With today's introduction of Thunderbolt by Intel and new MacBook Pros from Apple featuring the technology, long-standing questions regarding how the technology would be implemented are finally coming to rest. Intel just held a media event to provide additional details on the technology, and CNET provided a live blog of the event.
True to recent developments, Thunderbolt is initially being implemented solely over a copper connection, with optical connections set to come later this year. The technology essentially combines PCI Express and DisplayPort into one protocol, allowing displays and other peripherals to be driven off of the same bus.
Other Notes:
- 10 Gbps per channel (bidirectional - that's about 900 MB/s). - 10 W bus power (less than FireWire, but more than USB). According to Intel, bus power will likely not be supported over future optical cables (so no additional copper lines just for bus power) - One bus can drive two DisplayPort displays simultaneously. - Low 8 ns latency over 7 daisy-chained devices. - Maximum single cable length is 3 meters for current copper implementation. - Any DisplayPort 1.1 device needs to be the last in a daisy chain. - In a hands-on demonstration of Thunderbolt, Engadget was able to see a 5 GB file transferred in just a few seconds. The connection was also capable of playing four simultaneous uncompressed HD video streams from a RAID device. - Ars Technica notes that its compact, inexpensive controller combined with Mini DisplayPort makes Thunderbolt well suited for mobile computing. - According to Intel, Apple has a head start of anywhere from several months to a year over the competition when it comes to Thunderbolt.
Vendors who have already committed to producing Thunderbolt devices include Promise (Pegasus RAID) and LaCie (Little Big Disk).
Saturday March 4, 2023 10:39 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple is currently beta testing iOS 16.4, which includes a handful of new features and changes for the iPhone. Apple says the software update will be released to the public in the spring, meaning it will likely be available in March or April.
Below, we have recapped five new features coming to the iPhone with iOS 16.4, including additional emoji, web push notifications, and more.
1. New...
While the iPhone 15 lineup is still around six months away, front glass panels for the devices were allegedly leaked today in a pair of videos shared on Chinese websites Bilibili and Douyin. The videos were later posted to Twitter by ShrimpApplePro and Unknownz21.
iPhone 14 Pro front glass (left) vs. iPhone 15 Pro front glass (right) via Bilibili As previously rumored, the videos appear to...
As rumors suggested, Apple today announced a new Yellow color option for the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus, as well as four new Silicone Case colors.
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus in Yellow will be available for pre-order on Friday, March 10, with availability starting on Tuesday, March 14. There are no new color options for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. Apple's press release...
Apple's next iMac has reached an "advanced stage of development," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In his newsletter today, Gurman said the new iMac will have the same 24-inch display size and color options as the current model.
The new iMac will likely include Apple's upcoming M3 chip, internal design changes, and a new manufacturing process for the stand, according to Gurman. The M3...
Microsoft today announced that its Outlook app for Mac is now free to use, eliminating the need for a Microsoft 365 subscription or license.
Outlook supports multiple email providers, including Outlook.com, Gmail, iCloud, Yahoo Mail, and others, with a unified inbox and universal search functionality available. As noted by The Verge, the app has been optimized for Macs with Apple silicon...
Apple will likely launch both an updated 13-inch MacBook Air and a larger 15-inch MacBook Air "between late spring and summer," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. However, he said the chips these models will use is a "big remaining question."
Gurman said it is "plausible" that at least the next 13-inch MacBook Air will be equipped with the as-yet-unannounced M3 chip, which will reportedly ...
Apple is reportedly planning to launch new iPhone cases this spring, introducing at least two new colors.
The Twitter leaker known as "Majin Bu" recently claimed that Apple plans to make its MagSafe Leather Case available in two additional colors for the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max, as part of an upcoming spring collection refresh. The added colors would...
Apple's next-generation 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models will both be equipped with an M3 chip, according to 9to5Mac sources. The report claims that Apple is also planning to release an updated version of the 13-inch MacBook Pro with an M3 chip.
The unannounced M3 chip will have an 8-core CPU like the M2 chip, according to the report, but the chip is expected to be manufactured based...
Apple on January 23 released iOS 16.3, delivering support for Security Keys for Apple IDs, changes to Emergency SOS functionality, support for the second-generation HomePod, and more.
