The interface or connector par excellence to connect any device to the computer is the Universal Serial Bus, better known as USB. Many years ago there was an attempt to eliminate this connector, but it was not much adopted by the industry and users. Now, the FireWire refuses to die Linux thanks to his biggest supporter, Takashi Sakamoto.
The FireWire connector was an attempt to displace the USB port, offering higher speeds. Due to a USB update that surpassed it in speed and low adoption, the FireWire interface had a very short life on the market.
For a short time, it was slightly adopted by photographers because of its features. This did not last long, as USB was very popular among product developers and users alike. But there are those who refuse to let it die.
FireWire Refuses to Die in Linux
Takashi Sakamoto is in charge of maintaining the FireWire Standard In Linuxby maintaining the AVERAGE. His idea is to continue supporting Linux distributions until 2029. To do this, he is asking for user contributions, even if this connectivity is increasingly rare.
A necessary call, because checking bug-free support for FireWire under Linux 6.1 is very important. The reason for the call is a significant change in the code that supports this component. Many users, owning different FireWire cards and components equipped with this connector, need to perform checks.
Sakamoto says that the isochronous packet processing context has been redesigned. Given this, Sakamoto hopes that “many developers will test it before the official launch.” This indicates that this change helps improve the sound subsystem so that it works better. This improvement will allow users focused on professional audio and video production to appreciate significant improvements.
IEEE 1394 was introduced in the mid to late 1990s with the aim of providing unprecedented connectivity. Apple and Sony (under their VAIO brand) are the ones betting the most on this type of connectivity.
This new interface offered very fast data transfer and very low latency. It offered great ease of daisy chaining of devices and great compatibility of controllers with devices. Above all, it was widely adopted by photography, video and audio professionals because of its capabilities.
The arrival of USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt 3, which offered faster transfer speeds, was a major blow. FireWire 400 and FireWire 800 lasted as long as they could, until they disappeared from computers in 2012.
FireWire 800, a revision of the original standard, was not enough to maintain this type of connector. It was “cornered” by photography and video professionals, who continued to use this standard because of its capabilities.
Apple has not supported this interface for many years. Microsoft stopped adding FireWire support in Windows 10. Currently, only Linux supports and supports the FireWire standard. And that’s it, guys, this kind of computer hardware archaeology.
