October 5, 1998
Whatever happened to 1394 and Device Bay?
By Bob O'Donnell
Despite its many innovations, the computer industry isn't exactly a leader in terms of
bringing new developments to market quickly. Oh sure, we eventually get access to all the
good stuff, but it's not uncommon for several years to pass between the ratification of a
new technology standard and its first appearance in real products. Hence this second
column in an occasional series that looks at where some long-ago-promised technologies
really are today. (See last week's column
for a look at OnNow and the Advanced Configuration Power Interface, or ACPI, power
management standard.)
Nowhere is this issue more apparent than with the IEEE
1394 standard, commonly known as Firewire. Despite the fact that the technology was
announced by Apple Computer in 1987 and ratified as an IEEE standard in 1995, I can
practically count on one hand the number of computer systems now available that actually
use this potentially great technology. Similarly, the Device
Bay standard -- which requires support for 1394 -- has also been slow to progress from
the intriguing idea to the "I can buy a system and use it now" phase.
By way of background, both IEEE 1394 and Device Bay, like Universal Serial Bus (USB) --
which is also part of the Device Bay specification -- are designed to make upgrading PCs
much easier than it currently is. IEEE 1394 is a connection technology that supports
transfer rates of at least 400Mbps in the 1394A standard, and later versions of the
specification are calling for rates of 800Mbps and faster. In addition, like USB, it
supports hot-plugging for connecting devices while your computer is still turned on and
includes support for ACPI. Device Bay defines a standard mechanism and physical connector
for installing and removing a wide variety of different devices that use either USB or
IEEE 1394 -- including hard drives, removable drives, and modems -- into desktop and
notebook PCs.
The delay in converting these technologies into real features of real products stems
from a combination of factors involving both hardware and software support. In addition, I
would argue that part of the blame is due to the seeming unwillingness of major PC
hardware and software companies to really push the technological envelope. (See a previous
column for more on this topic.)
As things stand right now, hardware support for IEEE 1394 and Device Bay is available
in a number of different forms: There are 1394 interface cards that can plug into a
system's PCI slots as well as some single-chip solutions that some vendors have integrated
onto their system motherboards. Device Bay controllers are also available. There is
limited support for IEEE 1394 in software (it is available only in Windows 98).
One big setback to IEEE 1394 hardware support was Intel's decision to not integrate a
1394 controller into chip sets due later this year (which it originally planned to do),
but instead to push that integration into mid- or late 1999. Intel's claim that the
decision was because of a lack of customer interest seems ludicrous to me given that
everyone is clamoring for easier-to-use and easier-to-upgrade PCs. Standard 1394 support
via the chip set could go a long way toward achieving that goal (as USB has finally
started to do). Of course, it does leave open an opportunity for other chip set vendors to
jump in with a competitive solution. (And frankly, it makes me wonder if Intel is now
somehow pitting USB versus IEEE 1394 -- a strategy it specifically said it wasn't going to
pursue and which doesn't make any real sense.)
The other piece that still needs to fall into place is software support. Windows 98
currently supports a few 1394 devices -- basically digital camcorders -- but 1394 drive
support and specific Device Bay drivers won't show up until Service Pack 1 of Windows 98
(likely to appear by the end of this year) and Windows NT 5.0 (whenever that finally
appears).
Even with base level hardware and software support, however, these two technologies
won't really become useful until devices that take advantage of them are released. Given
the relatively slow timetable that many peripheral vendors seem to follow, it's going to
be the second half of 1999 before we can realistically benefit from them. And that's a
real shame, because a PC with no connectors but USB, IEEE 1394, and Device Bay is a
computer I'd like to be able to buy and use today.
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Copyright 1998, by InfoWorld Publishing Corp., a
subsidiary of IDG Communications, Inc. Reprinted from InfoWorld,
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