MacRocks.com -- IEEE 1394: why is this cool?

	Macintosh, Music & Sound for all who Rock Different!

Originally conceived by Apple Computer back in 1986, FireWire has finally made it to light of day on an actual Mac computer. The new G3 "yosemite" towers all have firewire built in and things like SCSI and serial ports are history. Now the rumors of the iMac to be destined for 1394 have resurfaced.

As always this is Apple takes the leadership role of developing the entire computer industry's future.

Firewire is, er, that is will be the thing that makes everyone forget about SCSI. Eventually. Sporting much faster transfer rates, longer cable runs, no drive ID voodoo and the ability for super fast networking, Firewire will kick SCSI's ass. So, where are the drives and hubs and adapters and what not?

Fear not as great things are promised for the future -- ah yes, the future (see 'The waiting is the hardest part) That is what has always made Macs so great, the future they can create! Of particular interest to musicians and songwriters will be the high capacity, super fast hard drives that can be souped up for audio and video.

Right now the "E" ticket firewire multimedia devices on the market are in the form of high end DV cameras, as we again wait for the third party manufactures and probably drivers from Apple as well. But Hey! There could also be a non-PCI based AV I/O device that would absolutely be of benefit the MacRocker with a new G3 not far behind.

As time moves forward, availability and price-to-performance ratio become globally friendly and everyone will forget about the stink they originally raised over their legacy drives and scanners. Plug that $10k DV cam into the Yosemite and scan, baby!

Seriously, folks. It seems a little discouraging the only things actually shipping for 1394 are top of the line, high end budget camcorders. Don't fret, the same thing that makes those products great w/ Firewire will make the network transfer, CD burners and whatever AV interface to be developed for this bus hot and heavy for the Mac based musician.

I would strongly recommend the curious to check out the links at right and below to familiarize yourselves with the future. You'll feel better about your system decisions for the future.


		Hot bus - cool for music
Published: 02/13/99
		Hot bus - cool for music	FireWire, or IEEE-1394 high performance serial bus as it is technically known, is a high-speed and low-cost method of interconnecting a variety of computer peripherals, storage and consumer electronics devices. Among the advantages this advanced technology provides are a fast 12.5 to 50 Megabytes per second transfer using both isochronous and asynchronous transfers, auto ID & termination and the ability to hot plug up to 63 devices (16 daisy chained).
		Did I lose anyone? Originally conceived by Apple Computer back in 1986, FireWire has finally made it to light of day on an actual Mac computer. The new G3 "yosemite" towers all have firewire built in and things like SCSI and serial ports are history. Now the rumors of the iMac to be destined for 1394 have resurfaced. As always this is Apple takes the leadership role of developing the entire computer industry's future. Firewire is, er, that is will be the thing that makes everyone forget about SCSI. Eventually. Sporting much faster transfer rates, longer cable runs, no drive ID voodoo and the ability for super fast networking, Firewire will kick SCSI's ass. So, where are the drives and hubs and adapters and what not? Fear not as great things are promised for the future -- ah yes, the future (see 'The waiting is the hardest part) That is what has always made Macs so great, the future they can create! Of particular interest to musicians and songwriters will be the high capacity, super fast hard drives that can be souped up for audio and video. Right now the "E" ticket firewire multimedia devices on the market are in the form of high end DV cameras, as we again wait for the third party manufactures and probably drivers from Apple as well. But Hey! There could also be a non-PCI based AV I/O device that would absolutely be of benefit the MacRocker with a new G3 not far behind. As time moves forward, availability and price-to-performance ratio become globally friendly and everyone will forget about the stink they originally raised over their legacy drives and scanners. Plug that $10k DV cam into the Yosemite and scan, baby! Seriously, folks. It seems a little discouraging the only things actually shipping for 1394 are top of the line, high end budget camcorders. Don't fret, the same thing that makes those products great w/ Firewire will make the network transfer, CD burners and whatever AV interface to be developed for this bus hot and heavy for the Mac based musician. I would strongly recommend the curious to check out the links at right and below to familiarize yourselves with the future. You'll feel better about your system decisions for the future.		Quick Facts: IEEE 1394-1995 Standard for a High Performance Serial Bus is the name of the standards document, published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers that defines the present implementation of IEEE-1394. FireWire is Apple Computer, Inc.'s trademarked name for its implementation of IEEE-1394. Because Apple has been developing the FireWire concept since 1986, FireWire is the most commonly used "synonym" for IEEE-1394.
				As of this publish date, the following are companies who have either formally announce or have been rumored to soon announce products for the Mac and FireWire. (Source: Apple Computer)
				Products Available as of 02/99: Canon Optura Mini DV Cam Canon XL1 Mini DV Cam Canon ZR Mini DV Cam JVC GR-DLS1U Mini DV Cam Kodak Professional DCS 315 Kodak Professional DCS 520 Panasonic PV-DV910 Mini DV Cam Panasonic PV-HD1000 Digital VCR Phase One LightPhase cam back Radius EditDV Sony DCR-PC10 DV Cam Sony DCR-TRV900 DV Cam Sony DCR-PC1 DV Cam Sony DHR-1000 DV Recorder Sony GV-D900 Video Walkman The waiting is the hardest part . . . Dicomed LittleBigShot Cameras - 1999? Indigita iDT-2800 DAT Drive - Early 1999 La Cie CD-RW Drive - March 1999 La Cie DVD-RAM Drive - March 1999 La Cie Hard Drive - March 1999 Mactell FireDrive CD-R Drive - Q1 1999 Mactell FireDrive Hard Drive - Q1 1999 Mactell FireBus PCI Host Adapter - Q1 1999 Mactell FireBus Hub Repeaters - Q1 1999 Newer Technology FireStorm AV - Q2 1999 Newer Technology FireStorm DV - Q2 1999 ORB 2.2 GB removable drive - Q2 1999 Yano Hard Drive - March 1999 Yano Magneto Optical Drive - March 1999
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