Apple Not Tolerating Dissent Over FireWire-Less MacBook

via Gizmodo US


If you're seriously considering a MacBook over a MacBook Pro, one of the major sniggles is the fact that it no longer has FireWire, an omission seemingly designed to stratify the more-alike-than-ever models. So, it's natural users would take to the Apple forums to talk it out (or, let's be real, bitch). But Apple isn't having any of that apparently: MacFixIt is reporting that Apple is yanking threads from its forums that talk about the lack of FireWire on the new MacBooks.

Says one of their readers:

Apparently, Apple doesn't want anybody talking about the lack of FireWire ports on the new MacBooks, because they keep deleting every thread that people are posting about the lack of FireWire ports on the New MacBooks! I was participating in 3 different threads on the Apple Discussion Boards regarding the lack of FireWire from the new MacBooks, and Apple has removed every single thread regarding this topic. There are no threads left on the Apple Discussion Boards regarding this issue!"

It's possible that these threads were totally unproductive circle jerks, but there are legitimate technical issues to discuss here—workarounds for Target Disk Mode, what to do with FireWire cameras, etc., so if they're deleting every thread, it's definitely overboard. The official Apple word from an employee in at least one thread though, regarding how no FireWire gimps out some camcorders with iMovie '08, is that "USB is the preferred interface for iMovie '08." You know, even though a ton of cameras use it.

Apple might not let users talk about the loss of FireWire, but their message seems to be loud and clear: Deal with it.