MacAlly CardBus to FireWire adapter FH-BUS2
Price: $99.00
Requirements: MacOS 9.0 or later, MacAlly FireWire PC CardBus driver (free download), an available Cardbus slot (aka 32 bit Type II PC Card slot)
Date of Review: March 10, 2001
Rating: (4 out of 5 stars)

While it does essentially the same job as the KeySpan FireWire PC card, there are some distinctions with the MacAlly CardBus product. Most notable are that it requires a software driver, and that the MacAlly has two dongle ports compared with the Keyspan’s one. That allows you to connect two FireWire devices in tandem, say a DV camcorder and a scanner, without daisy-chaining.

Like the Keyspan, the MacAlly card comes with two cables: a short dongle with a 6-pin female FireWire connector, and a longer cord with a 4-pin connector.

As noted, in order to support hot plug and play with this adapter, you must download a driver from the MacAlly website.

This is a less elegant solution than including the driver on a bundled CD, or not needing a driver at all, but the advantage is that you are assured of getting the latest driver upgrade. The driver is small, and downloaded in a few seconds, even on my slow, dial-up connection. However, the need for a driver is a potential problem with an eye to the OS X future. Hopefully, MacAlly will offer a OS X driver after OS X is introduced.

The MacAlly product package is minimalist, and contains only the CardBus adapter itself, the two cables, a tiny, 10-page manual that is the soul of brevity.

Installation is simple:
Install Apple”s FireWire driver first if not already installed.
Download and copy the file eMacally FireWire Enableri to the System folder”s Extensions Folder.
Restart the computer.
Insert the CardBus to FireWire adapter, you will see eMacally FWi icon pop up on your desktop.

This product requires a minimum of Mac OS 9.0, a and FireWire driver version 2.3.3 or better. I tested this card with mainly Mac OS 9.1, which comes with FireWire Enabler 2.7. The MacAlly PC Card to FireWire Adapter worked equally as well as the Keyspan product once its driver was installed, and functionally, I could detect no discernable difference in performance between the two products.

With regard to my inability to get the FireWire PC Card to power the little Que! M2 drive, the MacAlly website notes that: “[The] Macally CardBus to FireWire adapter is designed to support all self-powered devices. [An] optional FireWire repeater is required for bus-powered devices. Please contact us for more information about FireWire repeaters.”

System requirements:
Operating System Support :Mac OS 9.0 or later
Downloadable MacAlly FireWire driver

Features:
Transfer rates: 100, 200, and 400 MB/sec.
3 years warranty.
FireWire PC Card Adapters Summary

As noted, both cards do their job, and both have the same suggested retail price. Consequently, I am obliged to give the Keyspan product the nod on the basis of its bundled QuickTime Pro registration (a $29.95 value), the fact that it requires no driver for normal peripheral connections, and that its required drivers for video capture are included on the product CD. I’m rating it 4.5 stars out of five, the half-point deduction due to my lack of success in getting it to bus power the Que! M2 Drive.

The MacAlly product has the advantage of the two dongle ports, but there is the driver download hassle, and there is no bundled software. I’m giving it 4 stars out of 5. The MacAlly PC Card to FireWire Adapter has a MSRP of $99.