[Macworld]

Post your comments for Cut down on cables here

[smart_chris]

What I'd need is a cable or connector to use an eSATA portable external drive with the Firewire 800 port of my laptop, and be able to boot from this drive.
Does this exist?

[Dan Frakes]

smart_chris said:

What I'd need is a cable or connector to use an eSATA portable external drive with the Firewire 800 port of my laptop, and be able to boot from this drive.
Does this exist?

Unfortunately, no; different connection technologies.

[Lebensmuede]

I just came back from a trip to the US where I also dragged along too many bulky and heavy cables as part of my carry-on luggage, which especially became a nuisance when going through airport security. (Transferring them to and carrying them in a separate bag made my laptop case look less like some kind of bomb to the guys at the X-ray machines.)
Thank you very much for the tip. I will make good use of it the next time I fly.

[lkrndu]

A pair of scissors and a cheapie zip plug will convert the long, heavy Apple cord for the laptop power brick to a short, compact one in two minutes. Or you can buy a printer or peripheral power cord, the kind with a compact, two-barrel snout that engages the power brick, very cheaply and shorten it the same way.

[lipbalm]

Great article.
I wish I had known about 'A' years ago. I'm going to get myself one of those ASAP. 'D' and 'E' also look like very handy adapters.

[user_since_85]

If you don't need the international plugs you could get this for less then a buck from monoprice for 'A':

http://www.monoprice...s/product.asp?cid=102&cpid=10228&csid=1022802&pid=5296&seq=1&format=2

[Schienle]

Is this what you're after?



http://eshop.macsale...ch/Voyager/HardDriveDock

[smart_chris]

Thanks for your help, but the device you suggest is apparently for bare drives only, unfortunately not for external Firewire drives as I would need.

[Martian]

How about here.I assume you are using a MacBook Pro with an ExpressCard slot.


Also, I thought all eSATA external drives and enclosures also had USB as a second interface. Inrel Macs can boot from USB, although I have never tried it.

[boss302beav]

hey Dan - this is a great idea - do you think you wonderful folks at MacWorld could put together a bundle like this with all the above mentioned items in it for purchase through your site ? - I have been trying to price it out on amazon and other sites since amazon doesnt carry all the items and its tough and somewhat pricey - please help.

[Dan Frakes]

boss302beav said:

hey Dan - this is a great idea - do you think you wonderful folks at MacWorld could put together a bundle like this with all the above mentioned items in it for purchase through your site ?

Unfortunately, we don't do retail; the only things we sell are magazines and Superguides :)

[JanT]

Excellent, practical, useful article. Thanks for all the details. Now to figure out where to buy the items I'm missing. How about including sources?

You didn't mention the problem of all those other chargers, especially for camera batteries (always custom batteries, always custom chargers . . . sheesh), that come with 6-foot power cords. Cyberguys.com has 1-foot cords with the"figure-8" plug (item #121 2578) and "cloverleaf" (item #121 2596). Good way to get rid of a wad of useless wire.

[nevada]

Has anyone found a short (6-9") 6-pin female to 9-pin female firewire cord?