[P1] iBook questions

[George Slusher]

>IEEE (firewire) is almost 100% nessacary these days....cameras, printers , 
>scanners, ect.......most of the new and best stuff are IEEE It is definatley 
>woth it.\

FireWire isn't used by many (any?) printers, especially at the consumer 
level. High-speed workgroup printers are more likely to be networked 
through Ethernet. Most scanners, like most printers, get by with USB 1.1, 
as do digital cameras. Some are moving to USB 2--experts here can answer 
if a USB 2 appliance (scanner, printer) can be used on a USB 1.1-equipped 
computer. 

Joe Jones added:

>I can't see the majority of consumer devices using Firewire any time 
>soon. USB (1.1) is more than adequate for most data transfer for 
>digital cameras, scanners and webcams.
>
>Some negative scanners benefit from firewire since the amount of data 
>they grab on each scan is huge, and obviously CD/DVD burners and hard 
>drives benefit.
>
>I think the two buses will coexist for some time yet.

Agreed. Another major use of FireWire is for video transfer--digital 
camcorders, the better/faster video capture devices, and the like. iMovie 
can actually control my Sony digital camcorder.

The new G5 Macs have about the ultimate in modern "connectivity" 
technology:

1 FireWire 800 port
2 FireWire 400 ports
3 USB 2 ports (plus 2 USB 1.1 ports on the keyboard)
10/100/1000T Ethernet
v.92 modem
Airport Extreme (optional)
Bluetooth (optional)
Optical digital audio in & out (Toslink)*
Stereo audio in & out minijacks
Headphone jack

PLUS three PCI slots for whatever comes out next.

* This is a major improvement that I haven't seen touted very much. It 
would seem that Macs should soon be able to import/export full 
surround-sound data.

George Slusher/Eugene, OR
gslusher at rio.com