IEEE 1394, USB, or both? (Editorial).(Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)(Brief Article)

Test & Measurement World, November, 2001 by Titus, Jon

Jon Titus

Over the years, the computer industry has seen various buses come and go. In the late '80s, IBM announced its line of PS/2 computers that came with the proprietary Microchannel bus. Compaq and other PC manufacturers counterattacked with the Enhanced Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus. The latter, an open bus, prevailed. But even it succumbed to the more-popular ISA bus.

Some writers who cover the computer industry feel the time has come for another battle, this time between groups that prefer either the IEEE 1394 or the Universal Serial Bus (USB). Actually, plenty of room exists for both. (The 1394 bus is now 1394b, and the USB is now called USB 2.0.)

The 1394 bus, Apple's Firewire, was meant to serve high-speed...