Intel compatibility announcment from MOTU WOW!

Timeline · Post by **Timeline** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 4:47 pm

An MOTU announcement. Wow!

www.motu.com

Intel Mac Drivers for MOTU FireWire and USB are on the way
If you are buying a new Intel iMac or MacBook Pro, and you own - or are planning to purchase - a MOTU FireWire audio interface, USB2 audio interface or MIDI interface, rest easy. We plan to release Intel Mac compatible drivers for all of our FireWire and USB audio and MIDI interfaces by January 31st. These driver updates will be posted at www.motu.com/download.

Published: 10 Jan 2006
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vbassguy · Post by **vbassguy** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 2:13 pm

soooooo..??.. what about the pci 424 folks..???...

dix · Post by **dix** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 2:23 pm

I know they've only been available for about 48 hours, but has anyone installed DP on an Intel iMac yet? ....what happens?

Tim · Post by **Tim** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 3:06 pm

vbassguy wrote:soooooo..??.. what about the pci 424 folks..???...

You mean the 524?

bralston · Post by **bralston** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 5:08 pm

vbassguy wrote:soooooo..??.. what about the pci 424 folks..???...

Considering that no Intel MAcs will have PCI slots (only PCI Express)...and since these first intel MACs don't even have PCI Express expansion slots at all (firewire and USB only)...MOTU really only needs to get the firewire and USB drivers out at this time.

It is still reassuring that they are doing this quickly. I am sure once MAC become available with PCI express AND intell processors, they will have a hardware/driver solution for that as well.

Timeline · Post by **Timeline** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 5:29 pm

A guy on the Nuendo board mentioned the accessories plug on the MacBook apparently can be outfitted with dual 800 FW card.

But, ...the USB 2's are just as fast.

Would like to hear from someone in the know to confirm that though.

Anyone?

G

micsinger · Post by **micsinger** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 5:41 pm

vbassguy wrote:soooooo..??.. what about the pci 424 folks..???...

try to plug your pci into the new macbook pro and you will see what happens... Afterwards you might want to try the same with the new Imac...

BobK · Post by **BobK** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 8:08 pm

It's no doubt a good thing that the MOTU drivers will be available, but I haven't heard anything about whether DP will run on Rosetta, the Power PC emulation layer built into the OS, or when it will be optimized for the Intel Macs.

My impression is that power apps like DP probably wouldn't run that well on Rosetta anyway, and that for serious work, Intel Macs will need a fully ported-over version.

An article in MacWorld a few months ago said that the transition to Intel Macs would be more difficult for apps optimized for Altivec. In their ads, MOTU used to boast about DP being optimized for Altivec, so I'm wondering if that means a long wait. MOTU is characteristically tight-lipped about this, so we'll just have to wait and see.

I'm curious about this because I'll be getting a MacBook Pro sometime this year. I got a Powerbook G4 for Christmas and returned it just in the nick of time after the announcement. I do my critical work on a desktop, so I can afford to wait.

ytomk · Post by **ytomk** » Fri Jan 13, 2006 3:12 am

Timeline wrote:A guy on the Nuendo board mentioned the accessories plug on the MacBook apparently can be outfitted with dual 800 FW card.

But, ...the USB 2's are just as fast.

Would like to hear from someone in the know to confirm that though.

Anyone?

G

Since when was USB 2 as fast as FW 800?
I might be mistaken, but USB 2 tops out at 480mbps whereas firewire 800 is 800mbps.
Or is there something peculiar to the MacBook?

Aramis · Post by **Aramis** » Fri Jan 13, 2006 3:57 am

ytomk wrote:
Timeline wrote:A guy on the Nuendo board mentioned the accessories plug on the MacBook apparently can be outfitted with dual 800 FW card.

But, ...the USB 2's are just as fast.

Would like to hear from someone in the know to confirm that though.

Anyone?

G
Since when was USB 2 as fast as FW 800?
I might be mistaken, but USB 2 tops out at 480mbps whereas firewire 800 is 800mbps.
Or is there something peculiar to the MacBook?

And I have red recently that usb2 is'nt that great for audio anyway

Timeline · Post by **Timeline** » Fri Jan 13, 2006 6:53 am

480... hmmm. Right thats 48 mega bites per second. Close to FW 400.

Fortunately the card slot will be available and hopfully the third party manufacturers will get busy with it.

Thanks 5.1

chucks · Post by **chucks** » Fri Jan 13, 2006 7:45 am

The expansion slot on the MacBook Pro is an Express Card/34. I checked around and can't find a single card of that type available. I imagine the first bunch on the street will be pretty pricey little items. Remember the first PCMCIA cards? A couple haundred for what now goes for 29.95. The early adopters always get stuck for the big bucks.

mastermix · Post by **mastermix** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 5:07 am

Timeline wrote:A guy on the Nuendo board mentioned the accessories plug on the MacBook apparently can be outfitted with dual 800 FW card.

But, ...the USB 2's are just as fast.

Would like to hear from someone in the know to confirm that though.

Anyone?

G

Possible because the Express Card spec supports swift and clean
isochronous communications (good for multimedia apps like audio).

The standard can support up to 2.5Gbps data transfer rates. Not
bad.

As an example, Abocom has an Express Card adapter that you can use
with the new Macbook Pro to connect your legacy Firewire 800/400
devices.

Look Here:

http://www.abocom.com.tw/product_detail.php?id=326

Gary...forget it -- USB 2.0 is not that fast..sorry to disappoint you

Kris..

Kazrog · Post by **Kazrog** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 2:01 pm

Compiling DP as a Universal Binary will be more difficult if it was built with CodeWarrior. AltiVec optimization may also be another issue. I hope that we'll see a Universal Binary of DP soon. I will ask at NAMM what their plan is.

markg · Post by **markg** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 2:28 pm

mastermix wrote: As an example, Abocom has an Express Card adapter that you can use
with the new Macbook Pro to connect your legacy Firewire 800/400
devices.

Look Here:

http://www.abocom.com.tw/product_detail.php?id=326
Kris..

Kris, I don't think that Abocom adapter will fit in the MacBook Pro. The product on page you linked is an ExpressCard/54 but the MacBook Pro only has an ExpressCard/34 slot:
MacBook Pro Technical Specifications

Check out the ExpressCard Questions and Answers page for more information.

Maybe some other product will work though.

Mark