I don’t get it. Your fine with lugging a freaking printer around with you but you don’t like carrying a hub the size of a cigarette packet?
I understand that you were mostly kidding with this part of the post, but come on now. Firewire is a significantly older (in computer years) standard than USB2. Moreover, it is still the standard for DV connectivity (although I do believe cameras exist which support USB2). So it’s entirely legitimate to have Firewire but not USB2 on an older PC.
In fact, given my current peripheral desires (DV camcorder and external hard drive), Firewire remains a more useful standard to me than USB2.
It is truly bizarre. At home I have an iomega 60GB USB2.0/FireWire hard drive that now costs about $120 and fits in my pocket. It powers off the cable, so everything I need is in that package. I can put any damn thing I want on it, easy as a gargantuan floppy, it’s completely hot-swappable and compatible with any FW-capable machine, cheaper than any new iPod except the Shuffle…If I were in business as a Mac tech supporter, I’d buy three of them and write it off. Dirt cheap, easy, portable, does everything I could ever want it to do as a boot drive and backup…what in the holy fuck is the OP’s problem? Who the fuck besides him wants to use an iPod as a boot drive for OS9?? (It’s not pinin’ for the fjords! It’s passed on! It’s deceased! It’s gone down the curtains and joined the choir immortal! This is an EX-OS!) This may be a once-in-a-planet kind of complaint. I cannot see why, excepting the hyperstimulated tech-heads, 99% of anyone else will give a flying turd whether it’s USB2.0 or Firewire or buttplugwire as long as it hooks up to their PC without trouble. This is just not a reasonable consumer concern for Apple to raise an eyelid over. It’s like complaining that most cars don’t have built in hibachis like your old VW van, and boy, you really used to like not lugging that hibachi around. Who the fuck else cares? Fine, stay with the old iPod! Apple obviously is paying attention the the 100million other potential customers who, unlike you, don’t give a shit. Happy rant.
It’s unelegant. 
Really. I’d just like to have a more simplified way of connecting all the whatnots. Daisychaining would be cleaner then having the wires run to a hub. But really there’s no logic to it - it’s just a personal thing that bugs me. It’s not like I’m going to start a pit thread about it.
The external sound card - it’s a long story and it involves my desktop and the game playing abilities of the tablet (which are better than one would think.) I thought it would be amusing to see how far I could push games on the tablet so I wanted to add a soundcard with EAX on it (which tells you all you need to know about my idea of “amusing”.) I also wanted to upgrade my desktop sound so I got the external Audigy 2 which mostly lives on the desktop but can be hauled around with the tablet too and works beautifully with a tiny pair of cambridge soundworks speakers. (The built-in speakers on the tablet are nothing special)
Basically I just thought it would be fun to turn in my tablet into a Monster Power Gaming Rig. I don’t actually walk around with all that stuff all the time.
Of course at that point I’m also hauling an extension cord & power strip but it’s an imperfect world.
yes, but look at it’s plumage, beautiful plumage, innit? 
okay, point of clarification here, i was not griping about OS 9 or any earlier OS’s, i’m GLAD OS 9 is finally gone, OS X is so much better, and yes, i do have a copy of 10.4.2 on my 40GB clickwheel…
and yes, i have plenty of ext. FW drives, all i was trying to get across in the OP is that it would be nice to have the ability to boot off an iPod, “just in case”, lets say a business traveller has his latest presentation on his AlBook 17", he’s left his restore CD’s at home or the office (instead of with the laptop, in it’s carrying case, as they should be…) and his machine suffers a software-related Kernel Panic…
if he had an emergency “just in case” backup system folder on his iPod, he could boot off it, and run his presentation, instead of frantically searching for someone with an install CD of the OS, or taking it to a service shop and panicking because “my life is on that laptop and i need it fixed yesterday”
just a theoretical example, better to have the ability to boot of an emergency drive and not need it, than to need an emergency drive and not have it…
Yup, DV is where it’s at for Firewire. It was the only thing fast enough to pull video off, and generated a lot of storage need, hence all those external drives built to use the same interface.
But really - surely you can’t be arguing that Firewire should be supported because it’s older? Are you some kind of heretic? Where would the tech world be today if manufacturers were to support their customer’s investment in a particular technology?
I have an attic-full of junk and an empty wallet thanks to deliberate obsolescence - give me a chance for some schadenfreude here.
Except… the only people I ever seem to hear complaining about USB 2 is those who have vowed never to use it, because Firewire was robbed; the end users actually seem fine with it, for the most part.
I’ve tried it and I wasn’t impressed. Not only is it a CPU hog, at least on my computer, but it isn’t compatible with USB 1.1 cables and hubs at Hi-Speed (480 Mbps). If I have the choice between a Firewire and a USB 2 version of a device, I’ll go for the Firewire version. Unfortunately, “worse is better” seems to be the rule in the market for computer hardware.
Listen numb nuts, I’ll explain one more time why USB 2.0 is better than Firewire:
I. Can. Plug. My. Mouse. Into. It.
This absolutely huge disadvantage, especially for laptops where size is a premium, negates any of the advantages of Firewire might offer. Every computer must have either a USB port or mouse and keyboard ports. For laptops that have limited real estate to work with the choice is a no brainer. Even for a desktop depending on the cost (which I admit I have no clue on) the mouse/keyboard ports offer no advantage over USB. Since USB 2.0 does a fine job with external drives there is very little need for the added expense of a firewire port.
If the argument is which port is best for a external drive then of course its Firewire. But that argument ignores the huge advantage USB has in versitility over Firewire and is thus stupid.
Oh, feel free to schadenfreude all over the place. I was just saying that since Firewire is an older standard, it’s not unreasonable to expect someone to have just Firewire and not USB 2.0 (and that the reason for that isn’t purely a matter of choice). Hell, I’m in the same boat too, and as much as I want an iPod nano, I’m not gonna be able to get one until I upgrade my laptop.
Wow. You must have the Worlds Smallest Laptop[sup]TM[/sup]. My laptop very easily supports two USB ports and a Firewire port. New Apple PowerBooks even throw an additional Firewire port on there for good measure. I think you should stick to your cost argument, as, IMO, it makes a lot more sense.
I certainly don’t have the Worlds Smallest Laptop[sup]TM[/sup] but I will admit its pretty damn close. The computer part of it measures 10.8"x8.5"X.8" and is basically covered with vents or ports (See here . There is no way that you could put a keyboard and mouse port on my computer. Certainly on bigger laptops there is probably room but for mobile devices the benefits that Firewire provide don’t come close to making up for the loss of real estate.
My old big laptop, if I remember correctly, was mostly covered with ports and vents. Remember, vents are hugely important for laptops becuase that allows for a smaller fan. Smaller fan=more battery life and less noise.
Fair enough. I stand humbly corrected and awed by your World’s Smallest Laptop[sup]TM[/sup]*
*Not the World’s Smallest Laptop[sup]TM[/sup]
I haven’t noticed any CPU degradation when using USB2. galt said that USB copying took up a whole extra 5% of his CPU. Maybe it’s to do with your firewire chipset or the software? AFAIK, all the USB1 cables I have work perfectly well in USB. In any case, that hasn’t been an issue, all my USB2 devices come with cables. And of course hubs won’t work, it’s a completely new technology. Meanwhile, Firewire800 has a completely different plug to Firewire400 which means that you can’t even plug an 800 device into a 400 computer. At least USB had compatibility mode.
Of all the possible gripes about the video iPod and its accompanying video store–tiny screen, low resolution, high prices, DRM, and expensive conversion software–you focus on the lack of FireWire? And you use a made-up swear word from Farscape with a straight face?
Weak.
I think Apple should have given the Nano a bluetooth interface as well, preferably sourced from Nokia. Then people would REALLY have something to swear about.