Firewire on keyboard?

wdw_

Rockee
Does anybody else think Apple should put a firewire on their keyboards or on the front of the computer? If Apple is going to be making more devices that will be connecting via firewire then they should make the ports more accessible like they did with USB.

I have an iPod and it's a hassle to blindly try and find the port on the side of my iMac. :D
I'll bet's even harder for owners of a G4 tower.

I guess a firewire port on the keyboard wouldn't work unless the keyboard was connected to the computer with firewire, or possibly USB 2. But that wouldn't work if Apple decided to embrace firewire 2.
 
wow...that's something that I actually haven't thought about before...being that I have a powerbook i'm used to just turning it around and plugging things in, it probably is pretty cumbersome to get behind a tower with a bunch of cables coming out of it already, especially if it is under a desk.

More accessable firewire ports will probably be something Apple should look into implementing...although, for some reason I can't help but shudder as I think about PC towers and their ports on the front, I'm sure a more elegant solution can be found
 
I went to the computer-store and bought a few FW cables, now they are at the computers.

That way, i don't have to bring a cable either...
 
Originally posted by wdw_

I'll bet's even harder for owners of a G4 tower.
ya think that's hard? Try it on a Cube! All of our ports are underneath the computer, and accessible through a small opening in the back bottom of the clear outer case. I leave 2 FW cables dangling:
1) for my CDRW which is too noisy to leave on all the time, but if I turn it off & leave it plugged in, the computer will freeze in sleep mode the next time it sleeps, and
2) for my Maxtor HD which acts up regularly, so I unplug it and don't feel like dealing with it.
 
My iMac is pre-Firewire but the USB ports are fairly difficult to find. A Hub solved all my problems tho and it is quite nice. I assume there are firewire hubs?

PS. the head phone thing that twister mentioned is quite nice on my iMac :). just bragging :p
 
I agree wholeheartedly with the headphone thing. WHY on earth did Apple think it was a good idea to place the headphone jack all the way back there? On my dad's G4 tower, we have to unplug the Altec Lansing speakers FROM the BACK, plug in headphones, and then find the Altec's plug again, find the headphone port again, unplug the headphones, plug in the Altec Lansings again... all completely blindly, as you can't pull the machine out of its cabinet without ripping every cord out of the back... and we have to go through this EVERY day. The only solution I found is to buy a USB audio system and plug it into our hub, but that gets really annoying.
 
While I agree the headphone port needs to be relocated, I think you should do what I did.

I went down to Radio Shack, and bought a "mini - mini" splitter for $1.50.

I leave the splitter plug plugged into the back of my computer w/ one extension that is up on my desk, and the other extension plugged into the speakers. When you're going to use your headphones, simply turn off the speakers.

Cost for splitter - $1.50
Cost for extension - $2.00
Cost of twyg not loosing his temper from all sorts of stupid calisthenics to get headphones into the back of my machine - priceless
 
On my G4 tower, I just have the firewire cable that came bundeled with the iPod streched around the backside of my desk so I just can take the cable and thats lying on my desk and plug it into the iPod.

for those that did not understand:
 

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Originally posted by twister
They also need a headphone jack on the front of towers.
The Cube's speakers came before the Pro Speakers, and are USB powered w/ an external digital amp. That amp (smaller than iPod) sits under the front of my monitor, so using headphone jack on it is easy!
Also:
I may have converted my PC-using Spanish teacher to Mac (he might get a new Dual G4), and my mother's PC building/using/fixing boyfriend was extremely impressed with the compact guts of the Cube.
 
Grrr... why didn't Apple keep USB powered speakers? What was wrong with them? Why the switch to "Apple Pro Speaker jack"? I ask you...
 
Personally I like the digital amp thing on the cube's speakers when I'm sitting at my desk, but I absolute HATE it when transporting all of my cube's components to a new location. The two speakers and the digital amp are all connected together and it's a pain to transport them.

So I have to say that I'm glad Apple ditched that digital amplifier thing. Apple should still modify the new iMac and the towers so that they have a headphone thing in front, though.

One thing I should point out with the new iMac, though, if you want the ports closer to the front: just turn it 45° one way, and then turn the screen back so it's facing you. You will still probably have a comfortable amount of room to move your screen, and if you turn the iMac the right way, the headphone jack will be much more accessible. Of course, this doesn't help for you people using a tower.
 
Yeah, I don't have much of a problem with headphones on my iMac, since I can basically see the headphone jack... it's just the towers that get annoying.

I'm only annoyed about the whole Pro Speaker jack thing because it just makes it too confusing... you end up with REALLY good speakers that end up only working with one machine. Say someone else in the family really wanted to use them---they couldn't unless they had a very very new machine...

I had to buy an iSub to get the bass levels up to par, of course, but for the same amount of money I could have bought a really good set of speakers and given my dad the Pro Speakers... if not for the fact that they don't WORK with anything but the new G4s and the LCD iMac...

Don't get my wrong, the Pro Speakers sound great WITH an iSub. Without it, they're only "good for their small size"; but I'd like the option of being able to switch around audio components. What if I wanted to bring along a small, compact pair of speakers with my iBook? The Pro Speakers wouldn't work. That's the only reason I'm against the new jack.
 
The cube speakers actually only worked with a cube anyway, I believe. Maybe it just required a USB-powered hub or something, but I remember hearing that they should only be used on a cube or with an Apple flat-panel display.
 
I refer to julguribye's nice illustration and once again make clear that everyone understand the point;
1. Plug the Firewire, USB and jack male-female cables in the back of the PowerMac
2. Pick up the other end of the cable and put it on your desk
3. Once you need to connect a Firewire or USB device, or headphones/speakers to your Mac, pick up the cable and plug it into the device.

:D
 
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