Mac USB and FireWire"

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We launched this section when USB was something brand new and not much was available for it. Since then USB and FireWire have become commonplace; we have stopped updating our keyboard, mouse, and other product guides.

USB and FireWire Reviews

• Kensington Ci70 Wireless Keyboard and Mouse excellent for field and desktop use, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2008.06.09. Slim, light, and small of footprint, Kensington's wireless Ci70 mouse and keyboard are great for desktop Macs and easy to take along for use in the field.
• 13 ports in a USB 2.0 hub means never having to unplug a device, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Reviews, 2008.03.18. If your computer doesn't have enough ports and your 4-port hub is full as well, this 13-port powered hub could be the solution to your problems.
• The best alternatives to Apple's USB keyboards, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2007.12.10. There are a lot of USB keyboards out there, even for the Mac, but these two have great keyboard action, are solidly built, and have features Apple's keyboard don't include.
• External $100 Sony DVD burner likes Macs, Brian Gray, Fruitful Editing, 2007.10.10. The box and manual say nothing about Mac compatibility, but this 18x USB 2.0 DVD burner is plug-and-play (at least with Tiger).
• Chillin' out with the Cool-It USB Beverage Chiller, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 2007.08.15. This simple device does one thing - and does it very well. It plugs into a spare USB port and keeps your drink cold.
• Logitech TrackMan Wheel intuitive, easy to use, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2007.04.16. Trackballs are well suited for some tasks, less well suited for others. Logitech's thumb-controlled TrackMan Wheel is quickly mastered, and its software provides lots of options.
• Allegro USB 2.0 a great way to add several USB 2.0 ports to your Power Mac, Dan Knight, 2007.03.28. You can never have too many USB ports. Whether your Power Mac has no USB 2.0 ports or too few, this $30 card is a great way to add the ports you need.
• 3 MacMice mice compared: 2 winners, 1 loser, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2007.02.19. MacMice products are well-designed and hold up well over time, but their Bluetooth mouse is poorly balanced and suffers from latency problems.
• Goldtouch fully adjustable ergonomic keyboard for Mac, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2006.12.19. If you suffer from typing injury or want to avoid it, the fully adjustable Key Ovation Goldtouch Apple Compatible Adjustable Keyboard may be just what you're looking for.
• $20 i-Rocks IR-9200 USB 2.0 2.5" drive enclosure a good value, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2006.12.04. This inexpensive USB 2.0 drive enclosure is a great way to repurpose a 2.5" hard drive that's been removed from a notebook computer.
• Brother HL-5250DL: A great low cost, high quality networkable laser printer, Dan Knight, 2006.11.16. For under US$250, this 1200 dpi laser printer has ethernet, does duplex printing, outputs 30 pages-per-minute, and works quietly.
• Kensington Keyboard-in-a-Box USB a good low cost value, Hardy Menagh, Empowered, 2006.04.10. If you don't need a heavy duty keyboard, Kensington's Keyboard-in-a-Box is a good value at just US$25.
• Matias OS X and USB 2.0 Keyboards reviewed, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2006.01.03. Two very good, nicely priced keyboards for the Mac - one even has a USB 2.0 port for the iPod shuffle and other devices.
• Kinesis Contour Keyboard looks odd but is surprisingly relaxing and comfortable, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2005.04.18. Unconventional design makes for a very comfortable keyboard that's easy to adapt to and very convenient.
• MacMice MicFlex USB, a great microphone for music or dictation, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2005.03.28. This stylish, high quality USB microphone can be used with iChat AV, GarageBand, iListen, and more.
• Is 'The Mouse' from DVForge the multi-button mouse Apple should have built?, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2005.01.31. "Appearance-wise, it pays more than a little homage to Apple's USB optical mouse, but in my estimation it's a nicer mouse to use."
• Has the best keyboard Apple ever made been resurrected?, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2005.01.03. Matias claims to have remade Apple's Extended Keyboard II for the USB era, but is it as good as the original?
• PhoneValet turns your Mac into a powerful voice mail system, Dan Knight, 2004.12.14. If you need more than a simple answering machine offers, PhoneValet may be the product you've been looking for.
• Re-Porter, Marathon's FireWire, USB, and audio port extender, Jeff Adkins, Mac Lab Report, 2004.11.08. Can't reach those FireWire, USB, and audio ports on the back of your Mac? Re-Porter might be just the thing you need.
• Two cool optical mice from Contour, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2004.05.24. One is designed to fit your hand nearly perfectly, while the other is intended as a perfect complement to your 'Book.
• Using the QuickCam Orbit on a Mac, Jeff Adkins, Mac Lab Report, 2004.03.12. Logitech's latest QuickCam adds face tracking, but how well does it work on a Mac?
• Review: Macally iceKey slim USB keyboard, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2003.07.07. This inexpensive, white keyboard has short key travel and light keyboard action.
• Quill gripless ergonomic mouse, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2003.03.31. Uniquely designed mouse reorients hand, greatly reduces stress on wrist and fingers.
• Griffin iMate Lets You Use ADB pevices with USB ports, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2003.03.24. Griffin's compact, low-cost iMate lets you use most ADB mice, keyboards, and other peripherals with modern USB-equipped Macs.
• Wacom Graphire2 graphics tablet, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2003.02.10. A pressure sensitive graphics tablet plus wireless mouse and software for $99.
• Keyspan 4-Port USB 2.0 Hub, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2003.01.13. How and why you might want to add USB 2.0 support to your G3 or G4 PowerBook or Power Mac.
• Iomega Value-Line USB Zip drive, Jeff Adkins, Mac Lab Report, 2001.09.06. A look at Iomega's low-cost USB bus-powered Zip drive.
• Review: Logitech Cordless Elite Duo, Dan Knight, 2002.10.10. This first rate mouse and keyboard are stunning under OS X, but the keyboard lacks the necessary drivers to shine with the classic Mac OS.
• Review: Macally iOptiJr mouse, Dan Knight, 2002.10.04. A compact, inexpensive, two-button, scrolling optical USB mouse that works quite nicely.
• Hands on: Iomega Value-Line USB Zip drive, Jeff Adkins, Mac Lab Report, 2001.09.06. A look at Iomega's low-cost USB bus-powered Zip drive.
• Review: QPS Que! QuadSlim M2 FireWire hard drive, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2001.08.27. Compact, bus-powered FireWire hard drive highly recommended.
• Review: Epson Stylus Photo 870, Dan Knight, 2001.06.08. Yes, it really does output photographic quality prints.
• USB & FireWire drives, Dan Knight, Mac Daniel, 2001.05.21. What's the best way to add an external drive to a modern Mac?
• Updated: Review: Oxford 911 FireWire Bridge, Dan Knight, 2001.05.15. Benchmarks show FireWire performance on TiBook pales compared with Cube.
• Review: Contour MiniPro Mouse, Dan Knight, 2001.04.27. This compact optical mouse is especially useful with portables.
• Review: Oxford 911 FireWire Bridge, Dan Knight, 2001.04.23. New FireWire bridge means faster external drives - but how much faster?
• Add FireWire, USB to older Macs, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2001.03.19. It's easy to add FireWire and USB to older PCI Macs and clones.
• Feedback on Mac advantages, Jeff Adkins, Mac Lab Report, 2001.03.15. More on Windows DLL libraries, Mac vs. Windows USB, aliases vs. shortcuts.
• Setting up a floppy server, Al Miner, My Turn, 2001.03.15. How to set up an old SE or SE/30 as a floppy server for a newer Mac.
• Hot swap or not?, Charlie Ruggiero, Mac Daniel, 2001.02.28. Which ports on the Mac allow hot swapping, which don't, and what are the dangers of hot swapping?
• Review: Flex-HDD 3.5" FireWire/USB Enclosure, Dan Knight, 2001.02.20. Turn an IDE drive into an external FireWire and USB drive - at a price.
• 75 Mac Advantages, Jeff Adkins, Mac Lab Report, 2001.02.15. A look at the "75 Advantages" brochure to see which still apply.
• Review: SmartDisk's VST FireWire CD-R/W Drive, Dan Knight, 2001.02.09. One pound, 1" thick, a FireWire powered - the perfect portable CD-RW drive?
• Down the digital lifestyle road, Stephen Van Esch, Mac Scope, 2001.02.07. How well positioned is Apple to become the leading hub for the digital lifestyle?
• Introduction to drive interfaces, Charlie Ruggiero, Mac Daniel, 2001.01.29. An introduction to SCSI, IDE, FireWire, and USB drives.
• Make mine optical, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 2001.01.26. Until I used an optical mouse, I was content with traditional mice. That's no longer the case.
• Review: Kensington Mouse-in-a-Box Optical, Dan Knight, 2001.01.26. A nice mouse at a very nice price.
• Review: OrangeLink FireWire USB Card, Jeff Adkins, Mac Lab Report, 2001.01.25. Hands on with the OrangeLink combination FireWire and USB PCI card.
• Review: Wacom Graphire 4x5 USB Tablet, Jeff Adkins, Mac Lab Report, 2001.01.18. Hands on Wacom's inexpensive graphics tablet and mouse.
• Adding USB, FireWire, Evan Kleiman, Mac Daniel, 2001.01.02. Yes, you can add USB and/or FireWire to any Power Mac or clone with PCI slots.
• Oops: Mac USB not 1.2 Mbps, MacFixIt, 2000.12.12. Quoting from the Roxio/Adaptec newsletter: "Apple's USB device driver . . . has a maximum data transfer rate of 680 KB/sec." and is therefor unsuitable for 4x CD burns.
• SuperMac, Seagate, and USB, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2000.11.13. Hard drive nightmares, but a new USB card installs like a dream.
• Quest for a user-friendly hub, Joshua McKinney, My Turn, 2000.08.22. If USB is supposed to be plug and play, why do so many hubs make that difficult?
• Review: Macsense UKB-600 Keyboard, Dan Knight, 2000.07.27. Quite simply the best USB keyboard we've used to date.
• Advice: Macs and digital video, Charlie Ruggiero, Mac Daniel, 2000.03.22. Starts out looking at video editing on Macs, then examines various video formats. A good read if you're at all interested in video editing or buying a camcorder.
• Update: Review of Aspire USB keyboard, Dan Knight, 1999.12.28. Thanks to a little ResEdit work, it is possible to remap certain keys and live with a Windows keyboard.
• Consumer: Guide to USB Hard Drives, 1999.12.22. Listing of all known USB hard drives.
• Opinion: Apple's USB Mouse Is Not an Ergonomic Dud, Paulo Rodrigues, iMac Musings, 1999.12.21.
• Review: Pertec USB Hub Master, Dan Knight, 1999.12.15. Ugly but functional.
• Review: Aspire USB Keyboard, Dan Knight, 1999.12.14. Great price, but some problems for the Mac user.
• Review: Kensington Mouse-in-a-Box USB/PS2, Dan Knight, 1999.12.10. A scrolling mouse for the Macintosh.
• Review: Aspire USB Mouse, Dan Knight, 1999.12.09
• Review: MoniSwitchUSB, Dan Knight, 1999.12.08. Share a mouse, keyboard, and screen with two or more Macs.
• Hands On: Wireless mouse & keyboard input, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 1999.12.07.
• Consumer: Guide to USB Keyboards, MacUSB. Most comprehensive listing of USB keyboards on the web.
• Advice: Should I buy a USB card?, Charlie Ruggiero, Mac Daniel, 1999.11.23. Any PCI Mac can take one, but is it for you?
• News: Short Takes, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 1999.11.22. Information on backup, the Lombard keyboard, USB drivers, and accelerating the PowerBook 500 series.
• Update: Macally iKey USB keyboard review, Dan Knight, 1999.11.09. Appends note on "mouse freeze" issue being tracked by MacFixIt.
• Review: Macally iKey, Dan Knight, 1999.10.25. Extended keyboard for iMac, other USB Macs.
• Review: Adesso iMouse, Dan Knight, 1999.10.12. "The more conventional shape is a welcome improvement for those who don't care for Apple's round mouse."
• Opinion: CardBus USB for PowerBooks, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 1999.09.27. How to add USB to some older PowerBooks.
• Review: Aiwa TD-UM8000 USB tape drive, Donovan Watts, 1999.09.24. Is this USB tape drive a good way to back up your iMac, Blue G3, or other USB-equipped Mac?
• Hands on: Microtech XpressSCSI, Sathe Dilip, 1999.09.21. The author explains how to make this USB-to-SCSI adapter work with unsupported drives, including Zip drives.
• Consumer: Guide to USB PCI cards, 1999.09.11. These cards let you connect USB devices to older Power Macs and clones.
• Advice: Older Macs as file servers, Dan Knight, 1999.09.10. Follow up to ethernet vs. USB article discusses options for setting up an older Mac as a file server.
• Analysis: The ethernet alternative to USB drives, Dan Knight, 1999.09.08. Is a networked Mac a reasonable alternative to a USB hard drive?
• Why USB is a good thing, the iMac channel, 1998.10.06. A look at the emerging USB market two months after the iMac's release.
• Where no Mac has gone before, the iMac channel, 19998.08.03. An early look at Apple's decision to force the USB issue.
• USB: Okay for the low end, Online Tech Journal, 1998.06.08. Comparing USB to SCSI shows some limitations, but declares it adequate for most applications.

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