[klinton]

The irony for users is that it would have cost Apple almost nothing to put Firewire 400 on the new MacBooks and support it with drivers. So who is the loser in this situation? Yep, it is the user. All of us who own videocameras or audio peripherals.

I'll be staying with my prior-generation MacBook, It supports the peripherals I own. I have no desire to buy a new MacBook.
Which is a great shame as a AAPL shareholder I'd much prefer all prior owners to have a need to upgrade to new hardware.

[whitedog]

{quote}He probably did give final approval. However, the idea that he did so "on a whim" is rather baseless.{quote}

No more baseless than any other assumption founded on conjecture, which is all any of us really has to go on at the moment.

{quote}...he is an astute businessman....{quote}

Indeed he is, but even astute businessmen make mistakes from time to time (look what overpaid Wall Street Bankers and their lackeys in government have done to the economy). Since there's no credible reason, in my opinion, that's been offered for removing FireWire from the unibody MacBook, "whim" is as good an explanation as any and, indeed, more nearly fits the known facts, such as they are, than, say, "he must have had his reasons." That's the same excuse people use when God apparently does something inexplicable. But this doesn't really explain God and Steve Jobs is no god in any case.

{quote}and, considering how well the Macbook unibodies are selling....{quote}

Are they? According to whom? And even if they are selling, we have no way of knowing how many didn't sell because of the absence of FireWire or, for that matter, how many white MacBooks have been sold instead - for a much smaller profit margin.

{quote}...the vast majority of Mac users are not crying about firewire.... {quote}

Since when does the vast majority have anything to do with what's right or wrong with the Mac? The vast majority buy Windows PCs. Does that make the Mac irrelevant?

{quote}Really, it's not that hard to figure out.{quote}

Oh? It seems to have escaped you easily enough. You know no more than those of us "crying" about FireWire. You just choose to interpret the few available facts differently. That's you right, of course, but that doesn't make you "right."

{quote}The question is...is this some major mistake, or just a minor inconvenience.{quote}

If you had many hundreds or even thousands of dollars tied up in FireWire peripherals, you'd think the mistake was major. Obviously you do not, or have no need for a unibody MacBook. Otherwise, you'd be "crying" right along with the rest of us. Clearly, though, you have no skin in the game so it's easy to dismiss the concerns of those who do. Which shows nothing so much as a lack of both imagination and empathy. Though that's no sin, their absence renders your arguments rather empty.

[Pierobon]

WHAT ABOUT THE BUS-POWERED DEVICES?
Can USB2.0 power alone my 1TB hard disk drive?
This can easy a lot the life for PRO fotographers....

[Kachakaach]

ok, I have never posted to a forum this old before (although I did post a couple while it was still "fresh"), but this issue seems to have a life of it's own. Now Apple has "bumped" the entry level white macbook, the "bump" appears to include removing firewire from the last Macbook portable. I have been trying all the workarounds listed in this forum to work without firewire, and they all suck. This decision is teh suck, Apple. I have both Macbook's and Macbook Pro's and lots of firewire stuff, and a need for target mode, and you suck! (hmmm, feel better now? Nope, still sucks!).

EDIT: Ok, according to Dan Moren, ( http://tr.im/mzsa ) the Firewire port 400 is still there! But, when you go to Apple's website, ( http://tr.im/mzsv ) there is NO mention of a firewire port in specs at bottom of page. Weird, but I am sure Dan is correct, and I am just paranoid.
Message was edited by: Kachakaach

[ralphmegna]

To: Kachakaach

You are not just paranoid, you obviously cannot read a web page. Apple's description of the newly upgraded white MacBook VERY CLEARLY STATES that it comes with Firewire 400. See: http://www.apple.com...hite/specs.html

The only thing "weird" here is your post.

[Kachakaach]

Thanks for the link. As I stated in my prior post, I jumped to a conclusion, and was wrong. If you follow the link I posted, the one to the STORE where you BUY the Macbook, you will see that Firewire is NOT listed anywhere. It is only in the "specs" database of the Support section of the site that you could find that reference. So perhaps NOT SO CLEARLY stated after all, but nonetheless, I was wrong. Have a nice day.

[bynkii]

Kachakaach said:

Thanks for the link. As I stated in my prior post, I jumped to a conclusion, and was wrong. If you follow the link I posted, the one to the STORE where you BUY the Macbook, you will see that Firewire is NOT listed anywhere. It is only in the "specs" database of the Support section of the site that you could find that reference. So perhaps NOT SO CLEARLY stated after all, but nonetheless, I was wrong. Have a nice day.

The problem is, you assumed that all the Macbook model's specs are on that page. They aren't, which is why you had to carefully read the entire page (Which clearly specified "Aluminum" Macbook), in particular the badge about 2/3rds of the way down the page that linked to the White Macbook specs.

Reading carefully is important when one is about to spend money on a computer.

[yucateco]

bynkii said:

Reading carefully is important when one is about to spend money on a computer.

Quite true. ;)
One thing interesting to note is that Apple is probably keeping the white MacBook around (with Firewire), in order to compare sales with the aluminum MacBook (without Firewire). I guess they're trying to keep people like us happy, too. Regardless, I'd love to see the stats. I expect most "switchers" will buy the aluminum version.

If I were to buy a MacBook today, without question it would be the white MacBook. Lack of Firewire is still a dealbreaker for me, and will be such for many years to come.

[Kachakaach]

Yup, you are right John, reading carefully is a good idea, especially since I am gonna buy more than one! Despite any teasing I take here, 'cause I should have been able to dig out the info myself, I appreciate the help from all.