Unibody MacBook - possible FireWire workaround?

[agentGreen]

I have the first unibody MacBook, the non-pro 13" one. It doesn't have FireWire. I have a Western Digital external hard drive that has both FireWire and USB ports. If I connect this drive to the MacBook via USB, would I then be able to connect a FireWire drive or camera to the hard drive and be connected that way?

[Turboladdade]

No, this won't work unfortunately. There are fundamental differences between FireWire and USB that render them inherently incompatible.

See this article for further detailed explanation.

[sxbaan]

No, this won't work unfortunately. There are fundamental differences between FireWire and USB that render them inherently incompatible.

It's frustrating that Apple seems to be wavering so much in recent years on FireWire. First they develop it and push it, then take it out of original MacBook Pros, then put it back in, then take it out of MacBooks, then put it back in! How is anyone to have a sense of stability and reliability with a standard that Apple keeps dropping/adopting?

Even more curious, FireWire itself is fundamentally superior to USB, so why wouldn't Apple want to permanently keep it on the features list of all new Macs?

[chasm]

I know it may SEEM as though Apple is "wavering" with Firewire, but that's not really the case. You (agentGreen) CHOSE to buy a low-end consumer model MacBook, which has USB2 ports because USB2 is MUCH more ubiquitous for consumer goods. This is a market reality, particularly for PC switchers (at whom the low-end Macs are clearly aimed). Apple's research showed that "consumer" level buyers weren't using the FW port at all, and that its presence in higher-end models attracted people who would really use it -- music and video hobbyists and professionals, etc.

What's really going on is that Firewire 400 is dead, but FW800 is experiencing quite a rebirth since USB3 is literally five years late coming to the table. By the time USB3 finally starts appearing as standard equipment, Apple may very well come out with the long-awaited FW1600S or FW3200S (two/four times the speed of FW800, but backward compatible to it), or may even be far enough along with the "Light Peak" technology to start implementing that (way faster than USB will ever be).