FireWire Compact Flash Reader
*****UPDATE****** Since I got some pushback about my snarking regards FireWire vs USB and notes pointing me to  the stated performance of USB 2.0, I thought I’d offer a link: http://www.macworld.com/article/145224/2009/12/firewire_usb.html Now, that’s the all-official-like benchmarking analysis. Here’s the Jonalysis – “USB 1.0 is like ADB and a serial port had a bastard child that barely made it to little league from T-Ball. but got safer hotswap and more bus power. USB 2.0 is like that child worked out  every day, juiced up a lot for the Major Leagues but, in the end, barely made it to the minors.
FireWire is like SCSI suddenly started to work without terminators, ID numbers and the waving of rubber chickens and geek incantations. Use FireWire for anything involving moving significant data. Use eSATA when you’re a cutting HD to local storage. When you have money to burn, Fibre Channel but that’s not for mortals. Seriously, USB for mass storage is feh. ****end update ****
I went looking for a second FireWire 800 Compact Flash Card reader and after they seemed absurdly expensive and oddly uncommon I learned from a source I can’t name that they are apparently in short supply due to a critical component not being available.
This component shortage is apparently affecting both Lexar and SanDisk. Maybe it’s #$%^ but I like my source and it does look like they’re not as ubiquitous to lay hands on as one might think they should be.
Wanted a SanDisk, paid twenty bucks less for the Lexar in stock at E.P. Levine.
If you’ve been stalling buying one, know that USB sucks for mass storage and use Compact Flash mayhaps now’s the time to buy one. I’m just sayin’.
