Discussion
I've been looking at I pod's and it mentions fire wire, which i understand to be a cable that enables fast up-load speeds to an external device. The question is where about would the fire wire cable plug in to my computer? (my computer is new-ish) Would it just plug in to a USB port?
Appreciate the replies
Thanks Gary.
Appreciate the replies
Thanks Gary.
g4ry13 said:Either on the back, where all the other sockets are, or on the front (maybe hidden by a lid).
Where aboutat the back would i find the fire wire located??
g4ry13 said:USB 1.1 is
If i don't have one, i would have to use the USB for the I pod, would that mean much slower speeds?
FireWire is 400Mbps
USB 2.0 is 480Mbps, but realistically slightly slower than FireWire in benchmarks.
So, the difference wouldn't really matter
Firewire is generally rectangular with a pointy bit at one end, USB is a simple rectangle.
Firewire has the connecting points centered in the middle with 4 or 6 visible connectors, USB is offset to one side.
Firewire, although "slower" is more reliable and maintains said speed for longer than USB2.0, although there isn't much in it!
You have USB, but the question now is do you have USB1.1 or USB2.0. Easy question this, how old is your PC, USB2.0 is a relatively new standard and isn't on PC's over a 1.5 years old (generally, with some exceptions). The other way to tell is right click on my computer, goto properties (or system properties from control panel) and have a look at USB and it says USB2.0 or USB1.1...
Right, other points to notice. The iPod uses battery power, which is depleated rapidly when transfering songs. Firewire 6pin is used (as the chager as well) because the extra two wires are used as a +'ve & -'ve. If you're buying a card make sure it is 6 pin, and preferably one which takes power from the PSU and not the motherboards PCI slot.
As for the iPod, well luck would be on your side because they have just annouced new lines (a 20gb & 40Gb to replace the 15 & 30 respectively).
Firewire has the connecting points centered in the middle with 4 or 6 visible connectors, USB is offset to one side.
Firewire, although "slower" is more reliable and maintains said speed for longer than USB2.0, although there isn't much in it!
You have USB, but the question now is do you have USB1.1 or USB2.0. Easy question this, how old is your PC, USB2.0 is a relatively new standard and isn't on PC's over a 1.5 years old (generally, with some exceptions). The other way to tell is right click on my computer, goto properties (or system properties from control panel) and have a look at USB and it says USB2.0 or USB1.1...
Right, other points to notice. The iPod uses battery power, which is depleated rapidly when transfering songs. Firewire 6pin is used (as the chager as well) because the extra two wires are used as a +'ve & -'ve. If you're buying a card make sure it is 6 pin, and preferably one which takes power from the PSU and not the motherboards PCI slot.
As for the iPod, well luck would be on your side because they have just annouced new lines (a 20gb & 40Gb to replace the 15 & 30 respectively).
Yes, that's USB then. The direction, the arrow is pointing at doesn't matter at all, there are no similar logos AFAIK.
You could try the connection to USB (if the ipod allows that technically); and when it's too slow, you get yourself a FireWire pci card.
might not be good with USB 1.1 then
Do you have documentation for your PC, which says which USB version is supplied?
On the other hand, I've noticed ipods do not support the Ogg Vorbis sound format, so they might become aged soon.
You could try the connection to USB (if the ipod allows that technically); and when it's too slow, you get yourself a FireWire pci card.
Apple said:
PC with built-in FireWire or USB 2.04, or Windows-certified FireWire or USB 2.0 card;
might not be good with USB 1.1 then
Do you have documentation for your PC, which says which USB version is supplied?
On the other hand, I've noticed ipods do not support the Ogg Vorbis sound format, so they might become aged soon.
iPods haven't supported the ogg vorbis format since they were released and apparently there is no plans to either. Ogg Vorbis is opensource remember. They have released support for aac.
The problem with it is it's apple. Apple don't support anything MS so .wma is out as well. The support on the PC (musicmatch) is dire and worthless and various other connection problems exist. They really just can't be bothered with Windows users! Check out www.ipodlounge.com for more info on the iPod and help when you get it.
As for USB1.1, yes it will work, but it will be very, very, very slow. A 100MB folder will transfer over firewire and USB 2.0 in about 25 seconds, over USB 1.1 it will take 1minute 30. Not that much, but if you intend to fill the 10 gigs...
The problem with it is it's apple. Apple don't support anything MS so .wma is out as well. The support on the PC (musicmatch) is dire and worthless and various other connection problems exist. They really just can't be bothered with Windows users! Check out www.ipodlounge.com for more info on the iPod and help when you get it.
As for USB1.1, yes it will work, but it will be very, very, very slow. A 100MB folder will transfer over firewire and USB 2.0 in about 25 seconds, over USB 1.1 it will take 1minute 30. Not that much, but if you intend to fill the 10 gigs...
My computer is relatively new (about 4 months old) so i may have USB 2.0. The port on the front of my computer with the arrow does not look anything like a USB port. It's more square and i can see some pins. It wouldn't make sense to have 4 USB's on the back of my computer and 1 on the front. Anyone have any other ideas what this could be?
I haven't heard about the new I Pod (20gb and 40gb). Anyone know when and how much they will be?
Appreciate the replies.
I haven't heard about the new I Pod (20gb and 40gb). Anyone know when and how much they will be?
Appreciate the replies.
If the port is square it is most definetly USB, and the age of your machine I'd take a good bet on it been USB 2.0 as well!
As for the number of ports, well, USB was designed as a Universal Serial Bus (hence USB
). The idea was to get rid of the standard Serial Ports (PSU connectors..) and replace with a generic port. This generic port could then also be used for printers, monitors, scanners, digital cameras, network transfers... Essentially someone somewhere thought it would be a good idea to have hundreds of USB ports on the back of your PC and no other ports. This obviously hasn't come into affect but the number of USB periphals a normal user has increases (I have a digicamera, a scanner, a steering wheel, a memory card with 4 ports on my machine...) Hence developers are putting more ports on the motherboard at the back (i.e. next to the other ports) and placing a header on the motherboard. This header attaches to an IO card which can be placed at the front of the case, the back...to give you extra ports. Phew, long description
The 20Gb & 40Gb iPods were released on Monday, they are the same price as the 15 & 30Gb respectively (£299, £399). Give it a couple of weeks and you'll be able to buy one!
The only thing to note is as it's an Apple, they don't support USB 2.0 straight away (it's a PC thing not a Mac thing) so the USB cable doesn't come with the iPod, you have to buy it seperatly.
As for the number of ports, well, USB was designed as a Universal Serial Bus (hence USB
). The idea was to get rid of the standard Serial Ports (PSU connectors..) and replace with a generic port. This generic port could then also be used for printers, monitors, scanners, digital cameras, network transfers... Essentially someone somewhere thought it would be a good idea to have hundreds of USB ports on the back of your PC and no other ports. This obviously hasn't come into affect but the number of USB periphals a normal user has increases (I have a digicamera, a scanner, a steering wheel, a memory card with 4 ports on my machine...) Hence developers are putting more ports on the motherboard at the back (i.e. next to the other ports) and placing a header on the motherboard. This header attaches to an IO card which can be placed at the front of the case, the back...to give you extra ports. Phew, long description The 20Gb & 40Gb iPods were released on Monday, they are the same price as the 15 & 30Gb respectively (£299, £399). Give it a couple of weeks and you'll be able to buy one!
The only thing to note is as it's an Apple, they don't support USB 2.0 straight away (it's a PC thing not a Mac thing) so the USB cable doesn't come with the iPod, you have to buy it seperatly.
*USB ports on the front ?*
There is a rise in the number of PCs with ports at the front as well as the back. I have seen many USB ports on both the front and the back.
Creative ship a seperate product with their Audigy sound cards (included in some) which is called a live drive. This slots into the front and basically gives you access to all the ports.
The Audigy cards do have firewire ports !
I've seen firewire cards going for
There is a rise in the number of PCs with ports at the front as well as the back. I have seen many USB ports on both the front and the back.
Creative ship a seperate product with their Audigy sound cards (included in some) which is called a live drive. This slots into the front and basically gives you access to all the ports.
The Audigy cards do have firewire ports !
I've seen firewire cards going for
Gassing Station | Computers, Gadgets & Stuff | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff