The FireWire interface allows all 8 inputs (counting stereo channels as 2) of the Helix Board 12 FireWire to be sent to a computer for recording, through its ASIO drivers (no drivers are required for the Mac).
The Helix Board 12 FireWire is bundled with Steinberg Cubase LE software for recording purposes, though it's suggested that users upgrade to SX or use other Digital Audio Workstation software.