Intel's 10 gigabit-per-second Thunderbolt data transfer technology

So you're shopping at Incredible and you ask the salesman for a laptop with "thunderbolt". Yikes. Not a nice name. Lightpeak is much nicer.
 
Damn. More confusion to the endless types of cables, connectors and converters we have to deal with on a daily basis. Wish there was one global universal technology for all pcs, cameras,phones, laptops, and all consumer devices.
 
I just built a new PC with USB 3.0 thinking all will be ok for a while... damn!
 
... either i'm a little too stoned or i'm reading that article wrong... are they punting a new interface to connect peripherals or are they punting a new type of modem controller chip... ?
 
biometrics said:
So you're shopping at Incredible and you ask the salesman for a laptop with "thunderbolt". Yikes. Not a nice name. Lightpeak is much nicer.
Click to expand...

Yeah, sucky name. "Thunderbolt" sounds more like a cheesy WWE wrestling nickname or something.

It's also strangely and precisely incorrect in a way that seems to take it backwards, being the first major wired OPTICAL connectivity standard that uses much faster light instead of being electricity-based, they name it after an electricity-based phenomenon, wtf?
 
Next we will have an interface made of fiber. That should be pretty fast.

Sent from my GT-I9000 using MyBroadband Android App
 
Will probably be big $$$ for a good few years. unless it is a replace ment which it seems.
 
Well, LightPeek was originally intended to replace all current connection technologies, so it wouldn't add "confusion to the endless types of cables, connectors and converters we have to deal with on a daily basis".

I suppose the 'ideal' future PC would have only Thunderbolt connectors, and nothing else. Although, reading about the 'daisy chaining' perhaps just a few thunderbolt connectors would be sufficient. Lets say 1 for displays and audio, 1 for external storage and peripherals, and 1 for wired networks. Each device could then have 2 Thunderbolt ports, one to connect to the next device in the chain, one to connect to the previous device in the chain.

And future versions will use light as originally intended, meaning cables can be as long as we need them.
 
ToxicWazte said:
Damn. More confusion to the endless types of cables, connectors and converters we have to deal with on a daily basis. Wish there was one global universal technology for all pcs, cameras,phones, laptops, and all consumer devices.
Click to expand...

Lucky for you, Thunderbolt does more than that. It also provides an interface for Audio and Video.
 
LazerFazer said:
Well, LightPeek was originally intended to replace all current connection technologies, so it wouldn't add "confusion to the endless types of cables, connectors and converters we have to deal with on a daily basis".

I suppose the 'ideal' future PC would have only Thunderbolt connectors, and nothing else. Although, reading about the 'daisy chaining' perhaps just a few thunderbolt connectors would be sufficient. Lets say 1 for displays and audio, 1 for external storage and peripherals, and 1 for wired networks. Each device could then have 2 Thunderbolt ports, one to connect to the next device in the chain, one to connect to the previous device in the chain.

And future versions will use light as originally intended, meaning cables can be as long as we need them.
Click to expand...

As long as we don't end up with the USB scenario. USB was also supposed to be a chained system (you connect your HDD to your PC, your printer to your HDD, your keyboard to your printer, your mouse to your keyboard). Except most device manufactures decided their devices are at the end of the chain and never created a port to plug another device into. The end result was USB hubs and machines with 12 USB ports, just to service all the peripherals. The same could very easily happen to Thunderbolt.
 
Tick said:
Yeah, sucky name. "It's also strangely and precisely incorrect in a way that seems to take it backwards, being the first major wired OPTICAL connectivity standard that uses much faster light instead of being electricity-based, they name it after an electricity-based phenomenon, wtf?
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Would you prefer PCI Express Plus? Or USB 3000?

You're misreading the name completely. The name perfectly describes the technology - thunderbolt: "a flash of lightning with the accompanying thunder". True, it describes an electrical phenomenon (Apple's implementation currently relies on copper wire technology) but a flash of lightning gives off an incredible amount of light (optical support built into the tech). The name describes not only what the tech is made, but it's performance (lightning fast), as well as the additional uses for the tech (thunder and lightning go hand in hand - audio/visual interface).

While the naming convention smacks of Apple smartness (FireWire anyone?) it breaks away from the arbitrary way that I/O technologies are usually named. Can anyone really tell me that PS/2 describes exactly what that tech is, what it does or how it performs?

It may seem odd now, but look how quickly Blu-Ray became part of our lexicon. And Blu-Ray launched with support from 90% of the market. Thunderbolt's name may be able to cement the tech in the average consumer's mind because of it's marketability.
 
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Why would you want to replace DP with TB, when DP is already almost twice as fast? Even as an alternative, it makes little sense.

I'm really not a fan of centralising things in this manner, and all I can see is Intel's usual hubris and monopolistic tendencies.
 
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