Firewire to quadruple its speed
The average PC user probably isn’t very familiar with the type of external connection called “Firewire” or “1394 “. Although Firewire is extensively used on Apple products, USB is the common method for making external attachments on PCs. The one exception is video equipment, where Firewire (or on Sony products, i.Link) is common. Firewire was originally much faster than USB but USB 2 overcame much of the advantage. A recent announcement says that Firewire will soon be capable of speeds four times the current specification:
On Thursday, the 1394 Trade Association announced the S3200 electrical specification for FireWire. The specification builds upon the existing IEEE 1394b standard by boosting the maximum speed from 800 megabits per second to 3.2Gbps. Importantly, S3200 can use the cables and connectors already in use for FireWire 800 products, the association claimed.
There is also a USB 3.0 in the offing but that seems to be several years away. Also, I gather that it will need different cables. It is said to be ten times faster than USB 2.0.
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