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Fire in the Hole (6/13/98)
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If you're anything like us, you've been hearing about FireWire for years now, and you still aren't exactly sure what it is. We always knew it was a peripheral interface like SCSI but only faster, but beyond that, we just didn't much care (probably in no small part because SCSI is everywhere, and FireWire is still breaking ground). That's why we're glad that Apple just published a little fluff piece on FireWire, which does a commendable job of explaining what the technology is and why it's important.
In a nutshell, FireWire is a hot-swappable serial bus peripheral architecture sort of like USB, but with much higher bandwidth. While you might attach a flatbed scanner or a digital still camera to your computer via USB, FireWire lets you plug in super-fast hard disks and digital video devices. Transferring video data is where FireWire excels; if you have a DV-compatible camcorder (of which there are several on the market today), you can plug it right into a FireWire port and send the data into your Mac with zero data loss. Since the data is digital throughout (instead of being converted from analog to digital), what you saw is what you get.
Now, if you're not a digital video producer, FireWire may not mean a whole lot to you right now, but you know how technology trickles down. In a few years, even consumer-level iMacs might come with FireWire built in, and professional-level digital editing of your home movies on the desktop might be as taken for granted as desktop publishing is today. After all, it wasn't that long ago that organizing and storing your photo albums on your personal computer was a pipe dream, and look where we are now.
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SceneLink (772)
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 6/13/98 episode: June 13, 1998: Just because the video-out port spotted on some of the prototype iMacs is going away, that doesn't mean that Apple shouldn't consider bringing it back for the sequel. Meanwhile, back in the labs, mad geniuses graft eight more bits onto the exhumed remains of Apple's freshly-deceased Icon Garden, and FireWire promises to change the future forever...
Other scenes from that episode: 770: Any Port in a Storm (6/13/98) Concerning the iMac-- we had been intrigued to hear reports of a video-out port on the back of some of the prototype models that have been making the rounds on the users' group circuit. While being able to connect an external monitor to a machine that has a 15" screen built in may seem both excessive and bizarre, such a possibility could serve certain obscure purposes... 771: The Digital Prometheus (6/13/98) Speaking of sequels, remember when we told you that Apple's famous Icon Garden had been dismantled? According to sources at Mac OS Rumors, it's not dead forever; Apple has apparently spirited the tired, battered remnants of the Garden's 8-bit carcass back into the labs, where mad scientists are hard at work infusing the icons with new life and new colors...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
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