Month: July 2010

Alternative Uses For Firewire

Since its inception in 1995, FireWire technology has seen a major increase in its various uses and functionality. Branching far beyond what its original developers could have seen when working on a mere replacement for parallel SCSI technology, FireWire now extends its long arm across numerous channels and innovations. Here is a look at 5 of its most mind blowing uses put into place in recent years.

  1. Spacecraft FireWire technology is actively at work well beyond the Earth’s blue sky. NASA’s Space Shuttle uses IEEE 1394 to keep its astronauts and vessel safe, monitoring the accumulation of debris and ice which could prove hazardous to the craft during its launch and reentry into our atmosphere
  2. Aircraft When military planes and choppers go into battle they are up to date with all the latest equipment and technology, including FireWire. Altered for use as the data bus on both the F-22 Raptor and the F-35 Lighting II, IEEE 1394 allows for high speed multi-function connectivity for forces at home and abroad.
  3. Wind Power Turbines IEEE 1394 is implemented in the monitoring and regulating of vibrations during the power transmission process in wind driven electrical turbines. The interface’s data gathering applications make this possible.
  4. Automobiles The IDB 1394 Customer Convenience port, an altered version of the original FireWire technology, allows for state of art audio and video connection in new model cars and trucks. FireWire compatible devices such as laptops, DVD players, video game consoles and BluRay players can easily sync up to motor vehicles, while allowing for increased bandwidth and even maintaining stringent HDTV quality standards.
  5. Frame Grabbers Frame grabbers are devices that capture and digitize analog video signals in the form of still frame. Using (but not exclusively) FireWire the frames can then be displayed, stored as is, transmitted or compressed as the user sees fit. Frame grabbers are commonly used in manufacturing, network security and for personal use.
  6. The website of www.KerrisdaleRoofingAndDrains.com uses FireWire to easily manage the list of clients that they have. They have been using this technology for a while now and so far, it benefited their company a lot.

Firewire VS. USB Debate

Both FireWire and USB technology is admittedly similar, helping users to transfer data from device to device with as little difficulty as possible. While they are similar, that is not to say the two are interchangeable, each operating under separate setups leading to a degree of differences that may cater better to individual needs.

What is Firewire?

If you are familiar with names “IEEE 1394,” “Sony i.Link” or “Lynx,” you probably already are familiar with “FireWire” whether you know it or not. The terms are more or less interchangeable, with the former serving as the official title of the technology. What FireWire boils down to is a basic connection between separate apparatuses enabling them to quickly and effectively communicate and share information. Originally created by Apple in 1995, from a technical standpoint the IEEE1394 technology is a serial bus interface standard, sending data one bit at a time in sequential order as opposed to parallel communication, in which multiple data bits are sent simultaneously or in a link between several parallel channels.