Cheap USB 3.0 solution for Mac

Generic USB 3.0 works like a charm

I've been looking for a USB 3.0 solution for my Mac Pro and to my dismay and great surprise, it was like looking for a needle in a haystack... Apple has not embraced USB 3.0, it appeared, because it is geared towards its own thunderbolt technology. It is an annoying strategy -and not very consistent- because USB 2.0, eSata and firewire all work fine on the Mac. So why not USB 3.0? (it is this kind of exclusive marketing that really turns me off and away from big companies. Stop engaging in these arrogant, unfriendly and frustrating behaviours, Apple!!)
So I started looking towards third party solutions. LaCie has always made PCI cards etc for the Mac and I was sure they would have such a device. And they did- but with a bunch of small print. It supports LaCie products exclusively?! Worthless... I looked at more options and there were some manufacturers who offered PCI cards for USB 3.0 for well over $100,-??!! Forget it- I paid €5,- for such a card for my PC!

Final Cut Pro X: a stable system at last?

 

So Final Cut Pro X is coming soon to a Mac near you and that looks great, but what does it mean for all the hard- and software that we use for editing?
For example: I own a Matrox MXO which I bought a few years ago for monitoring and color correcting HD video on a Dell 24' monitor. Now I can't say the experience has been entirely positive, to understate it... It worked for the first year or so on my G5 Quad but then the sh*t started to hit the fan. Mac OS upgrades and consequent MXO firmware upgrades have caused more misery than benefits.