USB 2 is now standard on the Mac line and just as fast as firewire. Including a single cable allows Apple to reduce their cost a little (and pass it on to us). Since my two computers have USB 2 I don't see the big deal. Of course, if I owned an older Mac I might not be terribly happy with the extra $10 or so.

USB 2 is never as fast is FireWire, but that's not the point. And of course, if it doesn't affect you, then why should you care? No sense considering other people.

And it is $19, not $10 for the cable. Also remember that Apple doesn't have to pay licensing fees for the cables. Probably costs them 50 cents to make the cable.

Guess I'll have to trade in my TiBook for the hip new Dell that just works (tm) with the iPod.

USB 2 is not as fast as FireWire 400.

USB 2 is 480mbps burst.

FireWire 400 is 400mbps sustained.

Try to sync your iPod using both methods on a G5 and report back.

The fact Mac OS X's USB 2 drivers are fairly poor compared to the FireWire drivers and Windows' USB 2 drivers is also worth of interest.

Very true Jean-Francois. The USB 2 implementation on Mac OS X (or in Mac hardware) is horribly, horribly slow especially compare to FireWire. So in this case, PC users will get a much better experience with a USB 2 cabled iPod than a Mac user.

Rosyna, you might just be the most cynical Mac developer in the entire world. Ever consider just buying XP on a WinTel box and being done with the whole thing?

yes, i agree with rosyna i really think it sucks that they replaced firewire with usb 2, it does seem it is to make pc users more comfortable with the ipod... I wonder how it will affect the ipod, is there really no AC Adaptor??? will the usb charge the ipod faster slower or the same??? who knows... we ll know when ipodlounge does a review... i really hope Apple knows what they are doing...

Yea, this indeed sucks. I was considering a purchase of a new ipod, but with my g4/867 12" i guess I would be suck with usb 1 speeds. Boo hoo

After spending $350-$450 on an iPod, is a $19 cable really all that expensive?

I know that this post is more aimed at the principle behind the issue. But somewhere in Cupertino, a bunch of executives sat down and decided to remove the FireWire cable from the package, and given that the executives in question are likely not a bunch of idiots, I'm sure that there was a good reason for doing so.

For the rest of us that already own iPods -- or did before theirs was stolen :'( -- just use the one that came with your old 'Pod.

For god's sake, it's just a cable!!! I can't perceive any difference in speed in day to day use with my 4G iPod 40GB on my iBook, whether i use the usb or the fw cable.

Some time ago there were benchmarks on iPodlounge or another iPod site that showed that USB is indeed FASTER than FW, at least on the iPod. I agree, on other devices this may be completely untrue, especially cameras.

I'm using the FW cable because Apple recommended it at the time I bought my iPod, and my two USB ports are already in use.

But this whole my interface is faster than yours discussion is ridiculous. In daily use there is NO speed difference between FW and USB. And please note that all Macs have at least two USB ports, but most have only one FW port.

BTW, I bought my iBook in 2003 and it came with USB2...

For what it's worth, I felt the same way, Unsanity.

Oliver, i'm trying very hard to hold back my initial response of "idiot."

Rosyna is very critical. Is this bad? no. It is revolutionary material at the very least. It is something like the ongoing debate here in the states about who is patriotic; those who blindly follow or those who point out what needs to be changed what we should stand for. (ok, so this argument is actually much more important than the entire american political system)

He is right. Apple has always been a bit more expensive because they promote nothing but the newest and coolest and best. I have nothing against USB. It is a wonderful tool. As I've had numerous conversations with a friend of mine about the way USB jump drives have become the new floppy, they are wonderful simply because of their name: Universal Serial Bus.
Of course I've now evolved past him, his jump drive is 256mb...HAH! poor mans iPod.

When USB 2 came out i was happy. Faster technology, no matter what it is, is great. It may not be as good as FireWire, but it had potential. Plus, will FireWire (1394 to keep away from referencing apple, of course) ever be a standard feature on any PC? apparently not. But that's fine, now they have USB 2.

This argument mainly revolves around the fact that Apple was very slow to include USB 2 in machines at it's launch. I thought they would be one of the first to do it, they actually were just about the last. Someone told me they actually didn't like USB 2, that someone thought it would fail as a standard. GREAT. But no, here it is. Fine, whatever.

Why am I angry about the new iPods not coming with FireWire? Is it because my first generation PowerBook G4 17" doesn't have USB2? no. although i am angry about that in general, i purchased a mini at their launch. I am angry because of the iPod i encouraged a friend to just last night. While at the apple store he ran into an old student friend (a new hire). He said that there would be no problem syncing because of the wonderful firewire cable included in the new (cheaper) 4GB mini. I was shocked. I knew i wasn't wrong, i have no life, i keep up on apple, but maybe he was going to give away a firewire cable. When I turned the box on it's side and showed him that it now only included the USB cable, his only word was "asinine." Then i said my friend would need a way to charge the mini while away from computers. he said it was no problem because of the included AC adapter...this kid must be new. his jaw simply dropped.

So you're telling me to shut up by now, right? what's the catch those of you who still care are asking?
My friend has an iMac G4. He has been punished just like me, only USB 1.1 (or 2.0 for that new renaming standard crap). Fact is, it's slow. He was lucky in that he waited to buy the second gen mini; the price came down and the battery life went up. but it doesn't matter, because he will someday realize that waiting isn't all that fun, and have to buy either an expensive apple firewire cable or an untrustworthy cheap generic replacement.

His machine was very confused when he had to connect it via USB. "I've got two firewire ports open, waiting and much faster" it said. "what have i done to be punished this way?"

Saint, thank you for not calling me an idiot :-) And I would not tell you to shut up.

I know there are situations when Firewire is the only choice, just as you described. The problem is, your friend would have to buy another cable. Heck, I would have to buy it, too, as both of my USB ports are taken (or I could buy a hub). Of course it would be best if iPods shipped with all options, but it wouldn't exactly make it cheaper. I for one have never ever used the ac adaptor. It's just easier to simply plug the iPod into the dock (yeah, I know) and have it sync at the same time. When at work it is plugged in via another cable (I purchased, this Mac does not have USB2). Different people have different needs. A new iPod mini PLUS that cable is still cheaper.

The only thing that ticks me of is that whole USB vs. Firewire zealotry, Apple has to support it because they invented it (and I know, that's not what you said, but Rosyna did). Following that logic the iPod shuffle would have to come with a Firewire connector and be formatted in HFS+ (which would make it incompatible with PCs)

It's just a interface standard! FW has certainly not become second class citizen just because iPods are now syncing over USB. The only thing I find even more strange is people calling for FW800 iPod-cables, the HD in the iPod is not nearly fast enough to make that worthwhile...

Firewire might be faster under certain circumstances. It might be the better technology. I personally would not want to use USB2 with Harddrive RAIDs or with HD cameras. And it might need 3 seconds less to sync your iPod (in reality there is no difference, test it). But does average Joe care? No.

Oliver, do you consider yourself average joe?
I'm not even going to get into the issues of switching to average joe/just enough.
I agree that there will most likely be no speed difference in a firewire 800 iPod cable, but i do see the use. I plan to buy one whenever griffin releases it (they are very slow it seems).

The reason I have a PowerBook is because it is portable. I realize that apple couldn't go port-crazy on their laptops, but two firewire 400s would have been nice. What i'm getting at is I have an external firewire drive. Right now, i haven't had the money to upgrade it to one that is of equal size but bus powered. It requires an ac plug. It also has an extra firewire port on the back. solves all my problems, a? o. The extra port (of course) only works when the drive is on. Why not leave it on all the time? because the fan is off balance and it makes too much stupid noise.
a firewire 800 cable is not intended for faster transfer, merely utilization of an empty port. Yeah, i could get a firewire 800 drive, but that's just stupid (currently). I will likely get an 800 to 400 cable for the drive, but that is identical to getting the dock800 cable for the iPod.

The iPod shuffle has an excuse for not needing firewire: it sucks.
well, seeing as it is so very very very closely related to a USB jump drive, i give it an excuse. plus, the overall storage size is so tiny that the sacrifice is next to nothing.
I simply wish apple had put USB 2 on everything as soon as available.

Apple should naturally cater to apple users. so long as there is a user with a "recent" mac, he should have priority over the random and uncontrollable PC guys. What is standard on a PC these days? what is standard ever? (insert inferiority jokes here)

I am aware of the minimal speed difference of USB2 and firewire. I'm certain it could be pointed out to me, but yes, it barely matters. There are too many Macs out there without USB2 right now. I admit, the AC adapter is minimal, i used mine only the first night i had it. but it sure does burn to have to buy one for $29 (but that gets into all of apple expensive accessories).

Interesting post ! I was just wondering what had changed :)
I may be wrong, but it seems that there is an AC adaptator in the iPod photo box :

In the Box (from apple.com)
- iPod photo 30GB or 60GB
- Earbud headphones
- AC adapter
- USB 2.0 cable
- Getting Started guide
- CD with iTunes for Mac and Windows and electronic documentation

Not much to say about the debate USB/Firewire except that USB 2 isn't a good alternative to Firewire. As someone said, cupertino must have good reasons to do that... but I still wonder why

USB is built into the controller ASCI they use, Firewire needs another chip...

we are - unfortunately - talking about every cent of production cost.

They won't dump FW because it would leave us without any highspeed ports of that magnitude. USB2 ist "nice" on PCs, and a desaster on Macs, but certainly not "great" as I think Firewire is ever since it appeared.

So, they have slightly pissed on our pants hoping we wouldnt notice before its dry again :-/

Forcing users forward ( Apple continuing to make cash from existing hardware owners) is IMHO the underlining Apple strategy, get peeps thinking - i need a newer mac and while the older mac owners and the new ipod owners are browsing the apple ipod extras in order to purchase that cable they are more likely to purchase other 'tasty bits'

I never really liked the "core concept" of the iPod.Running off a HD always seemed dangerous to me.

Especially has the heads of it always spinning and 1 tap against a wall could royally screw it over

apple has a long history of doing this - please recall apple ii vs mac - why the surprise? sometimes they just don't have their heads on properly.

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