Comments on: Light Peak is now Thunderbolt I/O

By: tomi

tomi — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 09:04:50 +0000

Intel Thunderbolt to be more widely available in April
http://www.digitimes.com/print/a20111226PD214.html

Intel has recently notified its partners that the company will fully release its Thunderbolt technology in April of 2012 with several first-tier PC players already preparing to launch Thunderbolt-supported motherboards, notebooks and desktop PCs, according to sources from PC players.

Currently Sony, Asustek, Gigabyte Technology and ASRock are expected to adopt Thunderbolt technology

Due to Thunderbolt chip costs being more than US$20 and the solution running a conflict with USB 3.0 in terms of next-generation data transmission technology, the Thunderbolt did not receive strong attention from the IT industry when announced, but as Apple has largely adopted the technology into its products such as monitor, MacBook Pro, iMac, MacBook Air and MacBook Mini, it has strongly boosted demand.

By: Tomi

Tomi — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 09:55:05 +0000

Another very good article on this topic:

Intel’s Codename Light Peak Launches as Thunderbolt
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4194/intels-codename-lightpeak-launches-as-thunderbolt

By: Tomi

Tomi — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 08:33:04 +0000

Intel originally designed its Light Peak interconnect as an optical technology that would replace all other PC connections, handling everything from LAN to storage devices to monitors. But after the company unveiled it in 2009, PC manufacturers called for a cheaper electrical incarnation – i.e. non-optical – and due to other market pressures, this electrical version, renamed Thunderbolt, will coexist alongside the likes of USB.

Originally, Yogec and his team moved data from silicon to an on-board optical transceiver, which could then move data at 10Gbps over distances of up to 100 meters.

“Optical seems sexier than electrical, but eventually, when you have to pay for it and actually bring it to market, you have remove some of the cost.”

The rub is that the current Thunderbolt technology – which debuted today on Apple Mac Pros – only works across a 3 metre cable. But according to Yogec and Ziller, Intel will eventually offer an optical cable that will plug into the existing on-system hardware, transferring data across much larger distances.

Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/02/24/intel_thunderbolt_copper_embrace_explained/