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@dcel
My inner scientific-units nazi couldn't be held back, I'm sorry:
Maximum channel capacity of USB 2 is 480mbps, megabits per second, which is around 60MBps, megabytes per second.
Same applies to Firewire 400 and 800 (50 megabytes and 100 megabytes per second).
The main difference is, however, that USB 2.0 use packeted transfer, relying on the CPU for translation. Firewire uses a dedicated controller.
In the real world, Firewire 400 is generally considerably faster, lower latency and more robust than USB 2.
I was looking forward to getting a new Macbook to replace my iBook, but no firewire means I can't use my mbox or avastor drives, which is half the reason I use a laptop. Loads of people are in the same situation.
Stupid, really, considering firewire controllers cost pennies these days.