Firewire is a means of information sharing between digital devices, particularly video and audio devices. This was initially introduced on Apple products, but was soon incorporated on Windows computers. Some of the most common equipments using this technology are iPod, camcorders, scanners, and external hard drives.

The Firewire 800 9 6 Adapter is an example of the cable that you fit into the Firewire bus in order for the computer to communicate with your digital devices. It supports up to 400 MB/s of data transfer speed. It both works with Firewire 400 and Firewire 800 devices.

Firewire works on a plug and play mode. This means that when you connect a device into the Firewire socket, the operating system instantly recognizes the device without the need for software installation. It is also hot pluggable, meaning you can connect and disconnect a device at any given time with the power running.

Firewire competes directly with the ever popular USB. During the first few years upon release, Firewire was said to be faster than the USB in terms of speed. But as USB gained in popularity, many manufacturers have started to remove Firewire ports on some laptop computers.

Before buying any Firewire adapters, make sure that it makes sense to hook up a Firewire device into your system. If you are using an older model of iMac, for example, this might not be the most feasible idea since this Macbook does not have a built-in Firewire bus in the first place. Firewire is usually considered a workaround solution on earlier models of laptops and Macbooks.

Locating a Firewire port on your computer is easy. It is the port with a Y- shaped sign that usually sits right next to a USB port. If you can’t find this particular port, you have an option to install a card which will serve as the Firewire outlet. Make sure that your computer meets the requirements of the card specifications.

The PCI card works with Mac and Windows computers for Firewire functionality. You may also use USB converters if your laptop does not have Firewire built into it.