FireWire Reaches 4 Gigabit/Second Speeds!
The 1394 Trade Association has published a new technical article detailing the benefits and applications of FireWire at 4Gigabit/second speeds, which has been pioneered and now demonstrated worldwide by DapTechnology B.V. of The Netherlands. continued

New Technical Article from 1394 Trade Association Shows How to Use Apple Target Disk Mode with FireWire
The Trade Association in January published a new technical article describing how to use FireWire in Apple target disk mode applications. continued

1394 Trade Association Elects 2012 Board of Directors, Will Again be Led by Representatives from Littelfuse, Texas Instruments, LSI
The 1394 Trade Association has elected a new Board of Directors for calendar 2012, led by members from industry leaders Littelfuse, Texas Instruments, and LSI Corporation. continued

FireWire Finds New Applications in Medical Technology, Helping Measure Vestibular Function
For years, 1394 has been a preferred standard for developers and manufacturers of hearing aid technology that use FireWire to analyze and correct ear and hearing disorders. continued

To the Trade Association members: as we move into 2012 we have plenty to be grateful for and to look forward to, as FireWire has convincingly broken through the impressive 4 Gigabit/second speed barrier - true data throughput.  Our work since the Trade Association’s founding in 1995 has yielded a terrific body of standards with excellent performance and impressive applications, and we look forward to more success in 2012. 

To start, please take a look at the article by Burke Henehan about how DapTechnology achieved the breakthroughs to 1.6 Gbps and 3.2 Gbps performance, effectively taking 1394 to its 4 Gbps capability in industrial instrumentation, vision systems and other products.  We expect to see some stellar applications using this high bandwidth version of 1394 this year. With the help of Dap the TA now has a fully capable demo of this technology that can be used for trade shows and customer visits upon request.

This year, the TA also will be focused on our relationships with other standards groups, such as the global IEC, and the Japan Industrial Imaging Association (JIIA), which is working with us on the Industrial and Instrumentation digital camera specification, IIDC2.

We also expect to see some stimulating discussion about how FireWire will work together with and still compete with other emerging standards, including Thunderbolt and USB 3.0, to extend system performance in storage, industrial, and other sectors. 

In terms of our own operations, the TA, listening to our global member companies, has decided that our meeting schedule can be effectively implemented using WebEx for quarterly working group meetings, at least until the fourth calendar quarter. This means we can meet without the expense of travel, completing our work and communications using this very efficient and effective technology.  Our working group chairs will provide details soon about upcoming WebEx meetings dates and times, in an effort to make these sessions as convenient and productive as possible for everyone.

Our new board of directors also is in place. I’ll remain as chairman, with Morten Lave as vice chair, Dave Thompson as secretary, and Toni Ray as editor – all returning.  With Don Harwood retiring as our very capable finance chair, Richard Mourn will assume that responsibility. 

We look forward to a more prosperous 2012 for everyone.

Max Bassler
Chairman
mbassler@interacttech.net