[blessingx]

I know there's been some discussion of the seemingly contradictory USB transfer and Firewire & USB charge specs on the Apple page. Well that's what it is. You can charge by Firewire, but transfers are only USB. There's even a special message displayed when you hook up Firewire.

Unfortunate news for us Mac people who have a machine prior to Apple accepting USB2.0. Who knows a cheap OS X compatible USB2.0 PCI card? Sucks having superior technology by Apple and not being able to use it.

Anyway typing this from a demo iMac in an Apple store. Nanos screen is very very slightly jaggy compared to iPod Photo, but otherwise size, feel, etc. is great. Let me state the obvious... the black is uber sexy.

Wasn't able to do an audible test though. Two models passing around entire floor.

 

[Jeff E]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blessingx Who knows a cheap OS X compatible USB2.0 PCI card? Sucks having superior technology by Apple and not being able to use it.

I've got one of these pci cards in my 450mhz sawtooth Mac. It's got 2 firewire and 3 usb2 ports. They all work fine on my machine. It eliminated some nagging problems I had with the Shuffle choking on updates through the native usb 1.1. Best $30 I've spent on my old mac. And Other World Computing has given me excellent phone support.

 

[martycat]

I'm really really disappointed about that... Becoz' of the coming "Macintel" era, I don't really feel like replacing my old-but-trusty 12" PowerBook Rev.A. However, it comes with Firewire and USB1.1 only. What a shame that Apple took away the Firewire compatibility which is its own pioneer technology.

 

[rsaavedra]

I'm guessing Apple probably observed marketing and sales numbers, their total # of firewire accesories sold vs. total of usb accesories sold worldwide, and USB might be winning by a significant marging. Also removing firewire circuitry related to the transfering might have saved maybe some space and battery. Well just wild guessing.

Anyway thanks for the update on this Blessingx!

 

[p0ssumjenkins]

the black IS ubersexy UNTIL you get a scratch... i just got mine and its sad when it gets scratched (stupid clear plastic... you wipe it with even a clean towel it gets scratched, use clean microfibers only...)

 

[Taphil]

People use firewire?

I've only used an external hard drive and iPod with firewire (before they went USB), and have had more problems than USB2. For me, it may be faster, but not as reliable (write delay failure with the iPod before Apple fixed it, and with the external hard drives as well) and thus not worth using.

 

[martycat]

I don't mind to use FW or USB2.0 if I got both...

BTW, FW is the only connection I've used with my iPods and I never got problem with it.

 

[blessingx]

I have a dual Firewire/USB external drive. Only ever had problems withe the USB part.

BTW, in case there is any doubt...

And thanks for the recommendation Jeff E.

 

[Sparky191]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taphil People use firewire? I've only used an external hard drive and iPod with firewire (before they went USB), and have had more problems than USB2. For me, it may be faster, but not as reliable (write delay failure with the iPod before Apple fixed it, and with the external hard drives as well) and thus not worth using.

I think you are generalising there. You've had a problem and think it applies to everyone else. Which isn't logical. I've two idential USB2 external drives and one gives me loads of problems and the other one doesn't. Just one of those hardware gremlins you get.

Apple has a history of dropping support for legacy hardware. Nothing surprising about that.

Obviously there were more advantages in dropping FW support than keeping it. rsaavedra is probably right, saved space, battery and I'd add cost to that aswell.

 

[Emmanuel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blessingx Sucks having superior technology by Apple and not being able to use it.

What do you mean by "superior technology"? IEEE 1394 requires less system resources but, at the end of the day, it is slower than USB2.0. Which is probably why Apple is moving on.

Edit: What I don't understand is why they didn't use IEEE1394.B. I know the standard does not belong to them anymore but, surely, it's the most sensible way forward for Apple at least. Despite being 5 years old, they don't even include it on their PC's bar the Hi-End ones.

 

[BigFil]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emmanuel but, at the end of the day, it is slower than USB2.0. Which is probably why Apple is moving on.

That's a misleading statement! On paper USB2 it's slightly faster but in numberous real world test Firewire spanks USB2.0. Theoretically it has higher burst rates but it can't sustain the transfer rates that Firewire does. If you are filling up a hard drive or flash drive the sustainability is felt.

 

[stevesurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taphil People use firewire? I've only used an external hard drive and iPod with firewire (before they went USB), and have had more problems than USB2. For me, it may be faster, but not as reliable (write delay failure with the iPod before Apple fixed it, and with the external hard drives as well) and thus not worth using.

Absolutely not! My LaCie Firewire DVD+RW Drives are actually (slightly) faster and produce less burn errors than their USB equivalents. This could also have something to do with the Adaptec Firewire Card I am using as well, which I find to be very reliable.

The Nano's lack of full firewire support is bad news for me, but not a deal-breaker...

 

[appar111]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blessingx I know there's been some discussion of the seemingly contradictory USB transfer and Firewire & USB charge specs on the Apple page. Well that's what it is. You can charge by Firewire, but transfers are only USB. There's even a special message displayed when you hook up Firewire. Unfortunate news for us Mac people who have a machine prior to Apple accepting USB2.0. Who knows a cheap OS X compatible USB2.0 PCI card? Sucks having superior technology by Apple and not being able to use it.

Dang it! And I so wanted to get one, but I have a 2003 Powerbook, which only has firewire and USB1.1. No way I'm going to get the Nano and suffer through USB1.1 to load songs. Guess I'll have to continue using my 2G iPod Mini til my laptop dies...

 

[blessingx]

Depending on your PB model size, there's always PCMCIA USB 2.0 cards, but that's adding cost to the equation. Know your pain here.

 

[Taphil]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparky191 I think you are generalising there.

Hence, I said, "For me..."