Following up an earlier post about some of the reasons Apple picked FireWire over eSATA in the new MacBook Pro range, let’s take a look at what’s in store for the future of FireWire.  On the road map to succeed the current FireWire 400 and 800 standards are the aptly-named IEEE 1600 and 3200 ports.  They are – you guessed it – twice as fast as the current implementations of the current IEEE 1394 interface – FireWire 400 and 800.

Speed-wise

FireWire 1600 has the ability to push bits at a rate of 1.6Gbit/s (200MB/s), while FireWire 3200 doubles that number to 3.2Gbit/s (400MB/s).  For comparison’s sake, FireWire 1600 is just 0.1Gbit/s (12.5MB/s) faster than SATA 1.5 while FireWire 3200 is a full 25MB/s (.2Gbit/s) faster than SATA 3.0.  FireWire 1600 and 3200 use the same 9-circuit beta connectors as the existing FireWire 800 standard, as opposed to the FireWire 400 connector – which is the alpha connector.  In most cases, this most likely means that if you have a FireWire 800 port, you’ll be able to connect a FireWire 1600 or a 3200 device without the need for an adapter, yet be limited to 800Mbit/s (the speed of FireWire 800).  Those with a FireWire 400 port (using the alpha connector) will need an adapter to connect peripherals using the new standard but would not be able to operate them at a rate higher than 400Mbit/s. 

Product-wise

Expect to see FireWire 1600 and 3200 replace the current FireWire 400 and 800 interfaces in the typical fashion: higher-end systems will get the new ports first, which will later make their way into lower-end systems, until – eventually – it is seen on most machines (that is, unless netbooks take over the world).  In essence, FireWire 1600 is analogous to today’s FireWire 400 (destined for lower-end systems), while FireWire 3200 can be equated to FireWire 800 – which is seen on higher-end machines.  Given the fact that the IEEE 1394 interface has been adopted as the HANA (High-Definition Audio-Video Network Alliance) standard connection interface for A/V component communication and control, it most likely will be very popular with audio/visual devices (as has been the case with the current FireWire 400 and 800 implementations).

Time-frame-wise

In December of 2007, the 1394 Trade Association announced that products based on the new FireWire 1600 and 3200 standards will be available before the end of 2008.  Unfortunately, very few products based on the new spec have been seen.  This is surprising, due to the fact that the spec was made available to manufacturers in October of 2008.  Given this fact, I’d say that the state of FireWire is not here nor there: older (400 and 800) FireWire specs are being manufactured into current hardware (machines, motherboards, PCI cards, and external equipment), but the newer and faster specs aren’t to be seen.  What gives?  Perhaps we will bypass the entire next-gen FireWire spec altogether and make the jump to eSATA?  Look out for a follow-up post on this soon.

Earlier this week we reported that Google’s Street View has come under substantial privacy-related criticism in Japan.  The critics were outraged that Google’s cameras captured the insides of many Japanese backyards.  In leu of the criticism (which is definitely not a first for the web-based service), Google has decided to throw away all captured footage of the 12 cities it has already captured in Japan, and start over.  The company will reposition its cameras 40 centimeters lower (for a total height of 2.05 meters).  Not satisfied with these minor tune-ups to its fleet of Street View vehicles, Google has taken things one step further by releasing the Google Trike.  

The three-wheeled super-sized tricycles carry 250 pounds of ballast in the form of “a mounted Street View camera and a specially-decorated box containing image-collecting gadgetry,” says the web giant.  Not only will such a device help in places where a standard Street View van is too tall and invades on people’s privacy by capturing their laundry (or their backyards) on camera, it will also assist Google in tight and small historic places where a regular vehicle simply can’t fit, like Genoa, Italy.

In fact, that’s where the new trikes will first be deployed, followed by the United Kingdom – where the trikes will capture plenty of famous British landmarks.  If you have one in mind, Google is open to suggestions and will be working with VisitBritain to pick out the most desirable locations to shoot.  Since it is a fact of life that people and cars will be in the Street View images along with the famous landmarks, Google promises to “apply our face-blurring and license plate blurring to all these images.”

One more thing: since the trike does weigh the hefty 250 pounds that it does, it requires a “specially trained super fit” rider.”  If you fit the descriptions, it might just be your dream job: get fit while traveling the world on Google’s expense.  Everyone else need not apply.

When Apple announced its updated line-up of MacBook Pro notebooks at WWDC, I couldn’t help but notice a certain pattern in the updates: the inclusion of the FireWire 800 port and the exclusion of a much-faster eSATA port.  Let’s get the facts over with: FireWire and eSATA are both I/O interfaces that handle data transfer much better than USB.  In fact, they can even be called the “professional’s choice” of I/O interface, with USB being more along the lines of the average consumer/computer user.  FireWire 800 transfers data at a rate of 98.25MB/s while eSATA cranks out 300MB/s.  Compare that with USB 2.0′s rate of 60MB/s and it’s easy to see why USB is a consumer-level I/O interface.  But why did Apple pick FireWire over the much faster eSATA and what can we expect to be the de-facto standard for powerful data transfer in future Macs?Pure marketing

It’s no secret that a sizable portion of MacBook and MacBook Pro users (especially the latter) are creative professionals who make a living making, editing, and distributing audio and video.  This market demands the ability to connect external devices such as sound boards, mixers, and high-end video cameras to their computers.  Therefore, it should come as no surprise that FireWire, officially known as the IEEE 1394 interface, has been adopted as the High-Definition Audio-Video Network Alliance (HANA) standard connection interface for A/V (audio/visual) component communication and control.  This is the single most important reason that influenced Apple to include FireWire 800, and not eSATA, across the entire MacBook Pro range.  Also, the fact that FireWire 6 and 8 pin connectors provide power + data transfer in a single cable is just icing on the cake.

How ’bout me? eSATA…

eSATA is faster than FireWire 800.  More than 3.05 times faster, to be exact.  Yet the problem with eSATA is that it doesn’t supply power through the port, meaning that external power must be provided to drive the eSATA device in question.  This power can either come from the wall or from a USB port.  The long and short of it is that eSATA – as a standard – requires more than one cable to be fully functional (the eSATA cable plus a power cable).  And this is where the eSATA/USB combo port comes into play.  Standard on many Windows-based notebooks, the eSATA/USB combo port does exactly what it’s supposed to: eSATA speed coupled with USB power, all in one port, using one wire.  On top of that, the eSATA/USB combo port can be used as a standalone eSATA or USB port, which speaks to the amazing flexibility of the port.  Obviously, eSATA – in combo form or not – is absent on the MacBook line in general.  But looking in my crystal ball, I would say it’s very much possible that future updates to Apple’s Pro range of notebooks will include the eSATA/USB combo port: it takes up no more port real estate than a USB port, yet provides twice as much functionality.

Don’t give up on USB just yet: USB 3.0

USB 3.0 is the next version of the ever-so-popular connectivity standard.  The main selling point of 3.0 is that it’s faster than 2.0.  It’s much faster, with a transfer speed of 625MB/s – over ten times the rate of USB 2.0 (60MB/s).  But as is the common gripe of pros using USB for large file transfers, these speeds are not sustainable: USB relies on the processor (host) to do all of the work managing the transfers, and is hampered by this.  Using USB, the host can’t keep a constant transfer rate.  This is not the case with FireWire: instead of relying on the host machine to do all the heavy-lifting, FireWire devices communicate directly, doing all the processing themselves.  The result is a much more steady throughput that is sustainable over large file transfers, while the USB standard is usually good for small file transfers (burst).

All in all, I see the reason why Apple chose FireWire in its new MacBook Pro range of notebooks: it’s fast, it’s a good standard, and it works with the audio/video devices that MacBook Pro users demand.  In the future, however, I expect to see a eSATA/USB combo port, along with USB 3.0 ports.  I like to think that these ports complement, rather than compete with one another – but this might not be the case for Apple: during the introduction of the 13″ MacBook Pro, Apple’s Phil Schiller hinted that it was a challenge for Apple’s engineering team to include an SD card slot along with a FireWire port.  If this is in fact the case, the eSATA/USB combo port would make the most sense: it doesn’t add an additional port to the side of the notebook, but shares an already-existing USB port.  Having all three ports would give the pro user the ultimate coonectivity nirvana: USB for convenience, eSATA for speed an external storage, FireWire for compatibility with audio and video devices.  Moreover, including an eSATA/USB combo port would quell the uproar over the removal of the ExpressCard slot in the MacBook Pro range, since that was one of the most popular uses for the slot.  Until then, let’s hope Apple is thinking along the same lines!

To see how an eSATA/USB combo port would work with an external drive, take a look at this product.

Thank you for reading.  Please share your opinion with me in the comments – I want to know what you think!
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