Number 318 - November 2009

USB vs Firewire Data Transfer
Hilton Head Island CC, Hilton Head, SC http://hhicc.org
By now, most of us are aware of, if not using USB Flash Memory sticks (or thumb drives) they use the USB 2.0 protocol with a maximum data speed of 480 Mbps (megabits per second). Recently thumb drives with data capacities of 16 GB have become available at a price of less than $50.    Firewire has data transfer rates of 400 or 800 Mbps. However, it has not been widely adopted by the PC vendors and is seen primarily on Mac computers. An advantage of Fire wire is that it delivers over 95 percent of its rated speed, while the speed of USB devices depend on the hardware, and are often as little as 50 percent of maximum speed. Firewire also supports data transfer over longer distances, i..e. for transfer between two computers.	Late in 2008, USB 3.0 and Firewire 3200 have been announced. The transfer speed of USB 3.0 is 4.8 Gbps. For Firewire 3200, the rated speed is 3.2 Gbps. Additionally, it is worth noting that Firewire 3200 will be based on the hardware technology currently used by Firewire 800, so users currently equipped with that technology won't have to change a thing to utilize Firewire 3200. USB 3.0 adopters will need to switch hardware.    It may be only the geeks among us who will get excited about these new developments, but it is testament to the march of progress in the computer and electronics world.
Number 318 - November 2009