How can I connect via FW

As an Poweruser I need Firewire, why is it not
supported? What should I do with a Video-iPod without
Firewire? Is the recent evolution made foir
Kindergardens?

__________ k.

Apple made a decision to remove the firewire controller from the new iPods (Nano and 5th Generation iPod). Only Apple knows for sure why this decision was made, but most users believe it was done in an effort to slim down the physical size of the device.

What should you do with a video iPod without Firewire? Use USB instead. It's your only alternative.

While it certainly isn't as fast and stable as Firewire 400, USB 2.0 is not that much slower when it comes to syncing content.

I was disapponted at the elimination of Firewire as well, but I'm learning to live with USB.

The other reason may also be a marketing one, to sell more iPods to Windows PC users, who many do not have FireWire ports on their PCs.

Anyway USB 2.0 is actually "quite fast", I only "pity" those who has the slower USB 1.1, where transfering files maybe much slower...

Cheers

and your question is?

Let's clear a few things uppy here, shall we?

firstly, it is true that no one truly knows why Apple decided to drop FW from their iPods, even after FW was what made them a hit in the first place, speculations that I've come acros in my perusings include:

1) Allows the 5G iPods to be as thin as they are

2) Apple is a technologically and aesthetically unique company in that everything that they create looks drastically and is designed drastically differently to the norm. FW got old and Apple decided to dump it.


Rich, here are some recent connection methods and their speeds:

USB 1.0 = 1.5Mb/sec (Megabits per second)
USB 1.1 = 12Mb/sec (Megabits per second)
FireWire 400 = 400Mb/sec (Megabits per second)
USB 2.0 = 480Mb/sec (Megabits per second)
FireWire 800 = 800Mb/sec (Megabits per second)

Thus, USB 2.0 is actually, contrary to what you stated, FASTER than FireWire 400, not slower.

Hope this sheds a bit of light on the subject.

darb, with all due respect... you're incorrect.

USB 2.0 has a higher theoretical limit than Firewire 400... but you'll NEVER achieve those maximum speeds with USB 2.0 due to the design of the protocol.

USB 2.0 deals with a lot of CPU overhead, which drastically reduces its performing speed in real life data transfers.
As far as sustained data transfers go... Firewire 400 will outperform USB 2.0 by a pretty decent margin.

Firewire has been proven time and time again to be faster, more stable, and much more efficient than USB 2.0

You might want to do a little more research on this.

Eliminating FW was a really bad decision, despite producing a slimmer form factor. I have a 4G 60G iPod Photo, and it's plenty slim. I just bought a 5G yesterday and I have to return it because it's useless on my Powerbook G4, which has no built-in USB 2.0 (I got one of the originals). To sum:

1) USB 1.1 is useless for transferring gigabytes of video and data
2) FW is no longer is supported
3) USB 2.0 PCI cards aren't supported either

Therefore, even though I still have a nearly top-of-the-line laptop, I cannot connect a 5G iPod. FW is not an "old" technology, as evidence by the number of FW hard drives out there; you want old, talk about SCSI. Eliminating FW support was a penny-wise-pound-foolish idea, and I am extremely disappointed in Apple this time.

whether or not it is a good or bad solution is a moot point

this is the way it is, and grumbling about it serves no purpose

you can only charge from firewire

you can charge and synch files from USB2

end of story

If enough people grumble, maybe Apple will do something about it and we won't have to go through these contortions.

send your grumbling, rants and raves here:

http://www.apple.com/feedback/ipod.html

posting them on this forum is useless and basically in violation of the terms of use

Hear! Hear!

This firewire cable on the Griffen site http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/dock400/ says:

"The Dock400 FireWire cable allows you to connect your iPod to a Mac or PC's Firewire port, for charging and file transfers.

Apple's newest offerings of the iPod photo and iPod mini have added features, but omitted a FireWire cable.

The Dock400 cable is 48" long, uses Apple-approved connectors, and is built with the quality that users have come to expect from Griffin. It can be used with Apple's iPod dock, or plugged directly into the iPod.

Now your iPod can also be in charge, and in Sync, like you.

Made for:
• iPod mini
• iPod Photo
• 4th Generation iPod with Click Wheel
• 3rd Generation iPod with touch wheel and buttons"

What gives? Previous posts say that you can use USB2 only, while this says you can use this special cable for charging AND file transfer.

The iPod Nano and the iPod with Video (5th Generation) do not have a firewire controllder, which is why they cannot sync via firewire.
I do not see anything confusing about what you read on the Griffin site. It's totally accurate.

Made for:
• iPod mini
• iPod Photo
• 4th Generation iPod with Click Wheel
• 3rd Generation iPod with touch wheel and buttons


What gives? Previous posts say that you can use USB2 only, while this says you can use this special cable for charging AND file transfer.</i
Previous posts say you can only use USB for sync on the 5th Generation iPod... which as you will notice is not listed in the contents of your posted message.

send your grumbling, rants and raves here:

http://www.apple.com/feedback/ipod.html

posting them on this forum is useless and basically
in violation of the terms of use

It's not useless. All companies should know what the consumer expects in their products. That way they could phase it back in future models.And who made you king of this thread Jeff?? If a thread has grumblings but isn't threatening or slandering in any way then it's harmless. If grumbling upsets you then pass over the thread and only post in the ones that make everything sound perfect.

Ah, it is all clear to me now.

If I want to use one of the new iPod 5G I can only snyc using USB. And my, fairly recent, G4 FW800 has only USB1.1.

I've searched for any success using a PCI USB 2 card, but without success. I know Apple doesn't support this - but has anyone succeeded? Or am I stuck having to upgrade my PC just so I can upgrade my iPod (not very cost effective)

See this thread about PCI USB2 cards
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=832718