Yesterday, Apple refreshed the entire MacBook Pro line. Although the new machines look identical to the old ones, massive changes were made below surface. I have been waiting to upgrade my now three-year-old Santa Rosa-based MacBook Pro, and seize the opportunity yesterday to pick up a brand-new 13 inch model. What made me pull the trigger? Read on!
Intel
Why the iPad 2 Won’t Include Thunderbolt
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.
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!
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!
Iomega USB 3.0 SSD: Hands-On Review
After testing the Iomega USB 3.0 SSD extensively both in terms of benchmarks and real-world usability, I’m sold on it. the only outstanding question is the high price of the unit: The 64 GB drive starts at an attainable $190, but the big 256 GB drive is downright expensive at $620 (street price). It’s hard to knock the drive’s performance, component choices, or build quality, but is it worth more than a budget laptop?
