Goodbye, FireWire 400
By Nilay Patel 
posted November 17th 2008 3:01PM
posted November 17th 2008 3:01PM
We'll miss you.
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I just shed a lonely, single, tear and walked away after hugging my firewire 400 cable with a big lump in my throat.
Thanks E! I WAS having a HAPPY day! Now I need a Xanax to pick me back up.
Great video! As a long-time professional Mac technician, all those pictures brought back great memories! I loved FireWire 400 and it's physical connector.
Although, there's always new things leaving others behind in technology. FireWire 800 / 1600's future is yet to be determined...but with USB 3.0, it's not looking good for FireWire. I never liked the FireWire 800 connector...poor design that easily falls out of it's female connector.
THAT PORT/CONNECTOR WAS TOTAL CRAP SIT NEWER USED IT TAT BULSIT
Ah, Firewire. Perhaps the only connector on my system I never ever EVER used. Not once.
Well, okay, I didn't use SPDIF either, but I managed to abuse it as a case-modding light source. Aren't I cool?
No. No you're not cool.
In fact, you're a tool.
(hey...that matches in rhyme and meter (sort of)!)
> "Perhaps the only connector on my system I never ever EVER used"
But others do, what's your point?
Having a port you don't use is better than someone needing the port and it be missing.
I guess it's really the new MacBook users that are screwed. All my computers have Firewire, because I use it. EVERy day.
@Michael Scrip
Easy, great defender of them precious FireWires, that wasn't meant as criticism. I just found it to be amusing to stumble across this "hour of commemoration" dedicated to the one port that somehow completly passed me. No negative undertone.
take a look on suer dupper USB 3.0 that is mega perfect hot spot !!
that was brilliently sad but funny at same time, effect to make that, someones had a slow day :D
USB should be the standard for all electrical jacks. I don't care if it's 2.0 or version 1.77905432 as long as the hardware plug is USB. The world would be a lot more electronically compatible. Do people realize how many years a 3-prong plug has been in existence for electrical devices? I realize they vary from country to country but for the most part they have remained unchanged.
All I'm askin' is for a little compatibility and less confusion and clutter.
Err..... what?
The guy at 1:44 looks like Niko Bellic.
what song is that in the background. nice video by the way
Does anyone else feel like they watched a graduation video?
The King is dead... Long live the King!
Only reason Why I wanted to use firewire was to get unsecured access to peoples XP machines via my Firewire enabled Linix Laptop.. )-; Oh well I just hope they make another insecure port.... Wishful thinking...
No we won't! Light is on fire and welcome something better! Nostalgia be damned!
It's been said several times I'm sure in the last couple pages but I certainly don't think it's the end of Firewire. Those of us with slower computers (like my laptop with USB 1.1) still need Firewire (which it has) to copy files quickly. Takes about 15 seconds for me to back up a lot of files to my Firewire HDD - USB... not so quickly. Maybe on the top-of-the-line computers Firewire will be forgotten, but defiantly not on older ones.
Bye, FireWire 400. Maybe you find joy and acceptance in a better place. :'-(
WE'LL MISS YOU SO MUCH!
I wish somehow I didn't know now, what I didn't know them.
I actually DO have email me when comments are added, and my inbox is flooded. :(
FW400, before you go, tell you brother FW800 he needs to hurry up or he will be gone himself.
i7 mobo's all have firewire, and mostly 400 I bet, dead indeed.
Still I can't let go
It's so natural
You belong to me, I belong to you... :(
Yes i'm sure everyone is rushing to download 9 gigs + to get a blue ray quality movie
Also with all those bandwidth caps coming better hope you aren't downloading much else during that month
OK - this is my first ... wotcher to everyone!
A point about Blu-Ray being too expensive to produce on a component level:
http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/08/04/blu-ray-not-doing-too-well-excpet-for-ps3/
so if the cost doesn't come down enough over time ... !?
Also: up-scaling seems to be something that Sony didn't think through enough:
http://news.digitaltrends.com/talk-back/259/toshiba-xde-dvd-player-better-than-blu-ray
I use a projector and I initially thought that the SD signals would look crap on a big screen but it up-scales perfectly well and HD is obviously a bonus although I'm confined to FeeSat HD in the UK which needs much more content whilst Sky and Virgin (cable) is a rip off (IMO).
Plus I agree with other comments on capped downloading or "fair usage policy". I asked my cable provider how I was supposed to use on-line HD pay-per-view streaming services if they will not let me download more than 1.5Gb per day!?!?!?!
My pennies worth.
I've just realised that I've posted my Blu-Ray comment in a firewire discussion - way to post my first comment ... DOH!?
Anyway - re:firewire I've only just bought a PCMCIA card to add firewire to a small HP laptop as I use an external audio box for music making and having had experience using the same in the USB world I must agree with other comments in that USB is way too slow to handle multitrack playback and recording at high bit rates.
Over and out.
I've just realised that I've posted my Blu-Ray comment in a firewire discussion - way to post my first comment ... DOH!?
Anyway - re:firewire I've only just bought a PCMCIA card to add firewire to a small HP laptop as I use an external audio box for music making and having had experience doing the same in the USB world I must agree with other comments in that USB is way too slow to handle multitrack playback and recording at high bit rates.
Over and out.
Where is the author of this video going? Because firewire 400 doesn't seem to be leaving. Few of the products revealed for 2009 in the music industry such as digital mixing consoles have anything except firewire 400. I'm talking about brand new products for 2009 such as the Presonus StudioLive mixing console with motorized faders. Or the Allen & Heath ZED R16. Even with the FW800 port on my new MacBook Pro I have to use adapter cables for all but 1 peripheral. Guess how many USB 3 peripherals we have in the IT department of a company of 30,000 people? You guessed it- 0. I continue to be amazed at the ignorance that has prevailed around the longevity of Firewire. It will continue to be the standard of choice for musicians well beyond 2010.
This seems a lot like watching a "Farewell Windows XP" video. Quite premature and laughable.
Wtf? USB 3.0 hasn't even been publicly released yet. Perhaps that explains why your IT department has 0 peripherals.
Ahhhhhhhhhh, nooooo, please FireWire, don't go, I still love you!!!! But seriously, htf am I going to hook up my 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th gen and iPod Mini now? Phht, no way in hell I'm using USB for them. Guess I'll just have to crack out the ol' G3 running Panther.