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Recent Macs Have Built-in USB 2.0
RalphBNumbers writes "According to a forum thread at CreateMac, a Korean Mac community, the newer MDD 1.25 and 1.42 GHz dual G4s actually use a NEC PD720101 USB 2.0 controller for their built-in USB. Apple's drivers only support USB 1.x, but you can apparently enable USB 2.0 functionality by using the drivers for a USB 2.0 card from Orange Micro that uses the same NEC controller. YMMV." Is there a translation of any of this, somewhere?
Here's a translation..[clicky].
But there isn't really much text anyway....
Rejoice Rejoice ! One time where you don't have to RTFA ! WooHoo!
Moderation: +4. Modded 70% Funny and 30% Overrated. 100% Saturated.
Um. Duh. Take the 200 GB drive out of its case and put it inside the Mac. You've got four internal ATA slots.
And use the DVD-RW in the Power Mac instead of a POS external DVD+RW.
Excuses, excuses.
Huh? Ever heard of Microsoft Windows XP? What exactly will I be missing in a Windows XP box that I would get in Apple?
What will you be missing in XP that you get with a mac? iTunes, iMovie, iDVD, iPhoto... iLife, if you wanna call it that. Four included apps that allow you to do some pretty nifty things with audio, video, and photos. XP ships with Windows Movie Maker and Windows Media Player which would cover video and audio... but they're not designed to work well together, so they don't, and that still leaves out photo and good DVD creation software.
Please point to the research that claims that Apple notebooks generally last longer and work better than their Dell counterparts?
No such research is necessary. It's self-evident. Go do a hands-on comparison between a Dell Whatever and a PowerBook. Draw your own conclusion.
And downloading a Unix-based system, partitioning the HDD and getting a dual-boot or just trashing Windows XP and installing Linux on the laptop is non-existing in x86 world.
There goes your ease of use parity, huh?
Because it's basic configuration. It would be available as add-on.
An add-on how? This is a laptop we're talking about, yes? That means you can have FireWire or wireless networking, but not both at the same time.
Also, how crucial is that PCMCIA slot in the first place?
Since you're advocating putting lots and lots of stuff in it, I'd say damn crucial.
Bottom line: if you want to go the cheap-ass route, be my guest. If you want to buy a laptop that will last you for the next three or four years, buy a PowerBook.
...the 2.0 chip isn't wired. Apple, like other OEM'simply bought boards with dual capability, since 1.0 only boards are no longer available in the quantities that Apple needs at this time. It takes another step to enable 2.0 circuitry, and that step has not been taken by Apple at this time.
The 2.0 drivers are already in the OS, so anyone that thinks they can buy a new Mac, add drivers, and have 2.0 is a bit of a chump.
Yeah, I should have mentioned that in my comment. I find even firewire hard drives slow, so USB1 must be painful. A USB 1 dvd burner? Forget it. My usb1 cd burner takes 15 min to burn, and that's only for 640MB, not a 4 Gig disc.
But IIRC, the entire USB tree drops down to USB1 speeds if even a single USB1 device is used. So you may not be getting the speed you expect either.
I use Macs to up my productivity, so up yours Microsoft!
- 9-pin twisted pair copper (standard for FireWire 800)
Apple also has an interesting and informative FireWire 800/IEEE-1394b tech briefStandard CAT-5
Step-index plastic fiber
Hard polymer-clad plastic fiber
Glass fiber
Also, to the person who responded saying FireWire 800 isn't twice as fast as USB 2 because USB 2 operates at 480 Mbps: you should look at the real life performance of USB - both 1 and 2. It's far short of the theoretical maximum; in the case of USB 2, often well under 400 Mbps. So FireWire 800 is more than twice as fast. Even 400 Mbps FireWire is often faster than USB 2.
However, it's really beside the point if FireWire 800 is faster than USB 2 if the device you wish to connect only has a USB 2 interface. FireWire may be the superior interface and technology for many high-speed tasks, but many consumer devices feature USB 2. It certainly can't hurt to be able to connect to the widest variety of devices possible. FireWire - not only because of speed, but because of features and the flexibility of the standard - will continue to be chosen for high end audio, video, specialty storage and networking, smart home interconnectivity, etc. Look at plasma HDTVs and DVD-A players: you won't see USB 2 on those. But it would be nice for Mac users to pick up a third-party USB 2 scanner, DVD recorder, camera, etc., and be able to take full advantage of the peripheral's connectivity (many of these devices may even have FireWire versions, or versions with both USB 2 and FireWire. But the item in stock and on the shelf at Best Buy always seems to be the USB 2-only version...that's what it really comes down to for some).
Actually, the firmware update was to correct an issue with the dvd drives, that would cause them to break when a higher rated media (4x) was put in the drive, it still only burns at 2x, it just won't implode on itself when you put a 4x blank in it.
Yes, but have never heard of any direct quote from anyone who speaks english that these drivers work. The only links to that I have seen are to a Korean forum that have been translated by babelfish. The accuracy of the translation is not perfect so it cannot be relied on. The only direct quotes from english speakers that I have seen say that these drivers do not work.
Impersonating Tycho from Penny Arcade since before there was a PA.
At least the drivers didn't work any magic in my hands. I installed the Orange 3.1 drivers for Jaguar, rebooted, and tested the read rate on a dual fireware400/usb2 drive connected to a PM1.42 GHz running 10.2.5. The drive is peppy over firewire (30 MB/sec) but a regular slug over USB (830 KB/sec).