Items tagged with light peak
Promise Technology recently launched the first Thunderbolt-compatible devices; the company's Pegasus RAID R4 and R6 storage solutions can now be ordered from the Apple Store. There's a catch, however. In order to use either storage array, one must first purchase a cable directly from Apple. The company has priced the two meter cable at $50--and while that's little enough compared to the cost of the RAID units ($999 and $1999 respectfully), it was enough to pique the curiousity of the iFixit crew. As it turns out, Thunderbolt uses what's called an active cable. Inside the cable there's a pair of Gunnum GN2033 transceivers. The company's website notes: "The GN2033 is a tiny, low power transceiver...
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We have discussed Intel’s Light Peak technology on a number of occasions over the last few years. We caught a glimpse of the technology at work at the Intel Developers Forum a couple of years ago and in later briefings with Intel we’ve seen the technology mature into what’s being officially announced today—Thunderbolt Technology. As we mentioned in our IDF coverage a few years ago, Light Peak was being developed in collaboration with Apple, but there are actually a number of other partners on board as well, including Aja, Apogee, Avid, Blackmagic, LaCie, Promise and Western Digital. But the original optical connections discussed with Light Peak have since been complimented...
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Making official one of the worst kept secrets in tech, Apple today lifted the nearly see-through curtain from its retooled MacBook Pro line with so many upgrades we don't know where to start. Let's begin with a little thing called Thunderbolt, which is a high-speed I/O technology better known as Light Peak that was developed by Intel in collaboration with Apple. "Thunderbolt is a revolutionary new I/O technology that delivers an amazing 10 gigabits per second and can support every important I/O standard which is ideal for the new MacBook Pro," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of WorldWide Product Marketing. The entire 13-inch, 15-inch, and 17-inch lineup has also been updated...
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USB 3.0 has been a popular feature ever since its introduction ~12 months ago, but a recent disclosure from Intel could slow the standard's march towards ubiquity. According to information released at IDF, Intel won't introduce a USB 3-powered chipset until 2012. This doesn't bode well for anyone hoping to buy an Intel platform that supports much in the way of upgrades. We already know existing Nehalem CPUs and motherboards won't support Sandy Bridge; it's possible Intel won't introduce native USB 3.0 support until Ivy Bridge. That transition shouldn't require new motherboards/sockets—Most Core 2 motherboards that supported Conroe also supported Penryn—but Intel has a history of changing...
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Electronic signaling using copper is officially old-and-busted—or at least Intel thinks it will be soon. The company announced today that it has constructed a silicon-based optical connection with an integrated laser that's capable of moving data at 50Gbps. The term "integrated laser" refers to the fact that the optical data connection is integrated into a microchip and interfaces with that component's circuitry. According to Intel, its Hybrid Silicon Laser technology has multiple advantages over traditional wires. In addition to the increased bandwidth, optical signals degrade much more slowly than their electrical counterparts. As such, cables can be considerably longer and thinner...
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USB 3 is one of the best standard updates the computer industry has come up with, but reports indicate Intel may not support the standard natively until 2012. That's particularly surprising since Intel designed much of the USB 3 standard—by all rights, Santa Clara should have been one of the first companies out the door, not one of the last. While it's still only found on a relative handful of motherboards, it's impossible to the performance difference between it and USB 2, even under modest test conditions. One of the most useful features of USB 3, though it's not something we've seen vendors taking advantage of yet, is the fact that it allows external HDDs to run just as fast as they...
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Intel never really has been one to sit in the back while someone else takes charge, and while that has generally only applied to the CPU world, now Intel is getting their feet into all sorts of other ventures. Look at Light Peak: ten years ago, no one would've expected for Intel to develop their own transmission protocol, but now, it's a forthcoming reality.We had heard before that Light Peak, a fiber-based transfer solution that could reach insane speeds, may ship as early as 2010, and now we're beginning to hear what Intel has planned. Kevin Kahn, an Intel senior fellow, stated at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in Beijing this week that Light Peak won't ship in partner devices until next year...
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Think about all the cables protruding from the back of your home theater setup. Now imagine if you could replace some of them with a single cable, one that offers enough bandwidth to transfer a full-length Blu-ray movie from your HTPC to your desktop in half a minute. This scenario is exactly what Intel is working on with its Light Peak fiber-optic system.It's also just the beginning. If all goes to plan, consumers can expect Light Peak to initially deliver data speeds of 10 gigabits per second, with plans to ramp up the speed so fast that you'd eventually be able to transfer the above-mentioned Blu-ray flick in only three seconds."Ten gigabits per second is pretty fast," said Roger Kay of Endpoint...
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We had a look at Intel's newest connection standard, Light Peak, during our stay at IDF last week. To be honest, we were floored by the possibilities. Optical cabling has always had huge potential, so it makes perfect sense to see Intel really pushing such a standard during a time with bandwidth is in high demand and data can't possibly be moved quickly enough.Here's an interesting twist on the whole thing: it seems as if Apple has a whole lot to do with it. Yeah, Apple! Now, Apple and Intel have been on speaking terms for quite a few years now. In fact, if sales of the company's Intel-based computers are any indication, we'd say Intel is quite pleased to have the California-based company as...
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