Opinion: The USB-C DSLR problem isn’t as bad as you think

[dolina]

The iMac was a relatively small piece of the overall PC market in 1998 and the USB standard was developed by a consortium that didn't even include Apple https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB . Intel did most of the development work, but all big boys in the PC world were on board. My recollection is that USB came on the scene pretty much simultaneously across all PC manufacturers, including the Taiwan Mobo manufacturers. Everybody was ready for something simpler than the RS 232 serial port. Apple was still pushing IEEE 1394 (firewire) in 1998, so the iMac using USB likely had more to do with the death of firewire than it did with the industry wide acceptance of USB.

The 1998 iMac G3 was the 1st legacy-free computer that only had FireWire 400Mbps + USB-A 12Mbps as peripheral I/O.

 

[Dragon]

That will work for the first macro lens's markings, but what if it's on the camera's body?

Another camera body, of course.

 

[mdcmdcmdc]

The 1998 iMac G3 was the 1st legacy-free computer that only had FireWire 400Mbps + USB-A 12Mbps as peripheral I/O.

And no floppy drive!

 

[Dragon]

And no floppy drive!

Yep, and no way to get at all the stuff you had on floppies. That kind of abrupt change is not practical for folks who actually use stuff. The PC migration to "legacy free" much more gradual and that was because users wanted it that way.

 

[dolina]

And no floppy drive!

What would have gotten them a "wow" would be the inclusion of a CD writer in the 1998-2000 models.

Steve Jobs acknowledge later that not including one was a judgement error.

I had the 2000 model that came with a useless DVD-ROM drive. It introduced me to the concept of USB thumb drives.

It forced me to buy a Yamaha external CD writer that uses Firewire 400Mbps port. IIRC I spent $500 in 2000 money. Anyone care to translate that to 2023 money?

 

[dolina]

Yep, and no way to get at all the stuff you had on floppies. That kind of abrupt change is not practical for folks who actually use stuff. The PC migration to "legacy free" much more gradual and that was because users wanted it that way.

How does transition from floppy drive to USB thumb drives? Most computers only had 1 floppy drive. The availability of an external USB floppy drive as an add on would help.

 

[Dragon]

How does transition from floppy drive to USB thumb drives? Most computers only had 1 floppy drive. The availability of an external USB floppy drive as an add on would help.

external floppy drives were not a thing in 1998.

 

[mdcmdcmdc]

external floppy drives were not a thing in 1998.

Sure they were. Floppy mechanisms were dirt cheap by then. I remember getting a USB floppy drive around that time for about $20.

 

[mdcmdcmdc]

Yep, and no way to get at all the stuff you had on floppies. That kind of abrupt change is not practical for folks who actually use stuff. The PC migration to "legacy free" much more gradual and that was because users wanted it that way.

Floppies were already on the way out by 1998. They were just too small to be practical. Anything still on floppies for most people was legacy stuff, not current working files. The market was desperate for something bigger. Hence the popularity of Zip drives.

 

[EricN]

Yep, and no way to get at all the stuff you had on floppies. That kind of abrupt change is not practical for folks who actually use stuff. The PC migration to "legacy free" much more gradual and that was because users wanted it that way.

I didn't buy an iMac, but couldn't you purchase an external floppy drive?

 

[EricN]

Sure they were. Floppy mechanisms were dirt cheap by then. I remember getting a USB floppy drive around that time for about $20.

I didn't realize they were priced that low!

 

[EricN]

Floppies were already on the way out by 1998. They were just too small to be practical. Anything still on floppies for most people was legacy stuff, not current working files. The market was desperate for something bigger. Hence the popularity of Zip drives.

I think in 99 I bought a Sony Mavica that used floppies. It was convenient for my school because I could take good enough photos at a standard focal length or screw on another lens for a wider angle and immediately have them on my laptop for only $600 if I remember. It definitely didn't replace a traditional film camera if time was not a factor.

 

[Dragon]

Floppies were already on the way out by 1998. They were just too small to be practical. Anything still on floppies for most people was legacy stuff, not current working files. The market was desperate for something bigger. Hence the popularity of Zip drives.

You continue to reinforce my point about a gradual transition. Yes, Zip drives were very useful (I used a lot of them), but they were not accessible from that 1998 iMac because they used a parallel printer port interface to get enough bandwidth to support their transfer speed (the internal ones used a hard drive parallel ATA interface). I don't recall there ever being a USB or Firewire version of the Zip drive.

 

[EricN]

You continue to reinforce my point about a gradual transition. Yes, Zip drives were very useful (I used a lot of them), but they were not accessible from that 1998 iMac because they used a parallel printer port interface to get enough bandwidth to support their transfer speed (the internal ones used a hard drive parallel ATA interface). I don't recall there ever being a USB or Firewire version of the Zip drive.

I had an external SCSI, one internal on a Power Macintosh 6500 (I don't know what interface it used) and another USB version.

 

[mdcmdcmdc]

You continue to reinforce my point about a gradual transition. Yes, Zip drives were very useful (I used a lot of them), but they were not accessible from that 1998 iMac because they used a parallel printer port interface to get enough bandwidth to support their transfer speed (the internal ones used a hard drive parallel ATA interface). I don't recall there ever being a USB or Firewire version of the Zip drive.

I've lost track of what your point is, other than you can't simply circle a date on a calendar and say "today, nobody will use the legacy interfaces anymore". There's always a transition period, and in this instance, there were all kinds of adapters available. I had a USB to (Apple) serial port adapter for my printer and modem. I had a SCSI zip drive that I had previoiusly used with my Quadra 650. When I upgraded to a G3 mini tower, I got the Apple "build-to-order" PCI SCSI card, which they OEM'd from Adaptec. Transitions like this always take time, and the free market can smooth it out.

 

[melgross]

external floppy drives were not a thing in 1998.

Yes they were. I had them from the early 1990s.

 

[melgross]

I didn't buy an iMac, but couldn't you purchase an external floppy drive?

Yes, you could.