Comments on: FireWire-to-USB: MacBook Redeemer?

By: matt m

matt m — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:12:54 +0000

i’m pissed off cos it never occurred to me to check whether or not a new Mac would feature a technology that Mac designed. So I’m now the proud owner of a laptop I bought to make music on that I can’t make music on with my existing firewire soundcard. Cheers apple.

By: MacBook - Questions about the 13" Unibody - Mac-Forums.com

MacBook - Questions about the 13" Unibody - Mac-Forums.com — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:07:20 +0000

[...] by rsherid Yes, used off eBay for around 800 dollars. Ah, OK. Take a look at this article: FireWire-to-USB: MacBook Redeemer? __________________ Forum [...]

By: Polly Fantastic

Polly Fantastic — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 01:30:02 +0000

I’m pretty sick of reading through the comments and seeing all the people accusing discontented customers as “whiners.”

I bought my first Mac ever in November. It was one of the new unibody aluminum 13 inchers. Being a former PC user, I didn’t think much of the lack of FireWire – I’ve gotten through the past 25 years without ever using it. I absolutely love my Macbook. However, I am starting grad school in the fall and they require each student to have their own macbook Pro. If I had ANY other model of Macbook my current computer would be fine, they could upgrade and work with me. But because I have the new one, without FireWire, my only option is to try and sell my Macbook and buy a brand new Pro. One little port and Apple has screwed me over. So you know what? I have every right to be pissed off and to do so without being called a whiner.

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digital photo frames for sale — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 02:20:53 +0000

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By: Importing Video on Macbook - Mac-Forums.com

Importing Video on Macbook - Mac-Forums.com — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:43:23 +0000

[...] the option to use USB? If not, you could look into getting a firewire to usb cable as suggested here but it is Windows only so you’ll need Boot Camp. __________________ "Man is condemned to [...]

By: baz

baz — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 17:19:33 +0000

As our lives become more integrated with technology – and more crucially technology that is controlled by corporations (who obviously have profit concerns)this problem of being ‘forced’ to upgrade by stealth will be increasingly common.

By: baz

baz — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 17:15:04 +0000

Get used to more of these ‘inconveniences’ accessing your precious data in the years to come.

By: jared P.

jared P. — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 11:32:17 +0000

I am a long time Linux on PC user thinking about buying a Mac.

I have never owned a FireWire device, and I could not at all care less about the lack of this port. I would never use it for anything, so I guess this decision was made for people like me.

By: kaiser

kaiser — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 14:24:30 +0000

I can understand the frustration expressed here by many over the lack of FW but the anger seems a little excessive. I am a first time macbook owner and made the choice to switch to apple because I was lead to believe that it would be better/easier for my photo and video editing. Unfortunately for me it was somewhat of an impulse buy and I did not realize that the FW port had been omitted. Also I didn’t realize that I was unable to use usb to transfer video from my miniDV camera. I won’t blame anyone but myself for these “stupids” but I would like for there to be some solution. An expensive cable converter that may or may not work is not a solution in my eyes, unfortunately it seems as though my best option may be to replace my video camera. Not quite the end result I wanted but I guess I will have to pay the price for my own lack of research. This is a little hard for me to swallow just because of the infrequency with which I use video, if my still camera was incompatible the macbook would have to go (a new computer would be only a drop in the bucket compared to replacing all my Nikon gear), thank heaven for small mercies I guess. For me this not an issue of being able to afford to make this change, rather it is more like being able to justify a new camera when the one I have works perfectly well. My sympathies to everyone who is dealing with multiple devices and applications which are more critical my own. So far The maacbook isn’t better for my video.

By: Negrini

Negrini — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:42:25 +0000

The new MacBook without Firewire…incomprensible!!! It’s a very big problem.

By: Hello

Hello — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 01:11:06 +0000

I wonder how many cents/pence a ‘top quality’ TI firewire chipset costs for a company like apple – it’s also a shame how the new macbook pro has switched to the (cheaper?) agere chipset (with known issues), and how hard it is to find out off apple what’s actually inside the machine.

Don’t just buy a new macbook pro. Vote with your wallets and switch to a different pc manufactuer for a generation.

By: Mackenzie

Mackenzie — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 20:37:27 +0000

Mary Ann Harrington:
What do you mean “switch to a PC”? Since when is a Macbook not a PC?

By: Mary Ann Harrington

Mary Ann Harrington — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 20:34:59 +0000

I am so angry that Mac has taken away the firewire port. I have been waiting six months for the new macbook to come out. My old one bit the dust. I don’t have the money to buy a new video camera too. As a stock holder, it is an incredibly stupid move to anger anyone as much as I am right now.

I don’t know whether to switch to a PC or buY an old or plastic Macbook.

Has anyone heard any rumors that they will rectify the situation?

By: JB

JB — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 03:00:20 +0000

“Just by the MacBook Pro” This is ridiculous. We’re talking about a very expensive jump, significant for many at the end of 2008 (seen the layoffs in the news?). We’ve been buying Firewire devices for years because Apple was pushing Firewire. My desk is littered with Firewire devices. Its as if the rug has been pulled out from under us. What’s next? No support for DVD’s, oh, wait, that’s the MacBook Air. I finally saved up enough for these “amazing” new MacBooks and now I’m just pissed off.

By: MacBook - No usb, how to connect to a firewire soundcard?

MacBook - No usb, how to connect to a firewire soundcard? — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 16:58:31 +0000

[...] FireWire-to-USB: MacBook Redeemer? | TheAppleBlog [...]

By: Alex Varney

Alex Varney — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:51:16 +0000

I just cant believe we’re shit outta luck.

youd think there would be something out there to solve this problem, but it cant be found.

i need to find a mac with a fire wire port and just save it to a disk to transfer to my macbook…thats all i can think of.

By: harrisonjb

harrisonjb — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:11:57 +0000

I think apple have been short sighted. I have just got a new macbook and it looks like ill be taking it back because it has no firewire. No one wants to pay a load of money for a macbook and then nearly 100 more dollars/pounds for some crap cable that may or may not work. I think mac, are deliberately excluding a market segment to force users to buy MacBook Pro. Mac has really lost my vote.
Screw you mac! Ooooo now i feel better…
peace

By: karen

karen — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 21:16:55 +0000

I’m waiting for an eSATA port on an Apple laptop before I buy a new one. I’ve got a USB 2/SATA back-up drive thinking surely Apple will go that direction. Anyone heard when an eSATA port is coming out on Apple computers?

By: John Bosnitch

John Bosnitch — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 10:01:41 +0000

The suggestion that there is not enough space on the MacBook motherboard for FireWire could only be the result of a purposeful decision to eliminate that port. And I don’t see anyone here mentioning the fact that there is still a much smaller four-pin unpowered version of FireWire 400 that could have been used (even though I would counsel against it as you could not run external unpowered 2.5 inch drives in such a case).

The decision to eliminate the FW port probably originates in the finance department, where they are always trying to cut features to raise profits. But the finance department does not have the final say as we all know from the first version of the iBook (toilet seat/purse case design, which did not have FireWire either) on which FireWire was provided in the next revision. The fact is that some people WILL buy the 13″ MacBook without FireWire and as soon as that market is satisfied, it would make good business sense (even for the finance department) to then reintroduce FireWire on the MacBook. The problem probably is that a new feature set expansion was planned for the MacBook Pro (perhaps the addition of an e-SATA port) but was not ready in time and there would not therefore have been enough of a feature differentiation between the MacBook and MacBook Pro.

Indeed, we should absolutely NOT buy the MacBook if we want the most capable machine available for the money. And I would not even be happy with the return of mere FW400 after having witnessed the amazing increase in speed achieved by moving up to just FW800 (which slashes the time needed for large multi-GB transfers by over 40%). No, we should instead see FW3200 and maybe e-SATA on the MacBook Pro in January and then the MacBook should swing back into action with at least FW800 (to stay pin-compatible with FW3200).

FireWire is a Mac signature capability. It is a huge waste of potential to strip it and it is a sign of weakness to yield the entire high-speed data transfer field to the upcoming inferior USB 3 technology.

Message to Steve Jobs: It is time for you to hire and listen to some more-dedicated evangelists. After all, you inspired us yourself!

Sending out a positive spin and hoping to get a similarly positive response…

John Bosnitch
john.b@imcnews.com

By: The Groke

The Groke — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 00:13:47 +0000

RE all the complaints about whiners: I agree that part of the solution is to not buy the new macs. But complaining on the net and emailing Apple etc are also valid ways to let the company know that we, the consumer, are not happy. Especially given the fact that a lot of people might end up buying it anyways, which would drown out any dissent voiced via non-purchase.

As for those that say it is “not a big deal, it is just a computer” etc. The fact is that for many of us, it is not just a computer, it is a device which interfaces (via firewire) with hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of other equipment. So, “just a computer” does not quite float. That’s like me cutting the cables off someone’s car battery and saying “big deal, it’s just a cable”. Yeah, it’s just a cable, but it supports an extended network of other, expensive stuff.