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Cough Up the Dough (1/17/99)
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Isn't FireWire cool? It's powered, hot-pluggable, faster than most kinds of SCSI, supports up to 63 simultaneously-connected devices, and simply rocks for transferring digital video. For instance, the whole idea of just unplugging a tiny hard disk from one Mac and plugging it into another-- without having to worry about ID numbers, termination, or even a power source-- and just having it mount live on the desktop is truly a wonderful thought. Heck, it's even got the coolest name of any connectivity technology we can think of, assuming you call it "FireWire" and not "IEEE 1394."
Here's the thing, though-- FireWire is an Apple technology. More than that, it's an Apple technology that hasn't quite caught on yet. Apple themselves have only just started shipping Macs with FireWire on the motherboard, and even though bigwigs like Microsoft and Intel are reportedly pushing the whole FireWire idea, the biggest obstacle to widespread adoption might be Apple themselves. According to a CNET article, Apple is no longer licensing FireWire to manufacturers for a flat fee, but is instead charging about $1 per port. That means computers and peripherals using FireWire will be more expensive to produce-- and, therefore, more expensive to purchase.
Apple's walking a thin line, here. FireWire's taken a very long time to get as far as it has (the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers have recognized it since 1995), and that isn't very far at all. If Apple really wants FireWire to catch on, charging a per-port royalty might be the wrong move. On the other hand, FireWire is a killer technology, and we're positive that Apple wants to ensure that they make some real money off of it. So can Apple walk the tightrope between setting a new standard and making a hefty profit without crashing and burning?
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SceneLink (1273)
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 1/17/99 episode: January 17, 1999: The iMac falls from Top of the Pops to number three-- is this the beginning of the end, or just a holiday hiccup? Meanwhile, Salomon Smith Barney downgraded AAPL and sent the stock tumbling, but there's an interesting theory as to why they did it. And the world wants FireWire, but will they still want it at Apple's price?...
Other scenes from that episode: 1271: Slipping Down the Charts (1/17/99) Sure, Apple's breakthrough consumer Mac has a great beat and you can dance to it, but the kids who said the whole thing was a flash in the pan now have more evidence to back up their claim. PC Data is the "Billboard" of computer sales numbers, and according to their latest figures, the iMac's short stint at the top of the charts was ended in December by heavy-hitter Compaq... 1272: Mmmm, Sour Grapes! (1/17/99) Meanwhile, Apple's stock price has taken a beating lately, too. After hitting a three-year high of $47.50 last week, it dropped to $41.31 after some very heavy trading-- right after Apple posted some terrific quarterly results...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
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