05:22 AM

They told us about firewire when I was at school (5 years ago). It was supposed to be faster and more stable than USB but the improvements of USB 2.0, firewire never caught on. All ipods use firewire but they come with USB adapters. My parents old laptop had a firewire port in the back but PC's nowerdays don't have them.

sinclair_tm · 11-28-2008, 08:37 AM

Shouldn't of that been a yes/no poll? I am not happy that Apple dropped the firewire port from the new Macbook, as it keeps me from using my old iPod as a hard drive. And no, not all iPods use Firewire, infact, only the 1st 2 models require Firewire, if it's got a dock connector on it, it'll use USB 2.0. The thing with Firewire is that it has higher sustainable speeds than USB 2.0. Yes, USB 2.0 has a higher max speed, at 480 Mbits than Firewire's 400 Mbits, but USB 2.0 almost never runs anywhere near that speed. It's usally just over 50 Mbits, while Firewire is normally over 100 Mbits. When I have both my Firewire and USB iPods plugged in, the Firewire one always gets done in close to half the speed as the USB one. I have also networked over it, and it was a nice thing to do with my desktop and old iBook. Also, Macs had USB before Firewire, and before the rest of the computer industry. But Firewire never really caught on as it was aimed for pro level stuff, fast/large drives, digital video cameras, and scanners. USB was orginally just for mice and keyboards, really simple, low speed input devices. But I believe it cost less to add to a device than firewire, so it started getting added to cheap cameras, cell phones, and things like that, and so became more main stream. Like the Beta vs VHS thing, Beta was better quality, but VHS cost less, so it took off, and after a while got just about as good.

**Glaswegian** · 11-28-2008, 01:03 PM

My Antec case has a Firewire port at the top of the case (beside the USBs) and the connections on the mobo but I don't own anything that uses Firewire...

**Done_Fishin** · 11-28-2008, 02:49 PM

I have lots of ports for connecting Firewire .. I just haven't got anything to plug into them .. I grabbed them for compatibility issues for possible repairs but never had a repair job come in that uses them either ..

that's life ..

**sobeit** · 11-28-2008, 03:10 PM

I have firewire on both my laptop and my desktop and never used it. Its all usb. Looks like it might be dead technology to me, especially since usb3 is about to go mainstream.

**Done_Fishin** · 11-29-2008, 02:49 AM

so what is USB3 ??

NOT ANOTHER UPGRADE

compatabilty ?? looks like another google search required

ok .. after a quick search looks like we'll have to be patient yet ..

Quote:

http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/10/u...-in-the-flesh/

Get ready, speed freaks. USB 3.0, the oft-rumored, much-discussed, rarely seen new standard heading our way has been spotted, sliced, chopped, and diced at CES 2008. Actually, we just got a chance to check the connectors and compare with the old 2.0 standard (which the reps tell us is backward compatible, of course). With speeds of 4.8 Gbit/s (600 MB/s), and a powering system which intelligently cuts the juice when you're not using a device, we have a feeling you'll want. Too bad we all have to wait till 2010... the year we make contact... with USB 3.0.

and to learn about Firewire 800 click here

**WereBo** · 11-29-2008, 10:31 AM

Now if only they can get the broadband speeds to match that

View Poll Results: is firewire becomming stale?
usb or firewire	3	60.00%
does your rig support firewire?	2	40.00%
Voters: 5. You may not vote on this poll

11-17-2008, 07:53 AM	#1 (permalink)
speedster123 Mentor Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: United States-New York-Long Island Posts: 5,223 OS: xp pro SP3	firewire did firewire ever really catch on? seems as if usb still rules __________________

11-18-2008, 03:57 AM	#2 (permalink)
DonaldG Manager Home Support, Assistant Manager Articles Team Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Somerset, UK Posts: 10,171 OS: XPsp2 Laptop & Vista Ultimate Desktop My System Blog Entries: 1	Re: firewire Firewire? Er - wots that? I don't know about the 'industry' but I haven't seen any product/peripheral that I have bought that needs firewire support. Everything seems to be USB or Bluetooth. 3 Canon cameras - All support USB link (but I use a card reader - its quicker) Video Camera - USB Dell PDA - USB & Bluetooth Mobile phones - USB & Bluetooth Laser printer - USB Photo Printer - USB Image scanner - USB 2 graphics tablets - Both USB 2 Card readers - USB 3 external hard drives - all three USB.... I lied! One of them also supports Firewire but I use the USB port! Topfield PVR - USB Audio headset - USB My homebrew has 12 USB ports & I'm thinking of adding another 4 port card! __________________ . Lest we forget... "They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them." Submit New Articles Here TSF's Photographer's Corner . Last edited by DonaldG; 11-18-2008 at 03:59 AM.

11-18-2008, 04:03 AM	#3 (permalink)
bonyolddoc Registered User Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Maryland Posts: 158 OS: XP Pro My System	Re: firewire I was wondering about that myself. It is supposed to be blazing fast. And apparently, you can network over it. The range is extremely limited though. I think 14 feet or something like that. That would be ok with me because the other computers are right over my head upstairs. I don't know why it never caught on. Probably for the same reason rambus never did. Some industry smuck decided they could make more money with their own idea.

11-18-2008, 05:02 AM	#4 (permalink)
WereBo Resident Village Idiot Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: SE London, UK Posts: 14,512 OS: Win-7, XP-Pro SP3 My System	Re: firewire Wasn't FireWire supposed to be the 'Apple' equivalent of USB? The only thing that's got a Firewire port in my flat, is an old dead Sony VAIO laptop - everything that's working is either USB or Bluetooth __________________ I shall meet all of my deadlines directly in proportion to the amount of bodily injury I could expect to receive from missing them.

11-25-2008, 05:22 AM	#5 (permalink)
Garryson01 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Hinckley, UK Posts: 355 OS: XP SP 2, Vista SP1	Re: firewire They told us about firewire when I was at school (5 years ago). It was supposed to be faster and more stable than USB but the improvements of USB 2.0, firewire never caught on. All ipods use firewire but they come with USB adapters. My parents old laptop had a firewire port in the back but PC's nowerdays don't have them. __________________ Russell Bates Network Administrator, ATI Garryson, Ibstock, Leicestershire

11-28-2008, 01:03 PM	#7 (permalink)
Glaswegian Moderator/ Rangemaster TSF Academy; Analyst, Security Team; Oor Wullie; TSF Surgeon and Resident Comic Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Glasgow Posts: 25,533 OS: Win XP Pro SP3 / Win 7 Pro My System Blog Entries: 10	Re: firewire My Antec case has a Firewire port at the top of the case (beside the USBs) and the connections on the mobo but I don't own anything that uses Firewire... __________________ Iain - Defender of the Haggis and all things Scottish. I don't help by PM - post in the Forums. PC Safety & Security::PC running a bit slow?::Donate::Photographers Corner

11-28-2008, 02:49 PM	#8 (permalink)
Done_Fishin Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Brit living in Greece Posts: 7,526 OS: WinME, WinXP Pro SP3, Win7 Beta, Ubuntu 9.04 & Netbook Remix & CD2USB, Mepis 6.5, Fedora 10 My System	Re: firewire I have lots of ports for connecting Firewire .. I just haven't got anything to plug into them .. I grabbed them for compatibility issues for possible repairs but never had a repair job come in that uses them either .. that's life .. __________________ . . I'm not old!! I'm age impaired .. D_F I DON'T PLAY GAMES How to mark your thread as solved HDD DIAG UTILS TSF's Photographer's Corner

11-28-2008, 03:10 PM	#9 (permalink)
sobeit TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: NEAR Posts: 7,433 OS: windows/linux	Re: firewire I have firewire on both my laptop and my desktop and never used it. Its all usb. Looks like it might be dead technology to me, especially since usb3 is about to go mainstream. __________________ there's been global warming since the ice age

11-29-2008, 10:31 AM	#11 (permalink)
WereBo Resident Village Idiot Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: SE London, UK Posts: 14,512 OS: Win-7, XP-Pro SP3 My System	Re: firewire Now if only they can get the broadband speeds to match that __________________ I shall meet all of my deadlines directly in proportion to the amount of bodily injury I could expect to receive from missing them.