Which statement regarding the firewire standard is accurate?

The statement “Firewire is a computer bus standard developed by Apple” is accurate because it was developed after USB.

But before it had been released to market as an official specification for use on PCs and Macs that could be backward compatible with existing devices using IEEE 1394 FireWire, which had been in existence since 1997-1998.

FireWire is the real world name of the IEEE 1394 FireWire standard, also called i.LINK. The abbreviation “i.LINK” refers to “IEEE 1394 Local Interconnect Network”. 

A local interconnect network that connects devices located within a relatively small geographic area to help reduce cable clutter and that can also transmit data over larger distances between connected devices. 

The answer is discussed here about  which statement regarding the firewire standard is accurate?

Here are some points discussed about the statement regarding the Firewire standard is accurate-

1. It refers to the FireWire bus which is a local bus.

It was developed by Apple and IBM, and it is an IEEE 1394 standard. It does not refer to the IEEE 1394 standard, i.e., the electrical plug interface that we all know or we have seen in our home or office computers and peripheral devices.

The IEEE 1394 standard was first created by Sony and Philips in 1994 and 1995, but since its creation by Sony and Philips, it had been available for use on PCs and Macs that could be backward compatible with existing devices using the FireWire interface , which was based on those established standards established by those two companies. 

2. In 1994, no standards had been announced for the electrical plug interface.

In 1994 when it was announced that the IEEE 1394 standard had been created by Sony and Philips in 1994 and 1995. 

There were existing a number of known standards for the electrical plug interface , e.g., audio-video connectors typically called audio connectors or video connectors , serial ports , networking Cables, etc . 

These known standards were developed by a range of companies including Apple Computer, Hewlett-Packard, Philips Electronics N.V.

3. The IEEE 1394 standard is not backward-compatible.

The two standards that have been established by Sony and Philips are not backward compatible with each other, that is, the IEEE 1394 interface device that uses the FireWire standard cannot operate in a mode compatible with the IEEE 1394 interface device that can operate in a mode compatible with the PS/2 Plug-and-Play interface specification. 

It was announced in August 2002 when it was released to market as an official specification for use on PCs and Macs that could be backwards compatible with existing devices using FireWire, which had been in existence since 1997-1998.

4. Connectivity Requirements.

The IEEE 1394 standard is known to support cable lengths of up to 15 meters. It uses a peer-to-peer network architecture to interconnect devices with each other. USB was developed by Compaq, DEC, IBM , Intel, Microsoft, NEC and Nortel in late 1992 and early 1993. 

The IEEE 1394 interface device that uses the FireWire standard cannot operate in a mode compatible with the IEEE 1394 interface device that can operate in a mode compatible with the PS/2 Plug-and-Play interface specification. 

The USB port does not support networking cables or audio connectors or video connectors or Serial Ports or networking Cables etc.

5. Compatibility.

The IEEE 1394 standard is claimed to be compatible with USB 2.0, but not backward-compatible with USB 1.1. FireWire support was included in the current revision of the IEEE 1394 standard, which was released in late 2002.

But it has been established that the two standards are not backward-compatible with each other owing to the fact that they are based on different electrical signaling technologies that are incompatible with each other . 

6. Cost considerations.

FireWire devices are required to bear a unique serial number on their case to enable manufacturers and users to identify their devices , whereas no such requirement is imposed upon devices using USB or PS/2 interface specifications. 

USB has become the de facto standard for connecting peripheral devices to PCs, so most PCs are capable of supporting USB 1.1 or later. 

7. Proprietary standards.

The IEEE 1394 standard is not proprietary, that is, it can be used by other manufacturers to develop other compatible products that will allow users to connect their devices to other devices using the IEEE 1394 interface device.

8. Requirements for OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers).

The IEEE 1394 standard does not require any changes or additions to the USB or PS/2 specification for OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers), which is a good thing since most hardware firms have their own proprietary specifications and the lack of a single industry-wide standard with many different companies involved may pose a significant challenge for hardware firms who wish to adopt the latest industry standards.