The uber geeks

iBooks sans Firewire, a big deal?

When I first heard that the rumored, and yet unreleased, iBooks would be without support for Firewire I was appalled. Firewire is a great technology and I have several devices that use it as their primary, or only, means of transferring data to my computers. However, if Apple does decide to drop Firewire on the new iBooks that might be released in January, it isn’t as big a deal as its being made out to be.

Consider that Apple will most likely have an iSight built directly into the iBook’s casing, there will be no need for a Firewire port specifically for an iSight. Which leads us to having Firewire support for external hard drives, CD/DVD burners and video cameras. Typically, these uses for Firewire are reserved for professionals or high-end users (or, my Mom wouldn’t care at all). Being that the iSight will be built in and the latest iPods are all switched over to USB, I really don’t see this effecting most of those that use firewire devices.

I see this move by Apple as being a selling point for its Powerbook line more than anything. There are several good reasons to buy a Powerbook right now, but having support for Firewire devices would be another big one. So if you currently own an iBook and absolutely need Firewire support, it would appear that you will be waiting until the next-generation of Powerbooks are released before you get to upgrade.

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