Give me a break Apple? With most all similarly priced Windows laptops including a firewire port, and you leave it out?!?!? That would be a little acceptable if it had an expresscard slot to add a firewire port to, but this is a deal breaker.

You will loose business to competitors over this.

I was kind of looking forward to buying a new MacBook computer. I have several firewire drives and I like the option of booting from an external volume. I am hugely disappointed that there is no firewire with the latest consumer level MacBook.

I agree that it sux, but more and more (if not most) currently shipping dv cams are usb 2.0

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Anonymous wrote:
I was kind of looking forward to buying a new MacBook computer. I have several firewire drives and I like the option of booting from an external volume. I am hugely disappointed that there is no firewire with the latest consumer level MacBook.

FYI- intel Macs boot from usb 2.0 externals, so no worries there.

This, as well as the previous announcement, was a waste of time and energy. Now we have a glossy screen, great for sunny days with glare, no DV or High-Quality Audio Recording, in a computer with better graphics. Good job, Apple. Way to stuff that one up.

Looks like it's refurb or hackintosh for me.

Correction: That should read, "no Pro DV".

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Guest wrote:
Give me a break Apple? With most all similarly priced Windows laptops including a firewire port, and you leave it out?!?!? That would be a little acceptable if it had an expresscard slot to add a firewire port to, but this is a deal breaker.

You will loose business to competitors over this.

"She ran calling FireWire!"

Yeah, I was wondering how the absence of a FireWire port would affect my decision to buy one of the new MacBook models. Of course a video pro is probably going to buy a MacBook Pro, while I am not not in that league I do do some video work. However, my video camera has USB and FireWire out ports, so perhaps it will work just fine.

I was planning on replacing my old G3 iBook with a new MacBook. Maybe I will just spend the extra $600 and get a MacBook Pro.

Because there is no BluRay support, right now the only way to get HD video OUT of a Mac is through the firewire port to a camcorder. HDV does not work on USB, and AVCHD is too low quality and slow for serious editing. (Where you'd have to re-render files.)

There is still lots of stuff being done in standard DV that these MacBooks would have plenty of power to deal with. (For example, few wedding videos are HD yet - again this is because BluRay is too rare and unstable for home burning.)

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Guest wrote:
Correction: That should read, "no Pro DV".

Just yesterday, I received JVC's new Everio. It features the ability to capture with either MPEG-2 or AVCHD. Neat. But no Firewire out. In the consumer world, Firewire ports are increasingly uncommon.

But I, too, am a little disappointed. I have long championed Firewire. I have Firewire external drives because I trrust extended transfers to Firewire over USB.

However, my previous issue with the MacBook, its GMA chipset, has been vanquished, so it kind of evens out.

-coaten

It's only the lower end 13 inch that doesn't have a firewire port. They show the firewire in the spec page for the 15 inch on Apple.com in the store section.

I will be looking at a new HP laptop running Ubuntu

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Guest wrote:
I will be looking at a new HP laptop running Ubuntu

n/t

Firewire isn't a consumer grade item anymore on things like cameras. USB 2.0 is all you'll find. And if you're a video pro you really won't be looking at a $1200 laptop.

Maybe all the Firewire folks can get together with the people upset over losing the 5.25" floppy, centronics printer ports, 300 baud modems, etc.

no problem. My external drive is attached via USB 2 to a AirPort Extreme. My DV camera does just fine with USB 2. The only thing I was using Firewire for was syncing my 3G iPod. Well I damaged that cable and have been happily syncing with the cord from my iPhone, USB. The folks who are doing HD DV will not be looking at the MacBooks anyway, I don't care how much better the graphics are. Doing any sort of serious video editing with a 13" screen is madness. Using a MacBook Pro for serious video editing w/out an external monitor is crazy too. For the market where the MacBooks live, the lack of Firewire will not be missed if it is even noticed. the folks who are so upset about it are probably trolls anyway.

No firewire!?? Does Apple simply hope for everyone to simply pass on this and purchase a MacBook Pro?

What an incredibly dimwitted dealbreaker! Someone's head is going to roll for this!

I still have and use lot's of Firewire devices... They made a bad choice here. I'm joining the list of Apple faithful who won't be upgrading now. I really wanted to get one until I heard this. Apple was the company that championed Firewire.... I don't get it... They pulled that feature way before they should have. I won't be jumping to PC's but I also won't be buying a new Macbook!

I call bullshit on your comment - I have a current MacBook - I also have 8 external firewire 400 drives - I also have audio peripherals - all firewire 400 ... "upgrading" to a current MacBook gets me what?! "A Bag of Hurt" - exactly.

Don't generalise - you look like a dickhead.

Ok, you do also get the $100 HDD upgrade, but still, $200 for backlight? I thought Apple was the "quality" computer where these things would be standard. This is a computer directed at students who need backlight in lecture halls and those who are gamers.
Arent you supposed to be "skating where the puck is going?"...

If you compare the low and high end Macbooks with the same features...
4GB RAM
320 GB HD @ 5400RPM
The higher end one is $200 more. You are paying $200 for 400Mhz more processor speed and getting a backlit keyboard thrown in.

It's strange that the $999 white Macbook has firewire but the new and more expensive models don't. Why is this Apple?

I can see axing firewire and replaceing it with something better like e-sata , but usb 2.0 is clearly not better, than the Firewire. Especially if you are moving lots of data back and forth. Stuff like super duper, carbon copy cloner, and TimeMachine just got a lot slower. When doing a full restore it is going to run at around 8MB/s, on USB 2.0 vs 15MB/s on FW400 thanks Apple...

The new macbook, now with the slowest sustained data transfer to a external drive. I guess its time to buy Network Attached devices since those will have the best speeds over Gigabit? Ethernet, GB Eth thats still on the macbooks right or did we just go all wifi.

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Anonymous wrote:
It's strange that the $999 white Macbook has firewire but the new and more expensive models don't. Why is this Apple?

Because Apple will keep it around long enough to get rid of remaining stock and will eventually phase this one out completely.

I was ready to buy a new macbook today to replace my existing macbook, but I'm supposed to scrap my FW camcorder & HDs?

And I can't afford a MPB and really don't need the extra screen size.

For what it's worth.....

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

Apple isn't stupid, overall. Firewire has obviously lost its battle. Not popular enough among the MacBook targets to warrant the cost to keep it. Among us Geeks, maybe but, we're not the target, sorry.
Anyway, question is, will they be in retail stores tomorrow? I need for my brother who is leaving the country Thursday and to buy one where he's heading costs hundreds more.

I agree with BanjoBanker - it's all too obvious that the 'guests' are part of a marketing organisation trying to undermine support for Apple in their homeland. The point is, if you really need firewire you can get a usb2 to firewire dongle. Less unnecessary ports means you can get more of the more important stuff (e.g better graphics, more HD space) for the same price.

are you retarded?

first of all the firewire to USB adapter does NOT work with imovie, final cut express, final cut studio, or logic express, etc. I have tried them...

tell me how you are going to import your DV Camera footage? and tell me how you are going to use your FW external Hard drives you have purchased over the years that every apple user has purchased?

you are obviously not a real apple user. you might own an apple for the fact of owning one but you have no idea what no firewire means to a real apple user.

apple is simply controlling the video market to be a pro only option. unfortunately the general user gets screwed. you can toss imovie and idvd out the window.

your retarded also...

A LOT of DV cameras are Firewire only. even if you leave video out of it audio people get screwed also. most sound devices are firewire also.

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Anonymous wrote:
are you retarded?

first of all the firewire to USB adapter does NOT work with imovie, final cut express, final cut studio, or logic express, etc. I have tried them...

tell me how you are going to import your DV Camera footage? and tell me how you are going to use your FW external Hard drives you have purchased over the years that every apple user has purchased?

you are obviously not a real apple user. you might own an apple for the fact of owning one but you have no idea what no firewire means to a real apple user.

apple is simply controlling the video market to be a pro only option. unfortunately the general user gets screwed. you can toss imovie and idvd out the window.

Before you blow a gasket, consider a few things:

1. Will your current Mac will suddenly stop working because a new MacBook came out? If not, then, you're not in trouble.

2. If you want to use PRO level applications like Final Cut, you'd be much better off with a MacBook Pro or iMac. Editing video on a 13" screen is silly. Did you edit pro-level video on the earlier MacBook? The integrated graphics would have made that a PITA.

3. Go to a store like Best Buy and look at the DV camcorders. Notice that essentially all have USB output. That's because many Windows PCs do NOT have FireWire. Heck, even my old Canon Optura 50 has USB output along with FireWire. My PowerBook and iMac G4 can't use it, but an Intel Mac may be able to. If not now, then Apple can change software, add drivers, etc., so that camcorders with USB output will work. They can do the same with the USB-FireWire converters.

We''ve been this route before, with SCSI, ADP, serial ports, etc.

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Anonymous wrote:
your retarded also...

A LOT of DV cameras are Firewire only. even if you leave video out of it audio people get screwed also. most sound devices are firewire also.

Name several current CONSUMER DV cameras that are FireWire only. Do NOT count Pro level camcorders or "prosumer," as those would be used by someone who would get a MacBook Pro with FireWire 800.

Post a link please

Canon Optura line has firewire to transfer video, the USB it has is just to transfer the still photos you can capture.

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Anonymous wrote:
Canon Optura line has firewire to transfer video, the USB it has is just to transfer the still photos you can capture.

To pick a nit, I asked for current camcorders; the Optura line is dead. Also, the Optura 60, at least (I have an Optura 50, but the manual covers the Optura 60, as well) will transfer video via USB to a Windows PC. It would be possible for Apple or Canon to write drivers to do that on a Mac, as well.

However, Mr/Ms "Anonymous" is "correct" if he/she meant the Canon ZR series, Canon's last standard-definition (and bottom-of-the-line) camcorders that use mini-DV, and the few mini-DV consumer HD camcorders, which I had forgotten about (a sure sign of "oldtimer's disease"). Canon's flash, hard-drive, and DVD camcorders don't have FireWire ports. Those represent the vast majority of camcorders being sold today. Very few people want mini-DV, for many reasons. The flash/hard drive/DVD camcorders store compressed video (versus uncompressed on mini-DV), so they don't need the real-time capabilities of FireWire: the video files are transferred with USB 2.0 at much higher net speed than real-time video via FireWire (e.g., 10 minutes of video will take a lot less than 10 minutes to transfer via USB).

There is an easy way to transfer video from a FireWire-only camcorder to a Mac without FireWire. Get an Elgato Eye TV Plus or Eye TV Hybrid and connect the camcorder via the composite or S-video connections. You can then record the video from the camcorder just as you would from a VCR, DVD player, set-top box, etc. (There are other devices from other companies, as well.) This takes no longer than recording in the old iMovie HD--both are real-time. There is a difference in the recording format and the computer can't control the camcorder, but it will work.

If you want all the functionality of FireWire transfers, then get a MacBook Pro. I found it puzzling that someone would suggest running Final Cut on a MacBook, for example. One could do it, but, if you're going to spend $200-$1300 on advanced video software, why run it on the lowest-level Mac?

So, you're not screwed, at all, at least if you're moderately intelligent and willing to stop whining and look for practical solutions.