Full FeedNo FireWire in new MacBooks
Well, that’s a kick in the pants. Apple giveth, and Apple taketh away. At today’s MacBook event, Apple announced (amongst other things) that the new MacBooks are finally getting an honest-to-goodness graphics card: the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M. But did they really have to remove FireWire capabilities to make room for the card?
It’s true. Well, I mean, the two are probably mutually exclusive, but the new MacBooks will have no FireWire capabilities at all. Rather, you’re left with two USB 2.0 ports. And oddly, the $999 MacBook (now dubbed the MacBook White) doesn’t have the new GeForce 9400M, but retains the FireWire port.
Personally, I’ll take the Nvidia card over FireWire capabilities, but I’m still quite disappointed in the move to USB 2.0 only, as I now won’t be able to plug my Canon GL2 digital camcorder directly into a MacBook. It’ll be interesting to hear Apple’s explanation for this decision, because it’s most certainly going to cause quit a stir.
Update: Direct from Steve: Migration Assistant works over Ethernet.
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No Firewire?!? Shiiitte…
Glad I got the old black Macbook. I’d rather do without the aluminum casing than the Firewire since it’s got faster connectivity. There’s too much connected on my USB sockets already.
on October 14, 2008 at 06:50 PM - LINKNo firewire on Macbook? WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?!!?!?!!
Lost a sale here.
on October 15, 2008 at 04:37 PM - LINKHello all… I am new here. Today I filed a complaint with Apple’s Consumer Relations Division. I feel I have a merited reason being that I am an Audio professional. I DO have a Mac Pro “tower” but like editing and mixing on a Macbook when I travel. A lot of audio applications require a FW400 device to be attached while in use which makes me wonder what Apple is thinking…
THE RESPONSE: The response I recieved was in conversation with Apple tech support was, “I am actaully not sure what Apple was thinking, I just found out yesterday myself. I don’t understand because we use it for troubleshooting and diagnostics ourselves…” So even the people at APPLE are not happy…
The person with Apple’s Consumer Relation’s division said if Apple gets enough viable complaints they may change the design of the products… Posting on this forum may do very little good, that’s why WE must file with Apple’s Consumer Relations Division which you can speak with my calling the main number and requesting to file a complaint with Apple’s Consumer Relation’s division…
I like Apple, I think they are a great company, I think they make good products… I mean, I have an Apple Logo on my car!! BUT many of US are AUDIO and VISUAL professional who need products with Firewire 400!
I intend no harm to Apple and want them to succeed in their endeavors… But this was a very poor decision that MANY of us will agree on…
To file a complaint about the exclusion of FIREWIRE in Macbooks you can simply click here… very simple.
http://www.apple.com/feedback/macbook.html
Or call 1-MY-APPLE and ask to speak with the consumer relations division…
on October 15, 2008 at 05:12 PM - LINKIf you’re a pro, buy a MBP and add a Firewire capable ExpressCard/34.
on October 15, 2008 at 05:47 PM - LINKOne of the best parts of switching to a mac is finding out how amazing firewire is. I am surprised that they did not replace it with something faster at least.
on October 15, 2008 at 06:30 PM - LINKDude! Why buy a MBP and a Firewire capable ExpressCard/34? The MBP comes with a Firewire 800 port!
on October 16, 2008 at 11:32 PM - LINKThis would be the perfect laptop, if it only had Fire Wire. I don’t find real functional reasons on the user for taking off this incredible port.
on October 17, 2008 at 01:56 AM - LINKThis is a very bad move for Apple. The use of Firewire and Target Disk Mode, allows the user to update and re-image large numbers of Macs in a very short time. This is particularly useful and necessary for school districts and companies that manage large numbers os Macs. There is currently no other process out there, that I am aware of, that can do this in the time that the Firewire/TDM process does. Nothing even comes close. A typical Intel Mac can be reimaged in about 15 to 25 minutes time. Any other process will take 4 to 5 times as long.
If you are truly outraged about Apple dropping the Firewire and Target Disk Mode from the new MacBooks, you can provide feedback to Apple on their bonehead decision by going to: http://www.apple.com/feedback/macbook.html
Go there and register your complaint about the Firewire issue. If enough people complain about it, they will fix it. It happened with the iMac G5 and the Ambient Light Sensor issue. It sucked, enought people complained and they dropped the ALS in the next design revision.
Pass this URL on to everyone that is concerned and have them provide input. When enough people make enough noise, Apple will fix the problem.
The wouldn’t alienate their education market, WOULD THEY???!!!
-dp
on October 17, 2008 at 12:42 PM - LINKwhat a stupid mistake by apple. no firewire? give me a break. i know apple likes to phase out technologies that they think is getting outdated, but if that’s the case why didn’t they do away with the ethernet port as well? who goes to a coffee shop and plugs into an ethernet jack? who goes ANYWHERE and plugs into an ethernet jack? i have a camcorder, audio interface, and ext. HDD that uses firewire. consumers have 2 choices: either spend an extra $1k on a MBP or spend an extra $1k new equipment that uses USB.
on October 17, 2008 at 01:14 PM - LINKLiterally had my wallet out to buy one. i saw that it had no firewire port and decided not to buy it. I Paid $400 for my recording midi devise, and I’m not going to buy another midi devise to accommodate the new mac book. i guess ill stick with my old G4 mac mini.
on October 22, 2008 at 03:10 PM - LINKI was at the apple store today, ready to buy, and then I did the perusal of the ports and literally could not believe it. I was looking around the back of the thing, underneath… it’s just mind-boggling. I work as an editor for a major cable network and while we don’t usually use firewire (use SDI), we most certainly use tape. Trust me, it’s not going anywhere, especially for professional applications. I actually got rid of an HVX200 and downsized to an HV20 because I can’t stand the storage requirements and the constant backing up necessary with tapeless storage. I had a hard drive that went bad on an an indie film before we had the footage backed up (recovered it with Data Rescue II), and waiting to find out if the stuff could be recovered was extremely stressful. The convenience of buying a case of tape for $10 and having a tiny archive for every hour of material that you can just throw a bunch of ‘em in a fireproof safe gives much better peace of mind, imho. Anyway, I’ll stick with my old, trusty 12” and 15” powerbooks for the road (12” has firewire 400, the 15” has 400 AND 800) and the 24” imac for home. Thank god I got one of those late last year, who knows if they’ll decide to start removing features on their desktop computers during the next round.
on October 23, 2008 at 06:41 PM - LINKCan’t believe this… I was in the Apple store in Vegas, with my Amex card out… until I noticed the lack of firewire. I don’t want to cart something the size of a Pro around, nor pay the extra for it (or for a replacement video camera that will work with USB). I’ll stick with my macbook white. Apple lost a sale today and I know I will be one of many.
on November 12, 2008 at 07:39 PM - LINKI am not a pro, but I do shoot a lot of home video with my Sony Handicam MiniDV camcorder. I actually have three of them. I also regularly back my old Powerbook up to my G5 tower via Target Disk Mode, and I make copies of home movies for friends and family with an external DVD burner that connects via Firewire. I will not be buying a new MacBook anytime as long as it lacks Firewire. I can’t even consider a MacBook Pro, because of the cost. I have been using Macs exclusively for work and home since 1990. Now, if I need to replace this Powerbook for any reason, I guess I’ll have to buy an older MacBook or maybe seriously consider switching to Windows. It’s funny. Apple has been bashing Microsoft for it’s horrible Vista OS, lately. Now Windows has some solid Apple-bashing ammo of it’s own. As Microsoft ignored the pleas of its customers who simply wanted to keep the better Windows XP OS alive, Apple has ignored the wishes of thousands of customers who favor - and NEED - Firewire over the arguably inferior USB 2.0. Shame on you Steve Jobs. Shame on you and your arrogance.
on November 15, 2008 at 11:15 PM - LINKWhy does apple does sh*t like this!! I’m not really happy about all of the changes in connectivity either. It feels like they are saying firewire 400 is obsolete, and what is the point of the mini display port! How much smaller does it need to get? Now I have to buy a stupid new Mini to DVI adapter just because they changed the connection. I love Mac with all my heart but sometimes I want to smack them for taking advantage of their customers.
on November 17, 2008 at 02:48 PM - LINKUnbelievable! What a bad move for Apple who have been the industry standard for audio/video editing, and now they have tossed the Firewire port out of their new MacBooks potentially losing millions of potential buyers.
I cancelled my order when I found out there was no Firewire port in the new MacBook 13”. Shouldn’t done my research first though!
on November 27, 2008 at 06:47 AM - LINKLike so many of you, we were at the Apple store today and ready to buy the new Macbook. That is until the apple people told us they had no answer for the absent firewire port. This is incredibly unacceptable by Apple. I have owned nothing but Apple Macs since 1992. What in the world were they thinking.
on December 4, 2008 at 06:33 PM - LINKThe sad fact is that the new MacBook is probably selling fairly well, which would mean that Apple will not be likely to rectify this misguided decision ever. I have found that, in most situations, people who are unhappy with company decisions on products will complain about them, but will ultimately purchase the products. I know a lot of people who hate AT&T, but they bought iPhone anyway. The only way to force a company to listen to its customers is to not purchase their products until change is made. We might as well get used to the loss of Firewire in Apple products. It’s only a matter of time before it vanishes from the MacBook Pro.
on December 4, 2008 at 06:44 PM - LINKI am very upset this new macbook doesn’t have a firewire port. Now I cant transfer important info and files from my old one
on December 27, 2008 at 12:08 AM - LINKI was ready to buy one like many other but i have a canon hv20 so i need firewire for editing and many other things, so i ending up buying the older white model with it and i like it. and also why transferring info from my old one using apples migration asset you need firewire to use it, so a new mac book comes with this program you can use without firewire now that is stupid!
on December 27, 2008 at 12:23 AM - LINKYou have three options for transferring files from your old computer to a new MacBook without Firewire. You can use a Time Machine hard drive via USB, you can use Airport, or you can use ethernet. All work just fine, although not as fast as Firewire. I recently transferred files from my iMac to my new MacBook via ethernet, and had not problems at all after getting past the initial set up.
See:
http://www.appletell.com/apple/comment/in-the-laptop-of-the-gods-the-fascinating-behavior-of-migratory-macs/
on December 27, 2008 at 12:38 AM - LINKI guess this story was BS… the new MacBook Pros announced at MacWorld 2009 have firewire.
on January 6, 2009 at 02:18 PM - LINKIt’s not BS. The MacBook Pros have Firewire 800 (which can be used to connect FW 400 devices with an adapter), but the consumer-prices MacBook lacks Firewire. That’s the problem and the point of these complaints. Firewire only adds about $5 to the purchase price of a Macbook, but since Apple only offers it in a high end laptop, one would have to spend almost $1000 over the cost of a Macbook to get FW. That’s just not cool.
on January 6, 2009 at 07:35 PM - LINKDuh. It’s just progress. Firewire 400 is OLD. Firewire 800 is still reverse-compatible (with an adaptor). There isn’t room for every outdated connector on every new piece of technology. Someone is probably still complaining about no SCSI PORT. This article is pointless and most of the comments are probably fraudulent.
on January 27, 2009 at 11:00 AM - LINKWow Billbad. That’s just about the most ignorant comment I have ever heard on this subject. First of all, in terms of sustained throughput, Firewire 400 is actually FASTER than USB 2.0. You can look that up on Google, if you’d like. So is it your opinion that dropping a better technology for a lesser but newer one is “progress”? SCSI was dropped because it was inferior to Firewire. Your point there has no merit. Speaking of points, you missed the point of the issue altogether. The new MacBook has NO FIREWIRE AT ALL. It’s not just an issue of buying an adapter to use FW 400 peripherals with an FW 800 port. There are no adapters for FW to USB. People with THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS invested in audio and/or video peripherals that require a FW port are screwed if they buy a Macbook. They are being forced into a MacBook Pro or a major reinvestment in electronic equipment if they want to keep using Apple laptops. I think maybe it’s not the people making the other comments who are frauds. I think it might be you. You must work for Apple. How else can anyone with half a brain willingly accept a DECREASE of features in the MacBook? It’s another example of the consumer being shafted, and you seem perfectly willing to take it right up the ...
on January 27, 2009 at 02:12 PM - LINKDood. I misunderstood the article. I didn’t realize the Macbooks didn’t have Firewire at all. I thought all the fuss was over the lack of an old FW400 connection. I swear, I read the whole thing. I stand corrected. ...more coffee.
What the hell were they thinking? I wouldn’t buy a Macbook now.
on January 27, 2009 at 04:03 PM - LINK