Apple Lauded for Supporting FireWire800

The 1394 Trade Association is a worldwide organization dedicated to the advancement of the IEEE 1394 standard. In a press release issued by the organization yesterday, Apple’s decision to include 1394b in its newest MacBook Pro computers is lauded, as it “emphasizes the superior performance of FireWire800 and its popularity among users worldwide.”

The report goes to mention the WWDC '09 conference, where Apple introduced the updated MacBook Pros, as well as the new 13-inch unibody MacBook Pro. A fragment of the respective piece is available below.

At its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco June 8, Apple introduced the new 13-inch MacBook Pro with 1394b to applause and cheers from attendees when Apple VP of Product Marketing Phil Schiller introduced the new computers, saying, "Doesn't every MacBook Pro deserve FireWire 800?" [...] For months, Apple customers and users have made clear their support for 1394 through petitions, web logs, and general commentary directed at the company.

The 1394 Trade Association didn't forget to enumerate some of the key additions to the MacBook Pro line, including a 40 percent longer lasting built-in battery, a display with a 60 percent increase in color gamut, a back-lit keyboard, an SD card slot, up to 8GB of RAM, and up to a 500GB hard drive. FireWire800 joins these enhancements, while the notebooks' price has remained in place, and even dropped on some configurations.

“FireWire has proved itself to be extremely popular, and Apple has responded with a terrific new MacBook Pro with 1394b,” James Snider, executive director, 1394 Trade Association, said. “1394b delivers 800 Megabit/second speed, excellent read/write performance, networking capabilities over distances of 100 meters over CAT-5 and fiber, and improved overall network efficiency compared with 1394a and with all versions of USB. We are delighted to see that Apple’s users and supporters of FireWire have been rewarded with this new product announcement.”

The 1394 TA has entered its 16th year of promoting 1394, being led by multinationals such as Apple, Fujitsu, Microsoft, Molex, Panasonic, Texas Instruments, and others. FireWire is used today in mass-market computer, computer entertainment, and professional products, and in a wide range of specialty applications such as music, defense, aerospace, industrial, and robotics products.