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Origins of Firewire
The cross-platform implementation of the high-speed data bus that can move
large amounts of data between computers and peripheral devices, FireWire was
originally developed by Apple Computer Inc. in 1986. The goal with the
development was to find a cheap bus which could transfer digital sound. The
existing solution at Apple could at this time not handle this. But to make the
market more interested Apple realized the bus had to be able to handle more
than just transferring digital sound fast. So the goal with the development
became a bus that was very fast, easy to use and cheap to implement at the
same time as it should be able to replace most other port in a PC (Personal
Computer).
The first specification for this link was completed in 1987 and in 1990 a
prototype of the FireWire-bus was ready. In this prototype the signals was sent
over optic fiber a solution that was replaced by a copper cable to make the bus
cheaper. At this point a group consisting of representatives from Apple, Texas
Instruments, Stewart Connector, Molex, Adaptec and Western Digital within
IEEE was founded to start the standardization of FireWire. In 1992 IBM
affiliated to the group and the work of the group increased. The real interest for
Maharishi Arvind Institute of Engineering and Technology, Jaipur
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FireWire arrived when Apple demonstrated it at a show in Las Vegas in 1993. A
year later in 1994 the “1394 Trade Association” was founded, an organization
to facilitate the development of FireWire products
In 1995 the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers adopted FireWire as
an industry standard. The FireWire technology was at that point named “IEEE
1394- 1995 Standard for a High Performance Serial Bus”. PC developers as
NEC, Compaq and Sony was slower but did as well implement the IEEE 1394
technology in their computers. But the name FireWire is Apples name for the
technology and there are other names for the technology as well, for example
Sony’s i.Link
A new version of IEEE 1394, IEEE 1394a was developed in 2000. It includes
specifications for 100, 200 and 400 Mbps transfer speed, cable power, hot
plugging, plug-and-play and isochronous data mediation. IEEE 1394a supports
a cable length up to 60 meters. The third version of IEEE 1394, IEEE 1394b
came to the market in early 2003 and supports a cable length up to 100 meters
and a speed of 800, 1 600 and 3 200 Mbps. Now days Apple Computer Inc. has
agreed for others to use the name FireWire, so this name is now widely spread
as the name of the technology
The IEEE 1394 protocol (or Firewire, which is Apple’s trademarked term)
is one of the emerging bus protocols that will be important components of
the connected future. Here’s how it works.
People are sharing video, still images, and audio, and are constantly
searching for faster, easier ways of transferring such information. This
phenomenon is driving the convergence of computers, consumer
equipment, and communications. Communication is the force that draws
these separate market segments together.
The IEEE 1394-1995 protocol had its genesis at Apple Computer, which
still retains the Firewire trademark. The goal of the protocol is to provide
easy-to-use, low-cost, high-speed communications. The protocol is also
very scaleable, provides for both asynchronous and isochronous
applications, allows for access to vast amounts of memory mapped
address space, and—perhaps most important for the aforementioned
convergence—allows peer-to-peer communication.