IEEE 1394: changing the way we do multimedia communications

The mark of a good bus design is to be general-purpose enough so that its use expands to applications beyond those for which it was originally intended. Compare the narrowly defined EISA (Extended Industry Standard Architecture) specification and the now-defunct MicroChannel bus to the vibrant IEEE 1394 standard, which has numerous specifications built around it already, and many more under development. This article highlights some of the many applications made possible, or made better, by expanding on the 1394 standard. It also directs you to the key specifications that have developed for each of the application areas.