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USB 3.0 doesn't make FireWire obsolete...

olePigeon 13th Jan 2009

USB 3.0 doesn't make Firewire obsolete, it's just pushed
Firewire into the niche pro-consumer market.

Firewire is a superior connectivity technology compared to
USB for external devices such as HD camcorders, pro audio
equipment, and external data storage. USB can not
compete with FireWire simply by virtue of it being a
host/slave paradigm and relying on the CPU.

The important feature about Firewire is its sustainable
speeds and non reliance on the host CPU. If you're
doing CPU intensive tasks, or, need guaranteed
throughput, you have to use Firewire. That is why pro
audio equipment uses Firewire, and why external scratch
storage for video and audio uses Firewire. If you want to
transfer RAW HD video from an HD camcorder, you're
going to need Firewire.

eSATA I never understood. eSATA isn't meant for hot-swapping since it has to reassign hardware addresses
every time you plug and unplug the device. You also can't
daisy-chain eSATA like you can with Firewire. It also isn't
bus powered like Firewire, forcing you to carry extra cables
around. eSATA is intended for permanent external
storage.

Also, speaking of the pro consumer market, IEEE-1394c
spec makes it so you can do Firewire over Ethernet, which
will be extremely useful.