Macinography 8: FireWire

The Icon Garden

Once upon a time, there was an interface known as SCSI. Nobody liked setting IDs, chaining devices, or using thick cables on fat connectors. “There’s gotta be a better way!” said the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and Apple took them up on their challenge. Apple, Sony, IBM, and other companies came together to design a hot interface: IEEE 1394, better known as FireWire. So if it was so great, why isn’t it still around? Listen in to find out.

Sources / Notes:

• Ars Technica’s The Tragedy of FireWire
• Michael Johas Teener’s Q&A
• Oral history of John Rubinstein
• 1394 Trade Association
• The 8-Bit Guy: RIP FireWire

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You can find Dan on twitter @kefkafloyd and Jake on twitter @jakepugh. We’re available on your podcast platform of choice, and if you like us, a five star rating or review would be greatly appreciated. You can visit our website at icongardenshow.com or post in the Ars thread by going to bit.ly/tigsthread. Some interstitial music used in this episode is courtesy of the Youtube Audio Library and it was composed by Jeremy Blake. Thanks for listening, and we’ll catch you next time.