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Apple Releases Free, OS-Independent, FireWire SDK

Posted by pudge on from the mmmm-beeeeer dept.

mcwop writes "Apple announced the release of a free FireWire SDK for embedded devices. The kit is not OS-dependent. Is this a response to the release of USB 2.0 or is Apple simply trying to keep a steady stream of FireWire devices coming? What effect will this have on FireWire b? What are the effects on the Open Source community developing FireWire interfaces? Time will tell. Nonetheless this is an interesting development."

30 of 179 comments (clear)

  1. Does this mean? by t0qer · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Does this mean firewire support will finally be coming to Virtual Dub? I think vdub is a kick ass program but now that the guy I do capture for has a Sony PCR-DC1 I gotta use premier,
    which is sort of fat and bloated (sorry adobe)

  2. Yaay apple! by CoolVibe · · Score: 4, Interesting
    I love firewire and the sheer openness of it. Also, the speed of it (in my own experience) is impressive. USB is just for peripherals, use firewire if you need to shift loads of data from one place to another _FAST_.

    This is looking good... Also, the platform-agnostic approach is a good one. What's next, Aqua on Intel? ;)

    1. Re:Yaay apple! by Llywelyn · · Score: 3, Informative

      Firewire has taken several industries, such as digital recording and portable hard drives, by storm.

      It has proven itself to be very popular in a variety of areas and now they can use "FireWire" as a name.

      Just the way it goes.

      --
      Integrate Keynote and LaTeX
    2. Re:Yaay apple! by Bart+van+der+Ouderaa · · Score: 5, Informative
      It's too bad firewire didn't catch on more ??? The name maybe, but IEEE 1394 not caught on?
      IEEE 1394 is also called a DV connector, I.link (sony).

      It's used on the playstation 2 (to connect to other playstations 2 among other things), every selfrespecting digital video camera has such a connector, there are a large number of external HD/CD-R/DVD peripherals that use the IEEE 1394 connector. You can get a IEEE 1394 card for your computer from a large number of different vendors.

      Firewire is already embedded in the market and while USB 2.0 might become a competitor because of it's name, the peripherals are just now comming into the market. In the PC world however they seem to serve different markets (IEEE 1394 for video, USB 2.0 for peripherals).

      I think IEEE 1394 will stay on the PC, although mainly used in video. Apple will continue to push (and improve I've seen stories talking about the next versions going to 1600 MB/s) firewire.

    3. Re: Yaay apple! by Antity · · Score: 5, Informative

      the article is talking about USB 2.0, which moves data at 480 Mb/s, vs. the current (?) firewire speed of 400.

      Firewire aka IEEE 1394 is the better technology. Why? Because you don't need a central host. This is important.

      Firewire devices can interchange data point-to-point. USB always needs a host (read: PC, Mac, whatever) to keep the bus up. This is why Intel is pushing USB. Not because of technical aspects (ok, maybe to punish Apple), but because they want you to have to keep some central device (PC) to be able to exchange data between (USB) devices.

      Again, on Firewire, this is not needed.

      --
      42. Easy. What is 32 + 8 + 2?
    4. Re:Yaay apple! by sh00z · · Score: 3, Informative
      It's too bad firewire didn't catch on more. Had Apple not been greedy with the name, I think it would have become the standard in the PC world too.

      Please define "greedy." According to Apple, the fee is exactly $0.00 for the license to use the name and logo (you can even apply on-line and save the cost of a stamp):
      The FireWire Logo is an Apple trademark and must be licensed for use by third-parties. There is currently no licensing fee. The agreement is a 5-page Adobe Acrobat file, and contains all the information and guidelines third-party developers need to license the FireWire Logo for use on product packaging, advertising, and other product marketing materials.
    5. Re:Yaay apple! by timothy_m_smith · · Score: 4, Insightful
      Please define "greedy." According to Apple [apple.com], the fee is exactly $0.00 for the license to use the name and logo (you can even apply on-line and save the cost of a stamp):

      I think he was referring to Apple being greedy in the past. I believe that prior to this announcement, using the name FireWire cost the OEMs $1-2 per product.
  3. Re:Sensationalist headlines by af_robot · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Read carefully :)
    OS-Independent == NOT OS-dependent

  4. Will this make possible... by Toasty16 · · Score: 4, Interesting
    open source DVRs which are able to bypass restrictions imposed by DTV providers? From an earlier /. story:

    http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/08/0 7/1328207&mode=nested&tid=129

    Also mentioned is a proposal being considered by the FCC that would allow cable companies to 'turn off' the firewire port, which DVR's will use to connect to digital televisions, so that some broadcasts can't be recorded.

  5. Oh yeah.. by af_robot · · Score: 3, Funny

    (singing on Doors music)
    Come one Apple, light my wire...

  6. (Mac) os independant by tunah · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Obtaining the FireWire Development Kit
    The FireWire Software Development Kit is available today, for both Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X. This SDK provides the latest FireWire software, plus sample code and documentation.
    Hmm... choose any OS as long as its one of our last two. (Not a mac-hater, just pissed off coz I have an iMac with 8.6 ;-P)
    --
    Free Java games for your phone: Tontie, Sokoban
    1. Re:(Mac) os independant by glenmark · · Score: 5, Informative

      The FireWire reference platform IS OS-independent. The SDK you reference is Mac-specific. SDKs for other platforms are available from other sources.

      --
      *** Quantum Mechanics: The Dreams of Which Stuff is Made ***
  7. Free, not?! by jukal · · Score: 4, Informative

    I read the EVALUATION LICENSE, which states for example:

    "This Evaluation License does not grant a license to incorporate the FireWire Reference Platform, any portion of it, or any Modification into any board, module, integrated circuit, macrocell, core or other assemble or device. To obtain a license to develop or distribute assemblies incorporating the FireWire Reference Platform or Modifications, visit http://www.developer.applce.com/mkt/swl""

    So, it seems that this is strictly for evaluation, or did I miss something?

    1. Re:Free, not?! by jukal · · Score: 4, Informative

      And if you look at the available SDKs only, you will find that they are not OS independant. I think the writer of the ./ article mixed up content of two releases, about the SDK, and about the reference platform.

    2. Re:Free, not?! by mcwop · · Score: 5, Informative

      You are correct. I mixed them up. The reference platform is designed to run on multiple embedded OS's.

      --

      "I don't think it's selfish, to eat defenseless shellfish." -NOFX

  8. store GB's on videocam by patrickoehlinger · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Wow, maybe now will somebody come up with a solution to use digicams as a external storage.
    I everytime thought this shouldn't be to difficult.

    --
    >> Had I been going to bed earlier every night? Have I been sleeping later? Has Tyler been in charge longer and l
  9. Well, he got one out of three... by Llywelyn · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Free? Not really, unless you count "evaluation" as free. Or perhaps I'm looking at the wrong thing, hard to tell.

    Platform Independent? FireWire is, Apple's SDK is not (last I checked).

    FireWire SDK. Yes, defiantly.

    Well, I guess it *is* too much to ask on /. that the person and reviewer both actually *read* the information before commenting on it.

    I guess it would also be too much to ask for a link to the actual press release.

    --
    Integrate Keynote and LaTeX
  10. Firewire growing? by ciryon · · Score: 3, Insightful
    This is a smart move by Apple. They recently released the iPOD portable mp3 player for Windows and I'm pretty sure people will want to get firewirecards for that. Plus, many new graphicscards and soundcards have built-in firewire. Yes, most new motherboards have USB 2.0, but people want Firewire as well.

    Ciryon

  11. Re:I used to like 1394 by Dahan · · Score: 3, Informative
    Man, who modded this AC troll to 2? [BTW, if you're gonna troll, use an account for it... you're much more believable that way. Although I admit you did a good job getting 2 positive mods]

    As a note to anyone who believes him, he says, "The 1394 drivers somehow interferred with my current DVDROM so that it wouldn't even be seen from DOS or the system BIOS." DOS or the BIOS aren't going to know about what drivers you have installed in Windows; it isn't possible for a Windows driver to cause the BIOS to not see your DVD-ROM drive.

  12. Re:I used to like 1394 by vincent99 · · Score: 3, Funny

    So you bought a crappy interface card with crappy drivers for your crappy OS.. yep, clearly Firewire is to blame here.

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    -- V
  13. Re:Let's hope this encourages more FireWire device by jimbolaya · · Score: 4, Informative
    There are plenty of FireWire hard drives (and CD/DVD) burners out there, and Orange Micro makes the FireWire iBot webcams. Epson sells a FireWire adaptor for many of its high-end printers Third parties (e.g., Archos) sell FireWire equipped Zip 250 drives.

    As far as the keyboard and mouse...well, let's not push it!

    --

    There ain't no rules here; we're trying to accomplish something.

  14. Already done by Cadre · · Score: 3, Informative
    Wow, maybe now will somebody come up with a solution to use digicams as a external storage.

    Way ahead of your: http://dvbackup.sourceforge.net/

    --
    All editorial writers ever do is come down from the hill after the battle is over and shoot the wounded.
  15. Booting from iPod by masonbrown · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Not sure how much you truly know about that rant, but I know one thing. I have booted from a firewire device - my iPod. The first thing I did after loading it up with songs was install OS X.1 on the thing. Then set the startup disk for my Pismo to the iPod (external firewire drive), rebooted, and there it was booting off the iPod.

  16. Firewire works in a beautiful way. by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 3, Informative

    Firewire works in a beautiful way. USB sometimes still hangs machines.

    1. Re:Firewire works in a beautiful way. by ncc74656 · · Score: 3, Interesting
      Firewire works in a beautiful way. USB sometimes still hangs machines.

      ...and when it doesn't hang them, USB slows them down to a crawl.

      You can have my FireWire hard drive and webcams after you pry them from my cold, dead fingers. (They only get used with x86 boxen under Win2K and Linux...the only Apple machines I have are three Apple IIs (IIGS, IIe, and II+) and a Quadra 610. It goes without saying that FireWire devices don't work too well with those machines. :-) )

      --
      20 January 2017: the End of an Error.
  17. Not just the speed by pbrice68 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Although USB 2.0 may be 480 vs FireWires 400 MB/sec, there are other beneifts to FireWire (other than FireWire 2, at 800 MB/sec, should be out and about this year) like: 1. You don't need a computer to use FireWire. One FireWire device can connect directly to another FireWire device without a workstation. Although we don't see much implementation of this - it would be conventient. How about a FireWire port on my car stereo to connect my iPod? 2. FireWire can carry POWER as well as data. WHen you plug an iPod in with it's FireWire cable, it charges as well as trasmits data through the same cable. In fact, if you should need to recharge away from your computer, the usual AC plug for recharging is a FireWire cable. I do think that Apple fucked up when they made licensing the name so expensive. Instead of one name "FireWire" everywhere you go, you see FireWire on Apple's, iLink on Sony computers and cameras,...etc. With all these different names, nobody realizes how pervasive it is. SOme PC users don't even know they have FireWire, and most Mac users don't know they have "1394".

  18. Re:good news for Linux? by Pfhor · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Many major hollywood places are using linux in shop anyway... Just not for the editing.

    And I have yet to seen any video editing program that is as refined as final cut pro is. i think it would take a while for VIMP or whatever, to get up to speed to where apple is. And I doubt it would be good for any video that is meant outside of the computer (color correction and accuracy don't seem to be big in the linux field yet).

  19. Re:Firewire to replace GP-IB (IEEE 488)? by AJWM · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I don't know about other instruments, but lab video cameras are using 1394. Note this is not the same as a firewire-enabled DV camcorder, the lab cameras send uncompressed video at higher data rates. (Video compression loses data, and compression artifacts screw up any computer analysis of the image.)

    --
    -- Alastair
  20. Re:logic boards by Toasty16 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Some higher end TVs are quite "malleable." The Sony Wega series, for instance, has a service mode that allows for manipulating the image like a computer monitor. They also have a set of ID codes which control what features are activated or deactivated. I'd recommend not changing the ID codes unless you know exactly what does what, because you might turn your 36 inch Triniton display with component input into a 27 inch with RCA inputs. Of course, if you actually know what you're doing, you could activate hidden features, such as re-enabling the firewire port even after its been deactivated due to regulations and restrictions.

  21. Cluster computing interconnect by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Firewire is not just a high speed connection for copying files to your iPod or from your camera, it has capabilities that go far beyond. A very good application for firewire is as a cluster computing interconnect.

    Among other notable features Firewire has ability to do direct memory access without CPU intervention. It is a very low latency interface. This is a critical factor in tightly coupled clusters using things like MPI (message passing interface).

    Apple would like to see people develop firewire as a topology for MPI. I'm not saying this is THE reason for this sdk release, but it certainly is A reason.