Apple’s known as a great technology innovator, constantly advancing the state of the art and relentlessly pushing new technologies into the market, even if said market ain’t quite ready for ‘em yet.
But those of us who follow Apple know the company’s other epithet: the great technology killer. Anyone remember the 3.5” floppy disk? The little square thing you’d put in a drive in your computer to save files? It could store, like, 1.44MB? Predecessor to the CD? Anyone? No?
Well, Apple killed it. It killed it real good.
There’s panic amongst the Mac community that Apple is setting its serial-killer sights on FireWire, a technology it helped create in the first place (“I brought you into this world, I can take you out!”). This concern is being driven by the unapologetic lack of a FireWire port on the newly-introduced MacBooks, an aspect of the notebook that has many crying foul.
I’ve been using a MacBook Air since they shipped—which itself lacks a FireWire port—and only now have I realized that not once in the six-or-so months that I’ve been using it have I ever actually needed FireWire compatibility. (Every external hard drive I use, for example (three total at the moment), has both FireWire and USB 2.0 ports—a feature I wasn’t pursuing when I bought the drives.)
But there are a lot of things I don’t do—video editing, for example. A Macworld reader told us his particular gripe with the FireWireless MacBooks: he can’t plug in his digital camcorder to import video for editing in iMovie. Right: iMovie is Apple’s consumer-level video-editing tool; the MacBook is Apple’s consumer-level notebook. Now where do the consumers go if they want to edit their video? Do they have to buy a desktop Mac, too?
The reader emailed Steve Jobs (at his well-known sjobs@apple.com address) with the complaint, and “about ten minutes later” purportedly received a characteristic one-sentence response from His Steveness himself:
Actually, all of the new HD camcorders of the past few years use USB 2.Steve
‘Tis true, but does that really ‘nix the need for FireWire? We talked about in-depth in the latest edition of the MacJury podcast, and everyone I talk to seems to have another reason why Apple should’ve left the port on the ‘Book: target-disk mode, compatibility with mini-DV camcorders and hard drives without USB 2 ports, etc.
Let’s sound off. I think this will be like the obliteration of the floppy disk, or Apple’s decision to remove FireWire support from the iPods: people will hiss and moan and shake their fists in unequivocal gestures of displeasure; but in the end, few will notice and even fewer will care. And we’ll all move on.
So, what say you?
Target mode has saved me a number of time in the past when my laptop was acting weird (flaky logic board in one specific case), and I wanted to get files off of it. Granted, TimeMachine has made some of that a bit more irrelevant, but not completely.
I guess the ability to take out the harddrive and put it in a separate enclosure in an emergency is still possible, but it is no where near as easy as the Target Mode feature. A feature, BTW, that I have used as a selling point for potential PC switchers.
It has also been a very quick way to get large quantities of files off of the laptop, even when everything was working fine.
I will definitely miss it for a while.
My Universal emergency boot disk (an external drive with Leopard installed on it that will boot both PPC and x86 Macs) is Firewire only. I understand you can boot Intel macs from USB though I have not tried it, but PPC Macs will not boot from USB, hence the reason my boot disk is firewire.
And then there's the lack of Target Disk Mode, which I always touted as an advantage over PCs and used quite often. So yeah, I won't be getting a Firewire-less MacBook anytime soon!
Deal breaker for me.
as a MacBook pro user, I have all the tools to be a power user. However, I have never used FireWire. With that said, I like to know it's there. Just in case I ever use it.
Ask the Apple store 'genius's', who usually do a 'target disk mode' boot to diagnose problems (twice on my visits).
My five external drives are firewire. The newest Drobo setup, in big demand, just came out as Firewire 800 (vs their existing USB).
The consumer HD Video cams are a mix of firewire and USB.
Certainly, this decision to omit Firewire was not made lightly, but it was made to save a few pennies.
As a teacher with several Mini DV camcorders with FW (all purchased within the last year, Steve), I bemoan the loss of Firewire.
What about all those Apple education videos showing classrooms full of eager kids with camcorders plugged into a Macbook with Firewire - with Apple extolling its virtues.
Now what - are we supposed to buy all new USB camcorders? Of course not - we'll put off buying new Macbooks until we can afford new cameras - many years down the road.
I hope somebody has a workable FW - USB conversion cable that works with iMovie HD. And PLEASE don't mention iMovie 08. We have it - but it doesn't prepare students to use Final Cut Express. Looks like we'll have to use our iMacs - hmmm wonder when FW will be left off them?
As a School, the lack of Target Disk Mode is what's going to send us away from Apple. TDM was a great feature for the formatting and recovery of Macs. What do you do if a Windows laptop stops booting and you want to get at the data in a hurry? Exactly. TDM was a huge advantage and had many Windows-skeptics looking over my shoulder and exclaiming that they saw the light when they saw me holding the "T" key at boot and finding all a Mac user's data miraculously appearing on another Mac's desktop "just like that".
If Apple offered TDM over USB2, we could live with that. I'm surprised more people haven't connected the removal of Firewire with the loss of TDM. It's the biggest disappointment of the announcement (well, along with the price hikes and the lack of a new 17" MBP)
usb2 is faster than firewire. i am sure the software geeks will create a way to connect one to another. probably before i finish this sentence, and the hardware guys will make cheap adapters. of course around december or just after there will be two or three terabyte per second standards with wireless options, none of which will be compatible with another. competition makes old standards obsolete, but it moves the state of the art forward.
i like my air and my 128 k march of 84 equally. don't use the 128 much, but i look at it every day before work.
If by "HD camcorders" he means hard drive camcorders, then Jobs is correct. But if he means high definition camcorders he's very wrong. There are many consumer-level HD camcorders that require FireWire, like the Canon HV30 and the Sony HDRHC9. It's not an obsolete format. Neglecting to include a FireWire port renders all those MiniDV and HDV cameras useless, and makes the MacBook a dud for most video editing.
Would it have been that difficult to include the port?
I will be sticking with my white MacBook for a while longer. If the new MB would have had FW, I would have bought one. I don't want to buy a new camcorder in addition to a new MB. Too much $$$
Maybe Apple is in with the camera companies.
You need a new a new camcorder! Buy one of ours!
October 16, 2008 7:50 PM
dave said:
"usb2 is faster than firewire."
No. It's not.
Don't let the 400 Mbps v. 480 Mbps numbers confuse you. When the performance is compared, FW400 is significantly faster than USB 2.0.
Just get a MacBook Pro if you need FireWire.
No FireWire = No new MacBook for me
Three things:
First, dropping the firewire on the Macbook might push people to spend more on a Macbook Pro than just on a Macbook. Solid reasoning there by Apple: give people a stronger reason to go with a more expensive machine.
Second, when the first Intel Macbook Pros came out, it had no Firewire 800 port like the Powerbook G4s had. Later versions of the Pro had them. Thus, they can always introduce firewire on the Macbooks at a later date.
Third, we've seen various adaptors as workaround solutions to things. Probably is/will be an adaptor of some kind in the works. This would save space/weight/cost on the Macbook but have Apple make money on the adaptor.
Still, I feel cheated and need the firewire 400 for my video editing. That alone will keep me at the Macbook Pro level. No choice. :(
I use FireWire not only for Target Mode but for high end bus powered FireWire drives like the LaCie Little Big Disk. USB2 is not only slower but it won't support this drive in bus power mode.
How arrogant of Apple to decide we no longer need or want it on low end laptops.
This reminded me of the bashing on the Macbook Air and it did nothing to dampening its sale. I believe we just do what we need to do, if Firewire is a must buy a Mini or a Pro or none at all.
Who knows some enterprising soul may make an adaptor for Firewire to USB for those who need to connect to a camcorder.
BTW how many consumers heard of target mode?
Never used firewire in my life.
Even being sysop as a job.
Target disk mode is a nice feature but again, never used it, I use Time machine to recover my macbook.
If Firewire was so unimportant than why would it still be included on the MacBook Pro? I'm sure one of the reasons for the exclusion from the "consumer" MacBook is simply to prevent the cannibalism of sales from their Pro machines..... God forbid we purchase one of their consumer machines... Bad user!!!! Bad!!!!
Deal breaker for me to
Target FireWire mode is absolutely INDISPENSABLE when troubleshooting Macs and when using Migration Assistant (MUCH faster than Ethernet or wireless migration assistant). People have also invested thousands of dollars in FireWire drives, not to mention FireWire cameras.
FOLKS, PLEASE GIVE APPLE YOUR FEEDBACK ON THE MACBOOK'S MISSING FIREWIRE PORT AT THIS PAGE:
http://www.apple.com/feedback/macbook.html
Deal breaker for me. Can't boot from a backup (SuperDuper) and too expensive especially in the UK where it is now £200 more than the previous (black) outgoing model. Even the remaining white Macbook has had a proce hike here!
Target Disk Mode is the killer for me - it was the first thing I thought about when I heard the news. TDM is a great feature for helping consumers upgrade their machines (let alone the other recovery based aspects). If Apple can make TDM work over USB2, I'd be happy to go firewire-less.
An Apple manufactured USB-to-Firewire 400/Firewire 800 adapter included 'free' or for $10 with the Mac Book would be super.
Target Disk Mode was invaluable to me when transferring material from my old G3 iBook to my MacBook, and again when the MacBook turned out to be a dud and the material was transferred to my replacement machine at the Glasgow Apple Store.
Plus I have Firewire hard drives and a Firewire video camera.
So there's no way I'd buy the new model Firewire-less MacBook.
As supposedly transformational developments go it's a big disappointment. It also seems annoyingly typical of Apple - make great kit then make it obsolete with unseemly haste.
whats wrong with FW800? MacBooks have that and aren't that directly compatible with FW400 (just have right cable). I don't think it is possible to ditch FW alltogether because every HDV and DV camcorder owner would have to switch away from Mac.
Far more troubling news is the absence of Blu-Ray burner even as an option...
Well, Apple is entitled to leave out Firewire if that's what they want to do. But guess what? I'm not buying it. If they introduce some new video port, I expect an adapter in the box too. Apple has gotten really cheap and their excuses on leaving out new tech you can easily get on PCs (Blu-Ray) are really lame.
I don't really see what the big fuss is over the loss of a FireWire 400 port. 400 is really old, and since the tech world has announced FireWire 3200, it's going to obsolete sooner or later.
Most cameras have a USB option for transfer. Mine does (and it's five years old), and while I use FireWire, I could see myself using USB in a pinch.
Screw FW 400, they should have put the backward compatible FW 800 in there.
Although I've never had to do it, being able to boot off an external FW drive sounded like a nice feature. But, whatever. I've used target disk mode once or twice in a pinch to move a bunch of files from my MacBook to my Mac Pro. Although it's just as easy to network the two machines together. I don't have any FW devices. My $600 HD camera is USB, every external hdd I've bought compared to their FW versions has been way cheaper. My iPod/iPhone no longer supports FW.
FW has always been a pro connection. It's time Apple drew a line in the sand. You're right, 6 months from now, no consumer will care about FW. If you need this pro level connectivity, then you need to buy a pro machine. .
To be accurate, it does have a firewire 800 port. Anybody using this for video would be using high speed firewire and the next version of firewire will have the same connection and 2 or 3 times faster.
Every firewire 400 device I've seen has a USB 2.0 connection. If not, it is probably so old that it is powered by steam or coal.
It makes sense to me to get rid of it.
As a professional musician I can testify that most of the good audio interfaces out there are Firewire only (like the Apogee Duet that I use) - when it comes to audio firewire kicks USB's ass for a number of reasons. All my colleagues (and I) have MacBooks because of the portability of the 13 inch form factor - Apple just alienated itself from a lot of musicians! How sad....
Firewire is faster, better for sustained data transfer, and provides less latency for audio recording. I've been looking at new audio interfaces, and now I'm afraid to buy a firewire model, even though they are clearly superior.
Apple needs to lead here. Firewire: in or out?
(Also, I've only used target disk mode twice in my lifetime, but losing that option sucks.)
USB file transfers are nothing short of agonizing, and target disk mode is a lifesaving technique for troubleshooting & file recovery. No firewire = no MacBook in my world.
Some of you aren't paying attention. The MacBook has NO firewire, 800 or otherwise. The MacBook PRO has the firewire 800.
My USB 2.0 hard drives do not get enough power on a laptop to run off of bus power. If they took the firewire away, they better have upped the juice to the USB ports, because I don't like using 2 ports to power a drive. And no, I don't want to plug the drive into the wall, it defeats the purpose of it being portable.
I have a lot of macs around the house, and target disk mode is FAST and EASY, a must have.
Also, I rarely use my camcorder, and it has worked great for the 6+ years I've owned it. I'm not buying a new one until it breaks, because I'm not a video freak, I just occasionally shoot a little footage that I pull onto the computer.
Dealbreaker.
Uh oh, does Steve jobs want to bring back the old SCSI?
Pretty soon, he will also bring back old ADB port for keyboard and mouse.
No problemo Steve, bad choice.
I don't need these Macbooks, good choice.
I have an Air, and ended up with a corrupted OS install. I really, really had a need for target disk mode. But, really, there was no way to, say, boot off an external drive and at the same time move data to the Internet. Pretty frustrating! Ethernet or DVD or external drive, but only choose one, really limits options.
I wish they had kept firewire. I use both firewire and USB2 on many external drives on my two macs and the firewire just seems to work better for me. It is especially better when you are hooking up 4 or 5 external drives to the same computer. Also, what about the speed advantage of firewire 2? Since Apple sort of "owns" firewire, what was the downside of leaving it on the machines? For now, I will not buy a non-firewire Mac so I guess that would push me upscale to more $.
I think it's a great thing to get rid of firewire. Most peripherals are USB and it's best if we only have one standard for everything. Just make TDM for USB work.
Apple are right. Clearly the target is new users, and they have carefully differentiated the market. You can use USB for low end periferals, or buy a MacBook Pro and be a high end user.
Stop beefing, and if you want Firewire, cough up the money for a Pro machine.
Um, if you need firewire you buy a laptop with firewire.
How is this hard?
If I want a fast sexy car I don't buy the $500 job from the dump.
Yes it sucks, welcome to the real world.
For me, minor bummer, but not a dealbreaker. Target Disk mode is nice, but I've only used it once, and there are certainly other options. My dv camera does FW and USB, so I would just switch to USB. I do use a FW external drive enclosure, but that just means I'm out $20 or so to get a USB one. I don't think it was an unreasonable trade-off for space and cost to omit it on the entry-level notebook. (Assuming the old white MacBook is going to go away.)
Steve Jobs' invisible imaginary friend told him to take firewire out of new Macbooks and lower the CPU speed to 2.0ghz on the "newer" Macbook.
I back up to and boot from external firewire drives regularly.
My next MacBook will be a Pro for this reason.
Maybe by the time I need to buy a new computer, Apple will have put a newer, better version of Firewire in their laptops.
When Apple ditched ADB and floppies there were sound technical reasons: ADB was substituted with USB, a much more powerful bus with wider applications, and floppies were already obsolescent.
FW is a great technology, superior to USB in may aspects, and with provisions for future expansion.
Phasing it out completely would be a step backward from the technological point of view. Oh the other hand, if it has been omitted in "consumer" laptops to "encourage" (it reads "force") the adoption of MBP's, it's, maybe, a sound commercial choice for Apple, but a nasty one towards its customers.
But that wouldn't surprise me: with Apple's commitment to gadgets as mp3 players and cellular phones and the acquisition of new computer customers from the muddy side, the average awareness level of its consumer base has lowered and these are the logical consequences.
As a last note, I believe that the PB 12" was really a godsend for many people and the current laptop line lacks a substitute, I mean a full-featured machine, FW included, obviously, with a footprint smaller than 15".
no one had $2000 invested in floppy disks like i have invested in firewire hard ware ask apple if they want to buy all the firewire hard ware back ? maybe apple should give us all free lap tops so we can afford to replace the firewire hard ware we have bought over the 10 years
Donn said:
"My dv camera does FW and USB, so I would just switch to USB."
If you have a DV camera it won't transfer your footage over USB. The USB port on DV cameras is for transferring photos and poor quality (virtually useless) video that is recorded to the memory card. There is NO way to get footage from a MiniDV or HDV camera onto the MacBook without a second computer.
FireWire is not only for high-end users. Many grandmothers, I guarantee, have brand new MiniDV cameras. Schools everywhere use MiniDV cameras. Many users have FireWire hard drives, and there appears to be an equal number who use Target Disk Mode. FireWire is obviously useful to a lot of people, and it's downright silly to think that it's an obsolete format, now or in the future.
Apple used to take pride in their computers being very artist/creative oriented and user friendly.
How can they justify getting rid of a vital technology for indie musicians and videomakers?
Plus, doesn´t Apple understand that their own software -like Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro- rely prety much on firewire as an I/O for data transfer?
Does anybody at Apple think about how many young creative students rely on Macbooks for their projects?
It is not nice at all to tell them "just buy a new USB camera or audio interface"
The "think different" slogan just don´t suits Apple anymore
Shame... the Mac guy is becoming PC
Too bad Mr. $teve Gates...
For road warriors the omission of Firewire is a real pain. Some of us like to backup when we're on the road. External notebook drives can be powered by firewire without an external power supply - one less thing to put in the bag, and it's not always possible to be next to a power outlet.
Accepted we all want the features of the pro line, but they are too big! (That's width not thickness)
Plus my original iPod uses firewire only. Never again to be synched.
They forgot to take firewire off the cheap White iBook.. so grab it while you can.
Although there aren't many on the market, I bought a Firewire 400 CompactFlash reader for my dSLR. The transfer rate is significantly faster than that of a USB reader. I also passed on many USB only external hard drives - the mere thought of excruciatingly slow transfer rates was enough to put me off. Although I have a MacBook Pro, this decision seems asinine - and would make me rethink sticking with Apple when it comes time to update my hardware.
I'm happy to support the comments that many have made: FW can now be considered a "pro" option, so buy a "pro" machine if you want it... except that there is no 13" Macbook Pro. The underlying problem is not that the Macbook (as a lower-end macine) is having a feature stripped out - although I disagree with the choice - but rather that Apple have still yet to create the sequel to the 12" Powerbook G4. Some of us use laptops because we want to be able to carry them around with us... and we don't want to lug a 15" machine around just to have the better specs inside.
So how about it, Apple: 13" Macbook Pro?
Umm hello? How about my new Panasonic PV-GS320 mini DV camcorder that I just purchased this summer? No MacBook for me steve.
I've always found Firewire to be a pain, especially with audio interfaces. Anyone try and hook up a recent M-Audio Firewire interface to Leopard? It's a mess. I've tried several, with several iMacs and MacBook Pros. Plus, my WD external hard disk's sleep mode acts squirrelly when hooked up via Firewire, and fine when hooked up via USB 2.0.
It's technically true that FireWire, in the real world, has faster transfer rates than USB 2.0. But I'm not sure we need to keep it around in the long term. Only Mac laptops have full blown 6-pin ports--all PC laptops don't, for example, meaning that FireWire peripherals require separate power in those cases.
I understand the anger at Apple pulling a feature for seemingly no reason, esp. with those who rely on FireWire-based peripherals *now*. But I'm not convinced this is going to be awful in the long-term.
FW 400 is REALLY OLD. Face it people. You will have to upgrade it at some point anyway...
Here's what I suggest for those of you who are LOOSING it over what is essentially technical progress.
1) buy a refurb 15 MBP for the SAME PRICE as the new macbooks.
2) keep using your current hardware (the economy is bad anyway... save your money)
3) Sell your old firewire stuff on ebay... alot of people who DON'T buy macs the second they come out will gladly take that technology off your hands for a fair price.
A closing word: I have always bought external media that gave me more than 1 connection option. It's time people learn that lesson.
A few points:
1) You'll never will be able to do Target Disk Mode over USB. USB is a simpler protocol (hence a little cheaper and easier to implement) with clearly defined "master" and "slave" wiring. (Firewire is has a very cool dynamically configurable topology...) You can't switch a master to a slave.
2) Because of the big differences between Firewire and USB, there will never be an inexpensive USB to Firewire converter box. It would need quite a substantial brain, and probably wouldn't work very well. They really are quite different beasts.
Personally, this means that I'll be holding off upgrading my MacBook for quite awhile. The new model is a downgrade (except for the shell) from my current computer, so, why would I? Perhaps my needs are "Pro" and I should just cough up the extra dosh... But, I don't need the bigger screen, and I personally prefer to get a cheap machine and upgrade frequently. That way if it dies, or I trash it, not so much money down the drain.
This is an interim refresh. Even the new MacBook Pro isn't so much more compelling than the previous model. The "two graphics chips" business has the feel of a hack to me.
So, I'll wait a couple more years, and then have a look at the offerings.
The first hint this was coming was when Firewire was dropped from the iPods ... VIDEO iPods.
Sonnet FireWire 400 to 800 Adapter (FAD-824)
This is bad, new range more expensive in the Uk, less features. Firewire is essential, and is available on cheap PC's from 200 pounds upwards. All 'proper' Camcorders have it, the USB is non standard and compressed. All Hard drives on the mac are faster over firewire 400 than USB 2. If they had kept FW 400 on the MAcBook, it still would have been consumer orientated, as FW 800 would have been on the MB Pro. MB Pro users have lost one port too, the FW 400. Apple's Consumer Desktop the iMac has BOTH Firewire 400 and 800. I was going to buy a MacBook, but not now.
As someone with a couple of FireWire-based audio interfaces (MOTU, Apogee), this decision is really going to hurt the ol' wallet the day I have to replace my blackbook.
I think His Steveness really cherry-picked which email to reply to. There is more to FireWire than HD camcorders and he knows that. USB 2 may be a substitute for moving data and files, but its completely unworkable for audio due to the Rice Krispies triplets (Snap, Crackle and Pop).
I'm a Mac tech specialist for a school district supporting 600- 1000 Macs at one time or another. I must admit I've never used Target Disk Mode. If necessary, I'd boot from a CD or a Firewire Drive, which now of course, is possible with USB with newer Macs. I have used a series of external drives and Carbon Copy Cloner to quickly restore or clone hard drives. My system was faster and reliable than the PC techs using Ghost. However, as an audio pro, I require firewire, and as a graphic artist (I wear many hats) I despise the glossy screens. I can't even get an iMac now without one.
A 1.5 GB file copied to a newly-formatted drive took me 1:53 over USB. Over FireWire 400, the copy took just 1:09. For those of us whose job entails moving large amounts of data around - and that is a lot of us - Apple's decision to take the fast and leave us the slow is just unacceptable.
No firewire on Macbooks. You have got to be kidding. Hello, come in please, over. I think Apple has lost the plot and it may be time old Steve thought about retirement. I have an iBook which I use for video editing. Mini DV, firewire out of the camera to firewire in on the iBook. My camcorder doesn't have any other way of getting DV into the iBook. I've been hanging out to buy a Macbook for a while, waiting for the graphics situation to improve. I got all excited when I saw that new Macbooks were here. But, no firewire, no sale. I'm one of the Mac faithful but this decision to eliminate firewire is stupid, dumb and demonstrates the arrogance that Apple displays to their faithful customers. Of course, people will buy them, but video or audio editing might not be on their agenda. Even if I splash out on a JVC HD Pro camera, it still has firewire out + other outputs. I used to be able to say to my poor windows owning friends that yes, my iBook and my desktop Mac have firewire and USB.
I think the whole thing is a bad decision and if Apple think they are driving the technology agenda, then they need a rethink.
Audio Audio Audio!
Video Video Video!
Storage Storage Storage!
Firewire might be old but it's not obsolete. There are tons of FW400 devices still being made (look beyond Hard drives, especially in the audio world).
I run FW800 hard drives off the 800 port on my powerbook, and FW400 audio interfaces off the FW400 port. The MacBook gives neither. The Pro model only gives one 800 port and no 400 port (less ports is less flexibility). All told, the state of firewire on the new laptops stinks. If you don't need it, fine. But many many people do need it, and want it.
Although Apple removed the floppy disk drive from its computers, the company had to backtrack (somewhat) and admit that people wanted a way to get data off a computer. Had it been coupled with CDRW drievs, as it was a little while later, it wouldn't have been a problem.
As to what "killed" the floppy, it was the keychain drive. Which also knocked out CDRW and Zip disks for good measure. I use quotes as many PCs still ship with floppy drives.
BB
P.S. I think removing Firewire was short-sighted, but hardly a killer for the technology or the computer. I don't see someone with thousands of dollars in external drives as the target audience for a MacBook. I suspect what truly outrages these prosumers is the lack of a small form factor MacBook Pro, not the limitations of the MacBook.
wow. a mac that my ipod WON'T plug into?
well, my ipod is like seven years old... but still. grrrr.
I have no problem with Apple killing off a technology, as long as they replace it with something better.
FireWire was better than SCSI for anything but RAID. USB and CD burners were better than floppies for data backup and transfer.
Do the new MacBooks have something that improves on FireWire? What is it?
Soon, Steve Jobs will release Macs with no USB ports, no monitor, no mouse, no keyboard.
Steve expects Mac users to reach beyond physical world and communicate with Macs by thoughts.
Steve achieved this back in the 70s by taking LSD hits.
Suffice to say that this is a classic demonstration of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Removing the Firewire 400 port from both the MacBook and MacBook Pro is just unbelievable when nothing extra or a suitable substitute is provided.
The higher prices are also annoying but given that the UK Pound has devalued considerably against the US Dollar I'm prepared to overlook that. That said, I don't recall the prices dropping much when the Pound was very strong against the Dollar...
You know I'm reading all of this crap and I'm wondering if you all are pro's or non-pro's. The MacBook Pro has Firewire 800. Most pro's would be buying the pro machine anyway. Quit your whining please!!