FireWire has two types of connectors, 6-pin and 4-pin, both
shown in Figure 19-3.
FIGURE 19-1 A-type USB connector
FIGURE 19-2 B-type USB connector
414 How to Do Everything: Mac
???Which Is Best for My Needs????
I think it??™s fairly obvious that FireWire beats USB in the speed wars. Don??™t be fooled by some
of the data rates; even FireWire 400 is faster than USB 2.0 in practical use, despite the fact that
USB 2.0??™s reported date rate is 80 Mbps faster than that of FireWire 400. The reason is because
of the topologies used. When it comes to transferring large amounts of data, FireWire is the
hands-down winner.
???So why the heck is USB so prevalent???? Great question! Want a blunt answer? USB is
cheaper to implement than FireWire, thereby lowering the cost of your Mac and your devices.
Some may say that??™s too simplistic an answer, but it??™s the bottom line. There??™s much more history
involved in the USB versus FireWire debate, but that??™s way beyond the scope of this book. If
you??™re bored to tears one day, maybe you could research it on the Web.
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