What Is a FireWire Adapter?
FireWire adapters are essentially Apple's version of the USB (universal serial bus) adapter. FireWire adapters connect electronic devices to your computer by way of FireWire ports on your Apple computer and FireWire-compliant devices, such as iPods, some digital cameras and some printers.
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Similarity To USB
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USB and FireWire are both data-transfer technologies for use between computers and other electronic devices. There are two generations of USB: 1.1 and 2.0. There are also two generations of FireWire: 400 and 800. USB 2.0 has approximately the same transfer speed as FireWire 400. FireWire 800 is used for devices that require very fast transfer speeds.
Versions and Speeds
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FireWire 400 ports are identifiable by their six-pin configuration. They have data transfer speeds of 100, 200 or 400 mbps. FireWire 800 ports have nine pins and manage transfer speeds of 800 mbps.
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More Specifications
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The power required to run a FireWire port is 0.3 watts.
You may power certain devices, such as disk drives and audio break-out boxes that operate within the limits of the computer's FireWire port, by plugging them into the ports, according to Apple. The port will supply a minimum of 7 watts and voltage that ranges from 12 to 30 volts, depending on the product.
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References
- Photo Credit usb cable image by David Ng from Fotolia.com
