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Next-Gen Apples To Include 1394b, USB 2.0

Posted by timothy on from the fast-fruit dept.

seletz writes: "According to this article on The Register, Apple will ship its next-generation PowerMacs with USB 2.0 and double FireWire. USB 2.0 boosts data transfer up to 480Mbps, FireWire 1394b goes up to 3.2Gbps." It may seem a minor point, but the more and faster connections are built in, the less frequently the upgrade gremlins have to strike. 3.2Gbps!

3 of 304 comments (clear)

  1. Re:What's Apple's Future Like? by alfredo · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The layoffs were in the sales force. With the Apple Stores and the online store, FtF sales are not as essential.

    There are several reasons we pay a little extra, quality of hardware, tight integration between hardware and software, and it is not Windows. If you are into the creative arts, Apple is the first choice. The Mac has always been geared to the Artist, publisher, teacher, and scientist. These people will tend to buy from those who care about their concerns.

    I don't mind paying extra for quality. I know people that are still using the original Mac II. One uses his for fonts, another for HyperCard.
    One lady bought a new Compaq, but went back to her 6200, citing the difficulty of using Windows for making class projects. It didn't have HyperCard.
    BTW the 6200 line is probably the worst Apples made.

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    photosMy Photostream
  2. Re:Macs are for loosers by Slad · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Flame will get you no where...

    Despite the fact that you are comparing Apples to Oranges (no pun intended), your case is weak and flaccid.

    Windows 2000 is a business OS; built on NT. Mac OS 9.x and before were more consumer operating systems. You should compare Windows 9x with Mac OS 9.x, and Win 2000/XP to Mac OS X.

    On those levels, both have advantages and disadvantages. Personally, I favor the Mac OS, but I can't condemn someone for using Windows.

    As far as your comment about Macs crashing all the time - that is due to Mac OS 9.x not having protective memory, something corrected in OS X. I have had OS X since its initial release. Since that time, it has not crashed. My Win 2K box has crashed three times - in a year. Does that mean that the Mac is more stable? Probably not, but it does further diminish your argument.

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    I am Slad.
  3. I doubt it by frankie · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I'm sure most Mac fans would love to have gigahertz G5s with DDR and FireWire 2. But there really is not a clamor of interest in USB 2, and I don't see a reason to include it.

    USB 2's entire purpose is to compete with Apple's own 1394 standard. USB2 is slower, uses more CPU resources, and has done surpisingly poorly in the marketplace. FireWire devices outnumber USB2 by huge proportions.

    Apple knows that iMac (which had no legacy ports) is the event that got USB 1.x rolling. That was a good move, since Apple needed to get with standards. But in FireWire, Apple has set the standard. Adding USB2 would have little benefit and a lot of risk for Apple.