Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Tuesday, 21 October 2008 07:18
Opinion and Analysis
Page 1 of 3
Although the death of FireWire was long ago telegraphed when Apple stopped supporting it on the iPod, the untimely death of FireWire on the new MacBook has really fired up users who have lots of FireWire based equipment and want a MacBook – not a MacBook Pro.
Got FireWire equipment, like hard drives or video cameras, and want to use it with a shiny new unibody aluminium-cased MacBook?
Too bad for you, courtesy of Apple.
Although a USB to FireWire adapter does exist, only for video, reports suggest it doesn’t work too well, and even if someone figures out a way to kludge an Ethernet to FireWire adaptor of some kind, which is probably impossible, expensive or very difficult, none of this would have been a problem had Apple simply included a port for the technology it pioneered, created and owns.
The MacBook is certainly a sight to behold, I just popped into the Apple Store on George St in Sydney’s CBD to have a squiz at both new models.
The gloriously large trackpad on each is fully multi-touch enabled, the “right mouse button” click works wonderfully, and it’s dead simple to get used to the fact you now click the entire button, rather than the previous button strip.
Both models also look super sleek and thoroughly modern, gleaming with their shiny screens (that some will need to affix anti-glare screens onto, such as the 3M Privacy Shield) to remove the light-reflecting glare.
The screens are perfect for movies, not so good for working on in offices with overhead lighting, and while you get used to it, the removal of a matte screen is another Apple annoyance.
But it’s FireWire that has really set users on fire, screaming that they need a MacBook-sized 13-inch machine, not the larger 15- or 17-inch MacBook Pros, or the cheaper-but-plastic “old” MacBook without the new NVIDIA graphical goodness.
Yes, Apple pioneer ditching the Floppy drive, it pioneered the introduction of USB, but the removal of FireWire is just too much for some Apple fans.
Will new users care? Continued on page 2.
