Which is better? OSX or Ubuntu?

[Bob Nielsen]

On Jan 22, 2006, at 7:33 PM, Terry Parker wrote:

>
>
>> 2. Your machine has USB 1.1, NOT 2.0. This means that your 120 GB HD
>> will transfer files at a glacial pace (about 1 MB/sec MAX)  
>> compared to
>> USB 2.0 or Firewire. If you can use Firewire (IEEE 1391) do so --  
>> it's
>> faster than USB 2.0 in real world situations (technically USB 2.0 is
>> 480 Mbps and Firewire is 400 Mbps but Firewire is a more robust
>> protocol, better able to sustain data transfers).
>>
>>
> I like USB 2.0 better, I suppose just personal preference. It gives me
> better results.
>
> ----
>
> While the former statement is true, 1394 (1391 sic), will almost  
> always
> provide better throughput and has more flexible powering options  
> (though USB
> 2.0 is catching up), what I really wonder about is Apple's  
> commitment to
> 1394/firewire.  My brand spanking new $400 60GB Ipod comes with USB  
> 2.0
> connectors only and actually if you try to use a firewire/usb  
> bridge to
> charge it, they are saying you can damage the battery and lower its  
> life
> expectancy.  I'd say this is a sign that the point is moot and that  
> USB 2.x
> won out.

While a Mac can boot from a firewire drive, it cannot do so from a  
USB drive (I found this out the hard way, of course).  I suspect that  
Apple will support both for quite a while (400 firewire, at least).