Today is the big “coming out” day for Thunderbolt (nee Light Peak), courtesy of Intel and Apple’s new lineup of MacBook Pros. Next week is the introduction of another “Magical and Revolutionary” Apple product, the iPad 2. Inevitably, pundits are putting 2 and 2 together and deducing that the future iPad will include this new I/O port. But this makes little sense. The iPad 2 won’t include Thunderbolt.
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Thunderbolt = Light Peak = Mini DisplayPort + PCI Express
Apple unveiled their new line of MacBook Pro laptops today, complete with “Thunderbolt”, the trade name for a production packaging of Light Peak and Mini DisplayPort. After much speculation, we finally have some concrete information about Light Peak, and perhaps a peek into the next generation of I/O technologies!
USB 3.0 For Mac Is Here!
My experience using USB 3.0 on a Mac has been wonderful. It’s so well-integrated you might not notice it except for the performance. At over 200 MB/s, it blows FireWire out of the water and is even faster than nearly any device you’re likely to throw at it. CalDigit sent me their Mac OS X-compatible USB 3.0 PCI Express card for evaluation, and I’m pleased as punch with the card.
Will Apple Call Light Peak “Thunderbolt”?
Intel has been incredibly tight-lipped about Light Peak. Although I’ve been hounding my contacts inside the company for months, no one has spilled the beans about anything. All I know about Light Peak I learned on the Internet, as they say. Now comes another bombshell: Apple will introduce Light Peak-equipped MacBook Pros tomorrow (February 24) with “Thunderbolt”, a high-speed I/O port!
Get Dragon Dictate 2 for Mac, Just $129 Today Only!
I’ve been wanting to pick up a copy of Dragon Dictate for Mac for a while, but it’s an expensive proposition at $199 (list price). Amazon has been marking it down to $149 regularly, but even that’s fairly expensive. As a paid writer I can justify the cost as a business expense. But as a bargain hunter, I hoped that some day Amazon would drop the price further.
