Lack of firewire

If the lack of firewire on the new macbooks saves me $5 off the purchase price then that removal has been worthwhile, additionally its one less ugly port on the side of my computer.
I have a new HD video camera and it uses USB 2.0, it works great with iMovie on my new almac
I've never used firewire in my life.

I don't think people realize the situation that those of us who require firewire are faced with now...
I am a musician and need a firewire interface to handle multi-channel audio + MIDI. I have a LOT of money invested in this interface/architecture.
If I am looking to buy a Mac laptop for recording on the road, my options are now a 2 year old computer for 1K or a 2K+ MacBookPro. That is a pretty expensive FW port!!!
If you never use FW or never have, that is fine -- you aren't affected. However, driving users away from the Mac (i.e. the musician/producer communities - not to mention higher-end/pro-sumer video communities) only hurts the Mac community. Also, as people are 'forced' into cheaper PC alternatives, the makers of audio interfaces and other FW technologies will follow. Pretty soon we might be seeing PC laptops on stage and in studios where we used to see the familiar Apple logo.
The Mac has long been a platform known for creative people (musicians/artists/photographers/video artists). FW is a pretty essential tool to that audience. And, I don't think it is fair to assume that any creative person who requires these FW tools is a 'pro' and should spend the extra money to get that essential FW port!
Imagine a day when eSATA rules supreme for external drives and some new wireless/bluetooth standard eliminates the need for USB --- how will you feel when you have to replace all your USB items to get your job done?
Anyway, I expected some people to have the 'get over it' attitude. But, IMHO, we need to be supportive of each other as Mac users and advocates of the Mac platform so we can get other people to see what they've been missing all these years!
Sorry for the long ramble...
Peace...D

Similar Messages

  • TS3850 What if ingesting from DV tape to FC X using the Macbook Pro Retina which lacks a firewire port

    What if ingesting from DV tape to FC X using the Macbook Pro Retina which lacks a firewire port

    I have used it quite a bit for connecting to external drives, etc. with no problems. Have not done a tape ingest as we don't have tape based cameras to work with any more. It appears to emulate a FW800 port perfectly.
    http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=885718&Q=&is=REG&A=detail s
    MtD

  • Lack of firewire disappointing

    My 4G iPod died earlier in the week so I've been out and bought a new 5G Video iPod.
    Pretty disappointed to get it home and find it doesn't support firewire.
    Did Apple ever give any reason why they would remove this? Pretty poor that they don't specify this change as previous models supported.
    USB2 is slower than firewire and a step back IMHO.
    Happy that it still fits into the old dock cradle and my 3rd party travel speakers, but can't use my iTrip anymore due to lack of port.
    Just a shame Apple wanted £160+ to repair my 4G model.
    Having an iconic product can only take them so far. I'll be looking at real alternatives when the 5G unit dies (I'm hoping it's a little more robust that the 4G unit)

    Thanks for the analogy Andrew, but I think it would be more along the lines of... does this house have a gas or electric stove tops. The amount of rooms might be more like 30Gig or 60Gig.
    And seeing that my old iPod that I've had for +2 years has Firewire support, I'd be crazy to think that the new 5G iPods wouldn't. Especially since it now supports video, and the only reason I would buy one is to carry around my video pojects in my pocket. Alas, it doesn't...
    Although I could still cook my omelette with an electric, I still would miss the speed and quality that a gas range provides.
    -Paul

  • Is This A Possible Work Around for Lack of Firewire Syncing?

    I just learned that Apple discontinued firewire syncing on the newer iPods. Oh well, so much for using my sexy Cube as an iTunes server any more since it's non-expandable...
    I just came across this firewire hard drive enclosure from OWC.
    http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ministack-usb
    It sports a built in USB2 jack. Does anyone out there own this enclosure AND a 5G iPod? I, and a whole lot of other people, would be grateful if you could plug your Pod into the USB2 jack of this device and report on whether or not it works...
    Thanks in advance.

    Whoops, wrong link:
    http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ministack/
    So my exact idea is this:
    I want to get a 5G iPod, but don't want to deal with the slow transfer rate of USB 1.1.
    Now lets say I buy this enclosure and tell iTunes to use it as my iTunes library destination.
    If I connect a 5G iPod to the USB 2 port on the enclosure, the million dollar question is will the transfer rate from the iPod to the iTunes library on that enclosure happen at USB 2 speeds.
    Does that make sense? I wouldn't be transferring any data between the computer and the iPod, so technically I wouldn't need USB 2 on the mac. Right?
    Now that I think of it, I guess I'm also assuming you can daisy chain USB 2 devices like firewire devices.
    Thanks for all of your posts!
    -Phil
    PB 1.5ghz G4, Dual 1ghz G4, 450mhz Cube etc....   Mac OS X (10.3.8)  

  • Lack of FireWire in latest Macbooks

    Does anyone know why the latest basic Macbooks no longer have FireWire?

    Hi John,
    Apple Discussions is a user-to-user discussion board and as such any response would be speculation or opinion. Removing FireWire from the MacBook is not new for Apple, they first toyed with the idea by removing it on the aluminum MacBook. Ironically only to bring it back and then remove it again.
    You can submit feedback on this URL - http://www.apple.com/feedback/macbook.html
    In addition you can also call into Apple and inquiry, though it's unlikely that anyone in AppleCare knows exactly why the machine was designed with (or without) a certain feature.

  • Will the G-Drive Mini work with the Thunderbolt to FireWire adapter?

    I'm closing in on buying a new MacBook Pro, but the lack of FireWire on the new retina models is worrying me. I've seen a lot of negative responses in regard to the Thunderbolt to FireWire adapter, specifically in regards to the G-Raid mini - most of them noting it's the dual drive that's the issue.
    So would any of you happen to know - does a G-Drive mini work well with the Thunderbolt to FireWire adapter? I will be doing a lot of heavy video editing if that makes any difference.

    I found out after purchasing a Retina MacBook Pro that you can in fact use the G-RAID Mini, the way to do it is to have two Thunderbolt to FireWire adapters, plug in the first one to the drive and the computer, wait for the drive to start clicking, and then plug the other cable between the computer and the G-RAID on the second port.
    This obviously only works if you have a rMBP as you need the two Thunderbolt ports.

  • Can I use a G4 to get raw video footage to a no-firewire aluminum MacBook?

    Hi -
    I recently purchased a new aluminum MacBook 2.4Ghz and was shocked to discover the lack of a firewire port. Ok, I should have read the specs more closely before ordering, but I never would have imagined this port being removed (other than from the specialized MacBook Air). As others on this board have said, what were they thinking?!
    So I have some questions about downloading raw video footage from a firewire camcorder (forgive any ignorance on my part, I'm new to camcorders and digital movie editing--I've never used iMovie). My goal is basically editing home movies.
    I have an old G4 tower (1.5Ghz, 1GB RAM). I also have an external firewire/USB drive. The tower will not run iMovie '08 because the processor is too slow. The iLife 08 disc refuses to even load iMovie on this machine.
    I haven't purchased a camcorder yet. I spent a lot of time researching affordable camcorders and had settled on a well-reviewed Canon miniDV, which of course, is firewire. This camera does not come with any software.
    Would it work to connect the camera to my G4 via firewire, download the raw footage to my external drive connected to the G4, then move the external drive over to the MacBook, connect it to the MacBook via USB, then import the raw footage to iMovie for editing? I realize the copying over USB would be very slow. I assume I need some type of software for downloading the raw footage to the G4. Since iMovie won't run and the camera has no software, is there some type of utility or shareware that lets you capture raw footage?
    Is there a better way I can use my G4 to get raw footage from a firewire camera, and then on to my MacBook? Or will this work at all?
    I see that there are a few USB camcorders out there, but they seem to be expensive or don't receive very good reviews, so I'd like to go with the firewire Canon.
    Thanks very much for the help with this frustrating issue

    Well, never mind. I'm returning the MacBook and buying a previous generation MacBook Pro, which ends up being about $200 more.
    Solves my problem, but many folks can't afford the Pro. I'll be commenting at Apple customer feedback about the lack of firewire on the new MacBook.
    Thanks for reading the post.

  • (MacBook / No FireWire) What are people here going to do down the line ?

    I hope not to turn this into a rant about the new MacBooks. Rather I just wanted the musicians side of things...
    I know that there is lots of talk in the MacBook forums about the new MacBook's lack of FireWire but as a fellow musician I was hoping to get other musician's (Logic Pro 8 users) perspective on the situation.
    I've been using my iMac for about 5 years and I was planning to purchase my 1st MacBook in January and retire the iMac to other non-music chores.
    Why? .....my wife bought herself an iMac about a year ago (Nov 2007) and I've fallen in love with her computer. I have not loaded Logic 8 on her machine but I have used GarageBand on it and it works great so I would assume I would get good performance on it with Logic 8.
    But, now that the new MacBooks don't have FireWire and my connections (audio, hard disks, video cameras etc.) to my iMac via FireWire, I've decided not to buy a new MacBook.
    options
    1. I still like doing music on my iMac. Maybe I'll just keep it as my music computer
    2. Ask my wife to trade? (not going to happen)
    3. Buy a MacBook Pro? Thats a lot of extra money that if I had I would rather spend on something that would make my music really "sound" better (better mic, better Guitar, better mic preamp etc). After all, those things will last forever, a computer has a limited lifespan.
    4. Switch to a USB interface and get the new MacBook? I have a FireBox interface now that I really like although I have been using a external mic preamp that made my audio sound quite a bit better.
    What would you all do? Or better, what WILL you do when it comes time for you to need a new notebook computer with FireWire.
    ideas?

    This is a good thread with information that may be useful to you:
    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1802741
    With all due respect to Marceldada, I would not recommend buying one of those white macbooks. Although they price is right, you want to get the best and fastest machine you possibly can, or you are going to have performance issues with Logic and grow out of the machine sooner. The newest model 'unibody' 2.1ghz Macbook actually gets faster benchmarks than the 2.4ghz previous generation Macbook (yes, I typed that in right, the 2.1 is FASTER than the previous gen 2.4), so that white previous generation 2.1 Macbook they're still selling on the MB page is going to be significantly slower than any other Mac laptop you can get now.
    I'm not totally convinced that USB is terrible for Audio interfaces - there seem to be some nice ones out there if you just want something with a couple of ins and outs. Get a 7200 speed internal HD, and you can record several tracks of audio onto that with no problems.
    If you're wanting to do really heavy Logic work and lots of multi track recording, you should spring for the MBP anyway. The Macbook Pro's are amazing machines, and that 2 inches more on the screen in my opinion is worth its weight in gold. Also keep in mind that you will recoup some of the added expense that you put into a newer and better spec'd machine when you resell it. Even if you bought one of the black or white Macbooks brand new now, the silver one will still hold its value better because it is newer technology. And that certainly holds true for the MBP's too. The more you spend now, the more it will be worth when you sell.
    If you do want firewire and definitely don't want a MBP, I would look at the refurbished and clearance machines on Apple's website, or check out some Apple retail stores who may still have some of the older black and white Macbooks they're trying to get rid of.
    http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac?mco=MTMzNTY
    I think getting a refurbished or clearance model 2.4 black or white Macbook (or a refurbed previous generation Macbook Pro, which you can get for cheaper than the current silver Macbook) is a much better deal than the low end whitebook they're still selling new. If there is a university near you, check out their bookstore. I was just in a university bookstore two days ago, and the were selling the 2.4ghz blackbook for $999, and the 2.4 whitebook for $949. That's cheap, and a pretty fast machine!
    Good Luck!

  • So now a $500 Dell has Firewire, but a $1300 Mac doesn't? Is this true?

    With Apple dropping more features from their laptops, I decided to check out the Dell site out of curiosity. I can't believe the features you can get for as little as $500 dollars. Here is a list of ports on a base $500 Dell (as compared to a $1200 MacBook):
    Four USB 2 ports
    *IEEE 1394a*
    8-in-1 memory card reader
    VDA & S-Video out
    1 ExpressCard 54mm Slot
    headphone & mic jacks
    So... 1394a is a Firewire port, correct?
    http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/inspnnb1525?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&~oid=us~en~29~inspnnb_1525anav1~~

    You'll also need to care about N wireless, Bluetooth, and web cam, as the base $500 Dell you link are options on that model that you need to add. And you have to add the 225$ processor to match the processor with 3MB cache and 800Mhz buss in the $999 "white" Macbook that has firewire. Once you do get the $500 one added with things to bring it inline with the MacBook white's specs you are at $824 and that's not knowing if a 6 cell battery is equivalent to a 55-watt hour battery. If not add $70 for the 9 cell battery. But hey, you get a modem! Which the macbook does not have, and a card reader. I know that this is not a comparison to the "new" one, but. Well there it is.
    But you are correct, the "$500" Dell has firewire and the $1300 MacBook AL does not. It certainly doesn't play down the "lack" of firewire in top line MacBooks as this is going to be a significant problem for some, a "mindblock" for others, but a final "who cares" for the rest, but I suppose to some of the "who cars" category would buy that $500 dell as well.
    It will always come down to different strokes for different folks. A few people may prefer the slightly better integrated graphics and Smaller screen and for go the firewire. But it's always different strokes for different folks.
    For me, though I wouldn't "need" firewire for my day to day work, I "Want" the option, so I might even be willing to plop the premium for the Pro, but the problem is I personally want the smaller footprint I want some more portable, but I guess you take things as they will, but who knows.

  • Firewire to USB?

    I probably already know the answer to this question but i would like to be sure.
    I have an external firewire drive that i used in the past to make a bootable clone of my MacBook Pro, using SuperDuper. The MBP developed some serious problems so in early 09, i replaced it with a new MacBook (2.4Ghz). I didn't like the lack of firewire but i was really tired of struggling with the size of the MBP and wanted the cuddly quality and one handed convenience of a 12", like the good ol days of my powerbooks. Who knew Apple was going to come up with a 13" MBP?
    So now, i need to have a bootable copy of my MBP. I have one on the firewire drive which i made before i got the MacBook. My question is, is there any way of being able to connect this drive to my MacBook through some kind of adapter or hub so that i can boot from the MBP clone?
    Or, is the only way i can have a bootable back up of the MBP that i can use from my MacBook to do a new SuperDuper backup on a USB 2 external drive?
    In other words, is my old backup/clone on the firewire drive completely useless as far as accessing it through my MacBook goes? (as i suspect). I searched this forum for the answer but most of what i found was about video transfer/editing. There was something about a hub, but it didn't make sense to me.

    Thanks lyssa--that doesn't sound too difficult or expensive, putting the drive in a USB enclosure.
    BTW, i have a couple of those external drives that are dual, both firewire and USB. So the bootable backup should work with either connection, right? that is, IF i had the back on it which i don't. But maybe there is some way to transfer the copy i have on one firewire connection drive onto the drive that has both? I don't suppose i could just drag the stuff from one drive to another while both are connected to the MBP? Is there any easy way to get the data wiht its bootability from one drive to another? Probably not, i know, but have to ask. thanks

  • FireWire Solution, yes it's true!

    Hey there!
    When surfing the net I found a beautiful gadget which enables you to hook FireWire devices to your USB port. This could be the solution for everyone who's annoyed about the lack of FireWire.
    You can connect Video cameras, external hard disk drives, scanners or even other computers.
    And it supports the full FireWire400 speed!
    http://www-user.tu-chemnitz.de/~heha/bastelecke/Rund%20um%20den%20PC/u2f/index.h tml.en
    The con is that the English site claims there is no Mac OS support planned. The German page sais that you have to adapt the Mac OS software to the USB protocol.
    Enjoy it!
    Kind Regards!

    gpotts,
    Yes, I know the old iPod 2G is obsolete, but it has a 20 gig drive on it and works perfectly. My son also has a newer iPod Nano with a small amount of storage space. He'll have to use that while he's away at college for any new music purchases. He has an old eMac at home with Firewire, so he can update his music collection onto the old Firewire iPod when he gets breaks from college. We'll survive.
    I would love to give my son the gift of a new iPod, but I'm still paying for the Aluminum MacBook that I bought him for Christmas using my credit card. Sigh... Times are hard, but we'll survive.
    It's my own fault for not checking out the tech specs more thoroughly. Let the buyer beware... I've been so busy with working full time and going to college myself, that I assumed a new Mac would have a Firewire port. I didn't check the specs for Firewire, only for the processor speed, hard drive size, RAM, etc.
    The thing is, though, that with a PC laptop, you could buy a Firewire card and install it yourself. If Apple isn't going to put one in there, they should make it optional. I told them that in feedback. Apple can't compete if they're not going to treat their customer base fairly.
    Donna

  • Firewire 400 vs. 800

    Hi,
    I'm geting close to deciding whether to buy a 15" or 17" MPB. I'm leaning to the 15" due to the cost and more compact size. It seems the biggest difference (besides the screen which is a pro or con depending on your requirements) is the DL drive and lack of Firewire 800. I still can't make up my mind on the drive (any thoughts on that?) but specifically, what are some real-world disadvantages to not having a Firewire 800 port?
    Thanks,
    C.

    no matter what anyone says it is always for what your needs are. for ME 17 is tooo big. yes i would love dual layer and fire wire 800 in my 15 but i already have a dual layer external and i dont mind buying a fire wire 800 card if i ever needed it. thats me. its strictly up to each individual user. i say 17 is too big. you might say 15 is too small. get what you need. i hope that helps.

  • Where's The firewire port?!?

    I bought a new 13 inch macbook and was shocked to find that it didn't have a firewire port will I need to buy a new video camera and what would you suggest i heard USB cameras have bad quality I'm thinking of getting a flip is the minoHD, the mino or the flip ultra better which is better or i might get a SD card camera is SD better quality then USB or vice versa and what are the price ranges?
    And is there possibly a way to get a firewire onto my mac say by getting a USB to firewire connector is there such thing and how much is it? I also have a Nikon coolpix with the crappiest quality ive ever seen would you say this is better than a flip or SD?

    bklyn5446 wrote:
    I just bought the new aluminum macbook, despite being bummed by the lack of firewire port. I had to replace my old white macbook, and couldn't bear to get the same (the aluminum is so sexy!) But for this reason I bought a new external hard drive that has both USB and FW ports, so I should be able to hook up my FW-only drives to this drive to my macbook (via USB). Haven't tried it yet, but it should work, yes?
    I've never tried hooking up other devices in this daisy-chaining way. Has anyone tried this? Getting an external drive with a variety of ports would be cheaper than a 2nd puter.
    I doubt it works that way, but I suppose you could try. Most multi-interface bridge controllers connect to the first interface used and then ignore connections to any other interface. Translating is rather beyond the scope of what these things are designed to do. They're generally designed to be hooked up to one host at any given time. Anything other than that would trigger a fault condition.
    I remember working on a few FireWire products years ago and looked a bit at the original FW400 spec. The daisy-chaining function is only designed to serve as a repeater. At any given time the device will be either communicating directly with a host/device or serving as a repeater.

  • IMovie and Firewire Free MacBook

    I bought a MacBook. I want to edit movies. Do I have to go out and buy another camera because my MacBook doesn't have a firewire port and Mac Help says Use a Firewire Port? My cameras are all tape-based and work just fine thank you.
    Or should I buy another video editing software and jettison iMovie?
    Thanks

    Or should I buy another video editing software and jettison iMovie?
    The problem is not iMovie, it is the lack of Firewire.
    Other software will still want Firewire.
    You can buy a USB camcorder, but USB camcorders use formats that use high compression to store the video files thereby lowering quality. This may be good enough to give you "decent footage" if so, then you won't have a problem using a USB camcorder. However I have never been happy with the quality that a USB camcorder provides (they always look grainy to me).
    A miniDV tape cam will give you lossless quality video and is best for any editing purposes (iMovie, Final Cut etc.). So without Firewire make sure you get a chance to try out any USB camcorder before you buy.
    Many import on another Mac, then copy the movie to the aluminum Macbook for editing.
    iMovie 06 and iDVD 08 is a terrific combination.
    MANY equipment manufacturers are coming out with NEW Firewire equipment next year.
    http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/FireWires-Strong-Presence-Notebook-PCs/sto ry.aspx?guid={D12CE010-A630-40CF-8373-7B6DBF44C822}
    (copy link into your browser - it's too long to click on)

  • Is FireWire being phased out?

    I too am disappointed that you can't synch the new iPod with FireWire (though I am told you can still charge the battery this way), since I don't have USB 2.0. Is this a general trend to phasing out Firewire? I would have loved to see a jump up to Firewire 800 on iPods!

    Agreed, jeffdc
    From the Ars Technica Vid-iPod "Vivisection" (Bottom of the second page)
    <code>Most speculation concerning the lack of Firewire support in the new iPods center around the space needed to package the Firewire chipset within the device. Most people who seem to be in the know have said that the amount of board space needed to implement Firewire vastly outweighs a similar USB implementation. Eliminating Firewire altogether seems to have been one of the many tradeoffs Apple had to make to achieve a smaller and lighter device. This may not be much consolation to those users with old USB 1.1 ports, but for many Mac and Windows users, this change shouldn't affect them much.</code>
    I think the digital video community would scream if FireWire went away.

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