March 2 - 2:50pm EST   A new leaked image appears to show the retail packaging for the next-generation Mac mini. The photo, posted on OneMoreThing.nl, features a Mac mini with five USB connectors, a Mini DisplayPort and a FireWire 800 port. The design elements match a previous image leak and video, while a NVIDIA logo adds evidence to reports claiming the upcoming device will use the GeForce 9400M graphics and controller chipset. [full story]

February 24 - 8:55pm EST   Other World Computing has launched the Mercury Pro BDR-203, a quad-interface external Blu-ray burner that supports 8X write speeds of up to 2GB per minute. Interface options include FireWire 800, FireWire 400, USB 2.0 and eSATA, with plug-and-play support for both Windows and Mac platforms. Along with Blu-ray discs, the burner can also write to DVD-RAM, DVD Dual-Layer R/RW, DVD-R/RW and CD-R/RW. [full story]

December 15 - 6:25pm EST   MOTU has unveiled the latest version of its mobile FireWire audio interface, the Traveler-mk3. The device now offers V-Limit signal overload protection, hi-Z guitar inputs, a 32-bit floating-point DSP and two banks of optical inputs and outputs. The traveler can be bus-powered directly from a notebook or desktop computer, or attached to an external battery pack if needed. The system allows all 28 inputs and 30 outputs to be used simultaneously. [full story]

November 20 - 9:35pm EST   EZQuest has introduced the Thunder Pro Triple series of A/V RAID storage devices. Each unit offers two FireWire 800 ports, a FireWire 400 port and a USB port. The three-drive arrangement ships pre-configured as RAID 0 for the highest capacity and speed. The Oxford-chipset Hitachi SATA II drives run at 7200RPM with up to 64MB buffer cache. EZQuest claims data transfer speeds up to 80MB per second, with support for DV, HDV and DVCPRO HD with real-time effects. [full story]

October 29 - 10:25pm EDT   The "unibody" aluminum housing on the new MacBooks might have been a contributing factor to the designers' decision to not include a FireWire port, according to Rainier Brockerhoff's analysis. The new internal layout of components aligns each peace to eliminate any overlap, except for the keyboard. This contributes to the strength of the design and the compact form-factor. The motherboard remains on one side, while the SuperDrive sits on the other. [full story]

October 22 - 1:20pm EDT   Other World Computing (OWC) on Wednesday introduced its Mercury Pro Blu-ray external drives, the first on the market, the company says, that include a quad interface. This includes FireWire 800, FireWire 400, USB 2.0 and eSATA connectivity options for both Macs and PCs, allowing the external drives to write Blu-ray media at speeds up to 4X or 150MBps, or twice as fast as OWC's previous generation BD burners. [full story]

October 17 - 3:30pm EDT   Synchrtotech has introduced two new connectivity products, including a FireWire 800 to 400 adapter and a CFMulti CompactFlash Eye-Fi card. The FireWire adapter plugs into a nine-pin FW800 port and allows a six-pin FW400 device to be connected. The device will allow users of the new MacBook Pro to connect any FireWire 400 devices to their new Mac which now only offers a single FireWire 800 port. The adapter is shielded and is claimed to offer transfer rates up to 400Mbps. [full story]

October 17 - 2:35pm EDT   Apple CEO Steve Jobs has purportedly responded in a typically brief way to a customer complaint about Apple abandoning FireWire on its new MacBook line. The email communications between Jobs and a customer who wrote to complain, reported by AppleInsider, show Jobs' thought process, looking forward with few FireWire ported High-Definition camcorders coming to market. The approach ignores a heavily established base of FireWire-based camcorders and other devices that depend on the high-speed, low latency aspects of the connector. [full story]

October 9 - 8:50pm EDT   French company MacWay has unveiled the SilverDrive Quattro 1.5TB quad interface external hard drive. The new drive offers the highest storage capacity of the SilverDrive Quattro series, and supports USB 2.0, FireWire 400/800, and eSATA connections. The 7200RPM single disk drive is housed in an aluminum housing that allows for passive cooling, eliminating the need for a fan, which the company claims significantly reduces operating noise. [full story]

August 20 - 5:30pm EDT   Vantec has introduced two FireWire 800 devices, the NexStar 3 Quad Interface hard drive enclosure and the FireWire 800/400 Host Card PCI FireWire adapter. The NexStar 3 enclosure is a 3.5" enclosure and features a SATA hard drive interface with eSata, FireWire 800/400 and USB 2.0 ports. It also has a power/hard drive access light and is constructed of aluminum for heat dissipation. The case supports up to 1TB hard drives. [full story]

August 6 - 5:20pm EDT   Newer Technology has announced its new miniStack v2.5, an upgrade to its Mac Mini form factor hard drive/powered hub. The miniStack offers three FireWire 400 ports (one in and two out) and four USB 2.0 ports (one in and three out) and now features a SATA interface with the latest Oxford 934 bridge chipset. It is available now at Other World Computing with up to 1TB of hard drive space. Prices range from an enclosure kit with no hard drive for $80 to a 1TB miniStack at $280. [full story]

July 31 - 9:35am EDT   The IEEE standards organization today approved the next generation of FireWire. Officially known as IEEE 1394-2008 but also referred to as S3200 or FireWire 3200, the connection specification operates at up to four times the speed of FireWire 800 (S800) with up to 3.2 gigabits per second of data while preserving the energy properties that allow it to power some devices without needing a direct power supply. The extra speed is believed to be useful for multi-disk hard drive arrays and other devices where earlier FireWire would be inadequate. [full story]

July 10 - 1:20pm EDT   Other World Computing today introduced a new 1TB drive in its line of external FireWire Neptune drives. The range includes seven drives ranging from capacity from 80GB to 1TB, with a 7200RPM speed hard disk common to all. The new range is fully compatible with Apple Time Machine back-up software. OWC claims the Neptune series is affordably priced, sharing its Oxford chipset and heavy-duty power supplies with OWC's Mercury Elite series of external drives. [full story]

June 26 - 1:00pm EDT   Newertech has announced its Guardian MAXimus RAID-1 Mirror triple interface model. The FireWire 800/400+USB 2.0 drive has two 300GB 10,000RPM drives in a RAID-1 (mirror) for redundant, high-speed storage. The company claims data rates up to 100MB per second and utilizes Western Digital VelociRaptor SATA drives. The MAXimus is ready for Time Machine and geared toward Audio/Video and photo editing, as well as 3D rendering projects. The drive is available immediately for $900 and is compatible with Mac OS X 10.1 and later (as well as legacy Macs on OS 8.6-9.2), requiring Mac OS X 10.2 and later for FireWire 800 and USB 2.0. [full story]

June 17 - 9:05am EDT   Trans International on Tuesday announced an expansion to its miniXpress line of external hard drives with the introduction of three new 500GB external FireWire devices. The miniXpress 825, 825s and 425s are fully hot swappable, bus-powered drives -- made of durable Aluminium to provide rugged yet stylish protection (as well as optimal heat dissipation). All three models sport customizable 2.5-inch, 5,400 rpm SATA drives and an array of I/O options including eSATA, USB 2.0, FireWire 800 and FireWire 400 ports. The 825s and 425s models also include an innovative 2-in-1 connector that combines the eSATA/USB ports to a single connector. [full story]