[MacKayaker]

My new 80 GB iPod classic arrived and I was excited until I discovered it will only work with USB 2.0.
I've been using a PM G4 with USB 1.1 and Firewire 400 for my media and my 40 GB 4th Gen iPod, with it's Firewire to dock cable has been working great. When I added a 2nd Gen. Shuffle, while it complained about USB 1.1, it worked and for so small a drive, the slowness for transfers has been okay.
Enter new iPod classic - it will not mount on that computer, though all software is up to date. When connected via the Firewire cable to dock, not even the iPod thinks it is connected. (I called Apple before trying this and they said using the Firewire cable would be fine - apparently this is not tested, as it doesn't work for me.) When connected using the stock USB ports (vs.1.1) the iPod says it is connected, but it doesn't show on the system. And I checked to make sure my other two iPods will connect and they are doing so just fine.
Apparently this new round of iPods will ONLY work with USB 2.0 and I, for one, think that is lame.
And to add insult to injury it will charge from either connection on my old system. Now I have to move my library to a newer computer, which clearly I did not plan to do - I've kept the media on this system on purpose - this development seems short-sited to me - given it's the same dock connector they have been using for so long.

[mdawson]

Umm, where have you been MacKayaker? Apple dropped FireWire syncing from the iPod back in 2005 when the video iPods were introduced. It was for that reason that the more paranoid among us incorrectly thought that we would lose FireWire altogether in favor of the far inferior USB 2.0 when Macs began to adopt Intel processors. Apparently, unlike with most dual-interface devices, the iPod had similar data transfer rates whether FireWire or USB was used to sync to the computer, so for Mac users with USB 2.0, there was no real difference when they synced their iPods.
The problem does come in where the owners of pre-USB 2.0 Macs enter the picture. That point was argued to death two years ago and Apple is still opting to only offer USB 2.0 syncing. As a result, the price points of iPods dropped and have been retained or lessened since 2005. Also, while I do not recall Apple explicitly stating the following as a reason, the vast majority of iPod owners are not Mac users and do not have FireWire capable computers. While this is unfortunate for you, for Apple it may have simply come down to a matter of economics.

[moose_n_squirrel]

If it helps, USB 2.0 cards for the PowerBook G4 slot aren't too expensive.
I can understand Apple's take. I have a PowerBook G4 Aluminum with USB 2.0 ports, and it's four years old. They must have figured that was long enough.

[MacKayaker]

Clearly, I will just need to move my media to another system, as I don't want to invest in a USB 2.0 PCI card for the PM G4 tower I was using.
And while new Apple iPods may have dropped Firewire connectivity in 2005 - existing ones did not and still have not lost that capability. We've only added a 2nd gen shuffle since then and while it prefers USB 2.0, it works fine with 1.1.
Perhaps it was wishful thinking on my part to think that a newer iPod with the same dock connector would work, but the truth is the 40GB iPod we have still works great and still connects via Firewire as it has from day one of it's life.

[smax013]

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Clearly, I will just need to move my media to another system, as I don't want to invest in a USB 2.0 PCI card for the PM G4 tower I was using.
And while new Apple iPods may have dropped Firewire connectivity in 2005 - existing ones did not and still have not lost that capability. We've only added a 2nd gen shuffle since then and while it prefers USB 2.0, it works fine with 1.1.
Perhaps it was wishful thinking on my part to think that a newer iPod with the same dock connector would work, but the truth is the 40GB iPod we have still works great and still connects via Firewire as it has from day one of it's life.

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I fully understand. The whole USB vs. Firewire issue was why I was somewhat hesitant to upgrade from my 3rd gen 30 gb iPod to a 5.5 gen 80 gb iPod with video, even though the 80 gb REALLY tempted me. Like you, I had my music collection on a G4 Tower with USB 1.1 and it synced just find with my 30 gb 3rd gen iPod. I did not really want to have to keep all my music on my MacBook Pro (espeically since it only had an 80 gb hard drive at the time). So, I was not intending on upgrading just yet (I still had not filled up my 30 gb iPod...even if the 80 gb REALLY tempted me)...but the decision was taken out of my hands...I got an 80 gb 5.5 gen iPod for Xmas. Who was I to turn it down due to USB? /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif So, I now sync it with my MBP. I will note that it is now MUCH less of an issue as I have since upgraded the MBP drive to a 250 gb internal drive. But, I still feel your pain!

[MacKayaker]

I have now transferred everything via Firewire to the G5 and set up an external FW HD for the iTunes Library. And loaded up the new iPod via USB 2.0.
I then reset the 40 GB iPod, and transferred it to our Intel Mac Mini, where it syncs just fine over FireWire.
Moral of the story - syncing over Firewire was only lost to newer models - not to those designed for that option and now we have two cables, as previously my wife was using Firewire to dock with her iPod Mini, so all is not lost.

[mdawson]

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Moral of the story - syncing over Firewire was only lost to newer models - not to those designed for that option and now we have two cables, as previously my wife was using Firewire to dock with her iPod Mini, so all is not lost.

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No one stated otherwise. I explicitly wrote that, Apple dropped FireWire syncing from the iPod back in 2005 when the video iPods were introduced. Obviously, iPods introduced before that time would retain the ability to be synced by FireWire as they have the required circuitry and would be recognized by the OS as a FireWire device. I also made no comment as far as iTunes support of FireWire-capable iPods, as Apple would have needed to go out of their way to make iTunes fail to recognize iPods that the OS would have no reason to ignore simply because the connection is via FireWire.

[smax013]

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No one stated otherwise. I explicitly wrote that, Apple dropped FireWire syncing from the iPod back in 2005 when the video iPods were introduced. Obviously, iPods introduced before that time would retain the ability to be synced by FireWire as they have the required circuitry and would be recognized by the OS as a FireWire device. I also made no comment as far as iTunes support of FireWire-capable iPods, as Apple would have needed to go out of their way to make iTunes fail to recognize iPods that the OS would have no reason to ignore simply because the connection is via FireWire.

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Very true...I still sync my 3rd generation 30 gb iPod by way of Firewire to my G4 Tower running OS X 10.4.10 and iTunes 7.3.2. I do have my 5.5 gen iPod Video set to sync with my MacBook Pro, however.