Apple To Use Combo FireWire/USB Cables

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 39
    chromoschromos Posts: 191member
    Gigawire!
  • Reply 22 of 39
    davegeedavegee Posts: 2,765member
    Nope... this isn't for an iPod not the way it reads anyway...



    - One of Apple's OEM cable suppliers is starting production of cables that have both FireWire and USB in the same molding.



    - These cables terminate as PC-Board leads on one end, and break out into both FireWire and USB plugs on the other end



    - The cables are white in color.



    What types of Apple products have a wire that connect to a PC Board on one end and have a connector on the other end?



    - Keyboards

    - Mice

    - ADC Monitors



    That's about it...



    As many here all ready said... keyboard is the safe bet but then you can't plug your keyboard into your Apple LCD (ADC) display since the displays only have USB on them.



    So for this to happen one of the following would need to happen.



    1 - Apple leaves everything the way it is and just tells users to plug the keyboard into the PowerMac instead of the Monitor. (this is simple but kinda sucks since a lot of people plug the keyboard into the back of the display)



    2 - Apple updates it's displays to act as a firewire hub as well as a usb hub (this would require a firewire cable and the ADC cable to go to the CPU - more cables blech).



    3 - Apple re-develops ADC to include USB and Firewire (I don't think so but I guess it could happen)



    4 - Apple ditches ADC and goes to DVI.



    I guess people could come up with a few other options but those 4 are good enough...



    Number 4 (ditch ADC) isn't that bad an idea...



    New displays would features standard DVI plus a USB Hub plus a Firewire Hub. The monitor would need:



    1 - Power via normal power brick (blech!)

    2 - This new combo-cable that connects the internal FW and USB hubs back to the computer.

    3 - DVI cable that also goes back to the computer



    After all how much power can ADC provide? I'm betting the 23HD LCD comes pretty close to maxing out the system. (just a guess) as displays get bigger and bigger ADC might not survive anyway.



    Dave
  • Reply 23 of 39
    outsideroutsider Posts: 6,008member
    [quote]Originally posted by Gizzmonic:

    <strong>A lot of people are saying that DVI is a better bet in laptops than VGA....but have you ever tried it?



    I have had numerous problems connecting a DVI powerbook through its adapter to a VGA projector.



    While in theory it might be great, in reality, it's clumsy, clunky, and doesn't work well. At least the 12 inch has a VGA out instead of DVI.</strong><hr></blockquote>

    Every day I connect Ti Powerbooks to old and newer projectors with the adapter and it works well. Could be a funky adapter you have though.
  • Reply 24 of 39
    amorphamorph Posts: 7,112member
    [quote]Originally posted by DaveGee:

    <strong>After all how much power can ADC provide? I'm betting the 23HD LCD comes pretty close to maxing out the system.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Enough to power the old 21" Apple Studio Display. CRTs chew through much more power than LCDs do.



    [ 03-06-2003: Message edited by: Amorph ]</p>
  • Reply 25 of 39
    frawgzfrawgz Posts: 547member
    [quote]Originally posted by Amorph:

    <strong>Enough to power the old 21" Apple Studio Display. CRTs chew through much more power than LCDs do.

    </strong><hr></blockquote>



    I thought the largest ADC-connected CRT was the 17" Studio Display?
  • Reply 26 of 39
    davegeedavegee Posts: 2,765member
    [quote]Originally posted by Amorph:

    <strong>



    Enough to power the old 21" Apple Studio Display. CRTs chew through much more power than LCDs do.



    [ 03-06-2003: Message edited by: Amorph ]</strong><hr></blockquote>





    Well I found the specs...



    ADC = 100W (max)



    17 LCD = 40W

    20 LCD = 60W

    23 LCD HD = 70W



    So ADC has **some room** but a few more inches and ADC won't have the power to drive.



    Dave
  • Reply 27 of 39
    scottibscottib Posts: 381member
    The 17 inch CRT w/ADC is 113 (max) watts.
  • Reply 28 of 39
    davegeedavegee Posts: 2,765member
    [quote]Originally posted by Amorph:

    <strong>



    Enough to power the old 21" Apple Studio Display. CRTs chew through much more power than LCDs do.



    [ 03-06-2003: Message edited by: Amorph ]</strong><hr></blockquote>





    21" CRT was never ADC... 17" yea but not the 21"



    Dave
  • Reply 29 of 39
    If Apple comes out with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse combo, then it would be nice to have USB and powered FireWire ports readily available other than at the back of the computer. A break-out box would be a kludge, but would allow for using it as a charging station for the bluetooth devices.

    It would be seriously flawed design to require battery changing for mouse and keyboard. Perhaps the mystery plastic enclosure mentioned at MacWhispers is merely a break-out box/charging station, and the cable discussed above is the link.

    Or not.



    [ 03-09-2003: Message edited by: mspitzer ]</p>
  • Reply 30 of 39
    And on an un-related topic...



    Apple, here my demands and take care to listen...



    I want a Firewire keyboard & optical mouse. Better yet... bluetooth keyboard with firewire port on it (and USB)



    Hum... bluetooth optical mouse running on 'wireless power' (no wires or batteries).



    I also want a larger iPod then the biggest they have, and I want it to run on the new firewire. I also want a PCI card upgrade so I can get the new firwire. I also need you to mail me a free Airport card and base station while you are at it.



    Now which of my demands will you meet first???



    (PS, bluetooth remote for itunes/keynote would be great also)
  • Reply 31 of 39
    amorphamorph Posts: 7,112member
    [quote]Originally posted by DaveGee:

    <strong>





    21" CRT was never ADC... 17" yea but not the 21"



    </strong><hr></blockquote>



    You're right. I got my history mixed up. ADC does only supply 130W, and the 21" requires more than that, which is why it wasn't ADC.



    OK, now I think I'm on track again. Thanks.
  • Reply 32 of 39
    strobestrobe Posts: 369member
    I'd rather use DVI and a wire wrap than ADC.



    C'mon guys, ADC is nothing but a way to sell more Apple branded monitors. How gullible are you?
  • Reply 33 of 39
    nevynnevyn Posts: 360member
    [quote]Originally posted by DaveGee:

    <strong>1 - Apple leaves everything the way it is....

    2 - Apple updates it's displays to act as a firewire hub as well as a usb hub

    3 - Apple re-develops ADC to include USB and Firewire

    4 - Apple ditches ADC and goes to DVI.

    </strong><hr></blockquote>



    5 - Apple re-developes ADC switching from USB to FireWire800. But then allows the monitors to act as both a USB & a FW HUB.



    That is - put a bridge in the monitor. So the 'ADC2 cable' contains the monitor signal wires & the FW wires. But the FW wires also contain the USB signals.
  • Reply 34 of 39
    applenutapplenut Posts: 5,768member
    [quote]Originally posted by strobe:

    <strong>I'd rather use DVI and a wire wrap than ADC.



    C'mon guys, ADC is nothing but a way to sell more Apple branded monitors. How gullible are you?</strong><hr></blockquote>



    considering all macs that support an external monitor include vga/dvi i dont see how that could be a valid statement
  • Reply 35 of 39
    [quote]Originally posted by Ensoniq:

    <strong>There is another possibility for this cable. It may be for a new iPod.



    The end with the single connector would plug right into the iPod. The split end with FireWire and USB connectors would plug into whichever port on your computer you chose.



    If Apple did this, the iPod could then be USB *AND* FireWire compatible, which considering their trying to sell it to Windows users would make sense. And if the new iPod hardware supports USB 2.0, then that is especially good for PC users who can get better speed without needing to install a FireWire card.



    Who knows...it's all speculation at this point.



    -- Ensoniq</strong><hr></blockquote>

    Eek. Just what I was about to say.. But, I would not see the use.. Unless there was an adapter to plug in USB or Firewire cameras (Or DV or whatever) But I really doubt that is the case of course.
  • Reply 36 of 39
    ADC is one of the worst ideas ever to come out of Apple. It does nothing but add negatives to Apple's chances of survival:



    1. Apple displays become proprietary, thus Apple loses sales to Wintel users.



    2. Video cards are more expensive to design for the Mac, take longer to come to market.



    3. Video card output options are neutered. My Radeon is a retail version that doesn't have ADC, and as a result I have S-Video output. The ADC versions don't have S-Video output because there is no room for it. This is a simple feature that virtually ALL Wintels have, and Apple SHOULD have it.



    All of these negatives for what? For ONE less cable? WTF is the matter with an extra cable? It's behind the computer, and most people NEVER plug and unplug their displays more than a few times per YEAR. ADC simply offers no real benefits.
  • Reply 37 of 39
    jaredjared Posts: 639member
    [quote]Originally posted by Junkyard Dawg:

    <strong>Apple displays become proprietary, thus Apple loses sales to Wintel users.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Not true. While my time at an Apple Store a customer came in with his Vio desktop and tried the adapter (that the store carries) to make the 22" LCD work...he walked out with both the adapter and the 22" LCD. He got all the refresh rates you and I would if we had a Mac with ADC.



    It was a sad sight to see that 22" display being used on a Windows box <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />



    There are also 3,000 dollar video cards (probably cheaper now) that work for Mac and PC that have ADC.
  • Reply 38 of 39
    aerialaerial Posts: 7member
    [quote]Originally posted by mspitzer:

    <strong>If Apple comes out with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse combo, then it would be nice to have USB and powered FireWire ports readily available other than at the back of the computer. A break-out box would be a kludge, but would allow for using it as a charging station for the bluetooth devices.

    It would be seriously flawed design to require battery changing for mouse and keyboard. Perhaps the mystery plastic enclosure mentioned at MacWhispers is merely a break-out box/charging station, and the cable discussed above is the link.

    </strong><hr></blockquote>



    I'm with mspitzer. This sounds by far the most likely solution to me. Particularly with the news that the cable is five feet long. If we assume that the Bluetooth peripherals ARE coming, then it's reasonable to think that Apple will want to do something to present the USB and FireWire connectors at the desktop rather than just on the system unit.



    Of course a more elegant solution would be to have a dedicated cable from this patchbox/hub to the system unit, but that would involve providing a dedicated connection that wouldn't get used without the patchbox. Apple have never been generous in port provision, for some reason, and providing a connector which may go unused might go against the grain.



    Of course it would be great to see this box go beyond the simple replication of ports - how about integration of a multi flash card reader as well, and maybe audio in/out and an amplifier with a volume control. If this box also included the Bluetooth charger/receiver, as mspitzer suggested, then it becomes an all-in-one desktop port box.



    In fact I've been very surprised that no third party manufacturer has produced something like this previously. It would be a trivial exercise in engineering and would allow you to pretty much put your system unit in a cupboard (or, like me, a rack). And if an outfit like LaCie, with their very elegant D2 style enclosures, did one and placed a FireWire connector on the back of the unit, you could add a CD-R drive (etc etc) into the stack.
  • Reply 39 of 39
    muahmuah Posts: 165member
    [quote]1. Apple displays become proprietary, thus Apple loses sales to Wintel users. <hr></blockquote>



    You think Apple is losing sales of their displays to PC customers because of ADC and not because of pricing. <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />



    He11, apple is losing lcd sales to mac users. Most people don't want to pay extra for that clear bezel.
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