Got in before I did Carlo :) So won't rehash what you've written,..lol :)
But yes, I'd be a bit cautious. The other thing would be if you'd see any "real 
world" speed difference. The USB3 would only be running at USB2 speed as that 
is what the Mac would expect, so it's not going to "convert" to Firewire 
speeds, so I think you'd still be gaining USB2 speeds anyway. So no real 
"improvement".
I could be wrong here, but I also had the impression there were differing "data 
versus power" consumptions through both a USB and Firewire cable. (ie one pulls 
through or expects more power and data then the other). So wouldn't want to fry 
anything if there was. Again, I could be wrong there,...

Found this info as well, which may help with it...
/quote
Firewire is "isochronous", basically meaning that you can pump "clocked" data 
though it in real time. USB works more like TCPIP, with the data chopped up 
into packets and later reassembled. (Thus, at a minimum, you have latency, that 
is, the wait for the data to be "put back together".) Second, the Firewire 
protocol allows more direct address to memory (including mass storage) with 
minimal intervention of the CPU.
/end quote

I can't lay my hands on the other info I thought I had and Siri can only do so 
much when driving,..lol ;)

Kind regards
Daniel

Sent from my iPhone 4s

---
Daniel Kerr
MacWizardry

Phone: 0414 795 960
Email: <daniel  AT macwizardry.com.au>
Web:   <http://www.macwizardry.com.au>


**For everything Macintosh**

On 27/04/2012, at 8:46 AM, cm wrote:

> Hi Merv and Peter,
> 
> I would be wary of those connectors. Notice they are all on resale sites, 
> none are manufacturer sales. They could be fakes.
> 
> As I said earlier, I don't believe it is possible to convert USB to Firewire 
> with just a simple pin-to-pin cable. USB used the PC as the bus master 
> whereas Firewire is a true peer-to-peer connection and required handshaking 
> signals back from the disk drive.
> 
> Cheers,
> Carlo
> 
> 
> On 27/04/2012, at 7:10 , Peter Sealy wrote:
> 
>> I thought I had a vague memory (at my age all memories are vague) of seeing 
>> USB to Firewire converters somewhere. So I did a quick Google search and 
>> came up with these. I have not looked in depth at any of them and have not 
>> explored any further but the Google search will surely find more info.
>> 
>> <http://www.ebay.com/sch/sis.html?_kw=USB+A+MALE+TO+IEEE1394+4+PIN+Firewire+ADAPTER+CONVERTER>
>> <http://www.amazon.com/NEEWER®-Travel-Firewire-Cable-Adapters/dp/B00354MVP0>
>> <http://www.ask.com/questions-about/Firewire-USB-Converter>
>> <http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-firewire-to-usb-adapter.htm>
>> <http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/usb-to-firewire-converter.html>
>> 
>> Search Google : convert usb to firewire adapter
>> 
>> HTH
>> 
>> ..............................
>> 
>> Peter Sealy
>> Thurgoona AUSTRALIA
>> 
>> She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her still.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On 26/04/2012, at 11:28 PM, Merv Bond wrote:
>> 
>>> I have been looking on the net at cables, converters and hubs that boast 
>>> connections between USB and firewire. My search is based on wishing to 
>>> connect an external HD with USB3 sockets to my iMac which has a 
>>> Firewire800 socket. Has anyone used such a cable and if so is the 
>>> performance of a quality that is useful? Can a bootable external HD be 
>>> achieved with such a device?
>>> Merv
>>> -- 
>>> The whole psychology of modern disquiet is linked with the sudden 
>>> confrontation with space-time. (Teilhard de Chardin, 'The Phenomenon of 
>>> Man')
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