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Sooo Close

The new MacBooks don’t come with a firewire port (a.k.a. IEEE 1394, a.k.a i.link).

This has been a source of consternation, frustration, disappointment, etc. and has resulted in quite a bit of heated words being typed on forums all over the Internet. Some question whether the anger/venting is warranted; who uses firewire anyway?

Yes, this is worth an outpouring of anger. For about a decade Apple has been vocally championing firewire as a technology superior to USB and worthy of wide adoption by people using Apple computers. People using Apple computers widely adopted firewire peripherals (I have at least a half-dozen firewire hard drives).

Then, without warning, Apple drops firewire support from their most popular computer, leaving us with the unpalatable options of paying through the nose for “professional” models, using last generation computers, or abandoning our devices and buying all new ones.

I’ve vented my frustrations with the others. Now I can only hope the inevitable refresh of the MacBook early next year (odds are in April or May, with or following the release of Snow Leopard, when I plan to replace my ancient 12” PowerBook G4) brings a firewire 800 interface.