Another stab at FireWire's usability in application is how so many product makers refused to support the daisy-chaining feature of FireWire. I have two very expensive M-Audio audio interfaces made by Avid (when they owned M-Audio) and both devices leave off the second port! These devices result in ending the FireWire bus. There are/were very few FireWire hubs ever made.
I presume this is down to the licensing issues mentioned. Was the fee PER PORT? If so, damnit Apple!!
Anyway, I love FireWire. It has historically performed better for me than USB 2 ever did. My optical disc writing was almost never successful via USB but never a problem via FireWire. Audio devices performed well. Drives performed at better rates than USB 2.
for the time we had it, it was useful and effective. It was successful despite Apple crippling its life with bad business decisions. I'm still waiting for thunderbolt to show even a fraction of the success FireWire had.
Aah yes the good-old days when you could just send Steve freaking Jobs a quick mail from you're gmail account to give him lip about his products, Ballzzzzz
I only did it once and was shocked when I received a reply. I used my .mac email account.
Bottom line and the lesson to be learned: get your chip partner/motherboard maker/major other partners on board with a technology BEFORE you try to get the public to switch to it. Intel is heavily invested in TB in exactly the way it wasn't with FW, and that's why you see it on PCs as well as Macs. The convergence of TB and USB-C in terms of the connector means a simple, clean delineation: Pro stuff has TB (that works fine as USB-C), and consumer stuff has USB-C (and while some moron is bound to be befuddled why his TB device doesn't work in a USB-C port even though it fits, I think most people understand what's Pro equipment and what's not, particularly in the Mac community).
Can you walk me through that? At the left end I think that's a USB flash drive connected to a PS/2 adapter. I didn't think that could even carry USB data.
What are the others? The next seems like it goes into a serial connection and then into SCSI(?) and then into a Parallel port on the machine.
I think I see free serial, PS/2, and, most importantly, free USB ports (to left of Ethernet port).
THe next seems like it goes into a serial connection and then into SCSI(?) and then into a Parallel port on the machine?
Given the size ratios between the three ports taken from other adapter pictures, I think you’re right on the money.
Here’s serial to SCSI:
And SCSI to Parallel:
Oh brother, this image almost makes me want to hook up my LC II and see if I can get it to read a USB drive. I have most of those adapters somewhere… But I think I’d have to reformat it using Classic on a G3 iMac first, or maybe on my LC 575.
EDIT: Good to know you can still get a 1 year warranty on a SCSI to HD68 cable!
THe next seems like it goes into a serial connection and then into SCSI(?) and then into a Parallel port on the machine?
Given the size ratios between the three ports taken from other adapter pictures, I think you’re right on the money.
Here’s serial to SCSI:
oh my God. did you not exist during the 80s and 90s? that is 9-pin serial to 25-pin serial. not SCSI! this hurts my brain to think that people think 25pin serial is scsi
THe next seems like it goes into a serial connection and then into SCSI(?) and then into a Parallel port on the machine?
Given the size ratios between the three ports taken from other adapter pictures, I think you’re right on the money.
Here’s serial to SCSI:
oh my God. did you not exist during the 80s and 90s? that is 9-pin serial to 25-pin serial. not SCSI! this hurts my brain to think that people think 25pin serial is scsi
FW800 still lives today and is used quite frequently in the Photography world
Still a very reliable connector and the choice in environments where you need to connect multiple things, it still gives it the edge over USB3 in some use cases
oh my God. did you not exist during the 80s and 90s? that is 9-pin serial to 25-pin serial. not SCSI! this hurts my brain to think that people think 25pin serial is scsi
That's weird; I edited the post to say that the image wasn't serial-SCSI, but it didn't save the changes. Oh, well.
Comments
I presume this is down to the licensing issues mentioned. Was the fee PER PORT? If so, damnit Apple!!
Anyway, I love FireWire. It has historically performed better for me than USB 2 ever did. My optical disc writing was almost never successful via USB but never a problem via FireWire. Audio devices performed well. Drives performed at better rates than USB 2.
for the time we had it, it was useful and effective. It was successful despite Apple crippling its life with bad business decisions. I'm still waiting for thunderbolt to show even a fraction of the success FireWire had.
My 2016 MBP only has Thunderbolt 3, so this is how I connect my FW 400 scanner:
Not elegant or cheap, but it does work.
What are the others? The next seems like it goes into a serial connection and then into SCSI(?) and then into a Parallel port on the machine.
I think I see free serial, PS/2, and, most importantly, free USB ports (to left of Ethernet port).
Here’s serial to SCSI:
And SCSI to Parallel:
Oh brother, this image almost makes me want to hook up my LC II and see if I can get it to read a USB drive. I have most of those adapters somewhere… But I think I’d have to reformat it using Classic on a G3 iMac first, or maybe on my LC 575.
EDIT: Good to know you can still get a 1 year warranty on a SCSI to HD68 cable!
"Serial to SCSI" would be a PC, eh.
FW800 still lives today and is used quite frequently in the Photography world
Still a very reliable connector and the choice in environments where you need to connect multiple things, it still gives it the edge over USB3 in some use cases