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- pissshivers, on 09/26/2009, -2/+233Hold up, does Light Peak carry power? Or is it just a fiber optic link? If this will replace USB, it must be able to charge your gadgets.
- gaymathman, on 09/26/2009, -5/+163I can't say I'm all that suprised: Apple was instrumental in the development of firewire, the original revision of which is still faster than USB 2.0 in many cases today--Intel is probably the main reason we tend to use USB over firewire. It's good to see them developing another awesome standard; hopefully having the support of Intel will help its adoption.
- alpha88, on 09/26/2009, -4/+134Apple was also instrumental in making USB popular, ironically.
- pixelguru, on 09/27/2009, -2/+131Seems pretty trivial to wrap a couple of power wires in the same sheath as the optical fibers. You wouldn't even need any shielding since their EM wouldn't bother the optical data once bit.
- jeriqo, on 09/27/2009, -11/+118No bus-power is a big step down for me.
I have 3 hard drives and 1 soundcard powered over either USB or firewire, on my laptop.
Pluging each of them would be a pain in the ass... and I'm not even talking about portability.
I'll stick to USB 3, and I hope the next step will be wireless. - ridestp, on 09/26/2009, -11/+114This has so much potential! Imagine, one cable to rule them all.
- MrThundercles, on 09/27/2009, -2/+102I'm just waiting for the $500 Monster cable.
- carterx, on 09/27/2009, -6/+96"Some History on USB 1.0
Microsoft, Intel, Philips, Hewlett-Packard, Compaq, NEC and Lucent were behind the creation of the Universal Serial Bus. USB 1.0 was invented in 1996"
...... but Apple made the risky move to USB 1.0 for their default for mice & keyboards when PC's were still using PS/2 connectors. Apple made their mark and now they are looking to make another with their teaming up with Intel.
Who pushed "No Floppy Drives", who first pushed hard at a "USB Standard" for keyboards & mice? - carterx, on 09/27/2009, -0/+82"The cable can be as long as 100 meters and can carry data at 10 gigabits per second in both directions simultaneously, though Intel expects it will reach 100 gigabits per second in the next decade"
http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-10360047-264.htm ... - bdxphoenix, on 09/27/2009, -0/+79Erm, supermanred's calculations are a bit off. A gigabit is not quite a gigabyte.
10 Gigabits/second = 1.25 Gigabytes/second, so a 32 Gigabyte iPod would take 25.6 seconds to fill up.
And, evil-doer is right, odds are a hard drive or flash drive couldn't keep up. Don't know the specs off the top of my head, but unless the device has enough RAM to cache 32 GB, the writing to long term storage will be the bottleneck (as usual). - loismustdie231, on 09/26/2009, -5/+83Although you cannot transfer power over this cable it is the only multipurpose 10 Gbps cable so far.
- kevinmoore, on 09/27/2009, -0/+58From the same link: "Intel said it's working on bundling the optical fiber with copper wire so Light Peak can be used to power devices plugged into the PC."
- Chirp08, on 09/27/2009, -11/+66and yet they were criticized for every one of those moves. They don't support blu-ray, because the industry is going entirely on-demand yet people still complain.
- alpha88, on 09/26/2009, -0/+53I'm sure it will include a source of power, kind of an oversight if it didn't.
- rolf, on 09/27/2009, -3/+55http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_Peak
"Light Peak is Intel's code-name for a new high-speed optical cable technology designed to connect electronic devices to each other.[1] It has the capability to deliver high bandwidth, starting at 10Gb/s, with the potential ability to scale to 100Gb/s over the next decade. At 10Gb/s, a full-length Blu-Ray movie can be transferred in less than 30 seconds."
If you don't see the usefulness, I'm sorry for you. Why is it always on a geek site someone questions usefulness of something faster? Faster, better, cheaper has been the entire history of the computer industry. - supermanred, on 09/26/2009, -7/+55I have to admit, it sounds interesting that this format could connect EVERYTHING on your computer, other than the power cable. Would make things simpler. Also the ability to chain items would be great, avoiding the need for a fugly usb breakout hub.
If it doesnt carry power, though I cant see this being better than USB (except for the ludicrous speed 10gbps).. I would rather WAIT the extra 3 minutes to fill up my iPhone than have to connect a second power cable to it.
If it includes power, and can charge the devices, too... I can't wait for this! - catalysis, on 09/27/2009, -8/+56 Apple pushed FireWire over USB. Although technically superior, it did not become the universal standard. Intel and Microsoft were behind USB.
- HeavyWave, on 09/27/2009, -3/+49Like USB?
- evil-doer, on 09/27/2009, -1/+46supermanred.. id love to see a hard drive that fast. or did you forget that?
- sarchosis, on 09/27/2009, -1/+46Light Peak WILL have power. There's no way around it. It cannot be what Apple wants it to be without it.
- KMartSheriff, on 09/27/2009, -5/+44They also pushed the death of the CRT (can't remember what year Jobs said it).
- supakoopa, on 09/26/2009, -17/+55I'm confused on how this is any better than a USB. Or is it something entirely different?
- tofagerl, on 09/26/2009, -7/+45I'm confused... Is it a replacement for USB or for the South Bridge? Both?
- bantam, on 09/26/2009, -3/+40Look USB isn't going away and apple knows it. LightPeak is something out of the future for computing. IBM has been working on this technology for processors and such ti eliminate bottlenecks.
LightPeak for external devices is really a great idea. A universal port for Every dam thing you have. from LCDS to your mp3 player. - srg13, on 09/27/2009, -2/+35How exactly you'd send light down a coat hanger is beyond me...
- MacParrot, on 09/27/2009, -2/+35vt...prior to the release of the iMac, very few companies were bothering to add USB. The iMac's media splash put it on the front page and got peripheral makers interested. You can blather on all you want about Apple's market-share, but they have a lot of influence.
- Swift2, on 09/27/2009, -3/+36Hey, Intel developed USB, but it still hadn't caught on until Apple brought out the iMac, with USB. So two companies don't bring about a standard, but it can happen if there are reasons for it to succeed.
Connections are not "open source," any of them. Intel gets licensing fees for each USB plug they sell. It's not much, and what the equipment manufacturers get in return is predictability and usability. - mrBitch, on 09/27/2009, -0/+32It's a replacement for USB as well as firewire, but it has far bigger implications, re the physical design of computers :
" ... when you're using your laptop on WiFi, even with no external peripherals connected, you're still likely using USB.
On a MacBook / iMac, for example, the keyboard, trackpad, iSight camera, IR receiver, and Bluetooth controller are all connected via USB internally.
Imagine what form factors industrial designers and engineers will be able to come up with using an ultra-high bandwidth optically-based muliplexing connection standard like Light Peak.
With something like this, you could literally have the processor in the basement, the motherboard in the attic, and the rest of the components scattered around your house with no ill effects. I don't think it's hyperbole to say it will "change the way you use computers" ...
Also, as an example of the speed of this thing :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_Peak
" .. starting at 10Gb/s, with the potential ability to scale to 100Gb/s over the next decade. At 10Gb/s, a full-length Blu-Ray movie can be transferred in less than 30 seconds." - daGUY, on 09/27/2009, -4/+35Firewire is dead? Hm, I guess my external drive is connected to my computer through magic then.
- NYYBronxBombers, on 09/27/2009, -1/+30A mac is an Apple.
- Nintendesert, on 09/27/2009, -1/+29"Yeah your an idiot."
... - shuffler42, on 09/27/2009, -0/+27and in the darkness connect them.
- DeathRay2K, on 09/27/2009, -1/+27It doesn't, at least not currently. It's just fibre.
- shinythingy, on 09/27/2009, -14/+39No power means this is not better.
- ahawks, on 09/27/2009, -17/+41"Apple partners with Intel on new standard, could abandon USB"
2 companies does not a standard make. And abandoning *universal* serial bus for a "standard" that only has 2 companies behind it? Riiiiiiight. - DrLeePhD, on 09/27/2009, -3/+26they'll still charge $50 for a cable when it first comes out.
- pixelguru, on 09/27/2009, -0/+22Actually, since it is an open standard, there's nothing stopping anyone from manufacturing and selling compatible cables the same way it was done when Apple adopted USB. The only example of Apple being heavy-handed about cables in recent memory is the MagSafe power cable, which is protected by an Apple patent. Since it has saved my 'book from damage more times than I can count, I'll give them that one.
- TheGuruStud, on 09/27/2009, -3/+24Apple charged licensing fees. Intel and their consortium of dip ***** did not (only smart thing involved in that process). That's why firewire lost.
I love 1394, though. Yep, it's still kickin USB's ass after all these years. A perfect example of what an interface should be like. - jasmus, on 09/27/2009, -0/+21USB may well be around for a lot longer, but not in the form we know it. If this technology takes off, you could well be plugging your USB, Firewire, vga, DVI, HDMI and many other types of devices into a breakout box with one Light Peak connector into your computer. Your computer may not even be in the same room as your keyboard, mouse and monitor. Want to play a game on your big TV? plug the Light Peak connector into the patch in the living room, now it's your computer monitor. One connector.
- srg13, on 09/27/2009, -0/+20I've read another article somewhere that says they are putting power in the cable. It wouldn't be too hard to run a few copper wires down the sheath - it wouldn't affect the data at all.
- BullBearMS, on 09/27/2009, -0/+19"Intel said it's working on bundling the optical fiber with copper wire so Light Peak can be used to power devices plugged into the PC, he said."
http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-10360047-264.htm ... - MacParrot, on 09/27/2009, -1/+20USB isn't going anywhere anytime soon. You think something like this comes out and everyone just throws away the old stuff? IF this catches on it could take years before that happens and I'm guessing at some point you'll actually buy a new computer and peripherals?
- gaymathman, on 09/27/2009, -4/+23By that I mean they realized that Intel was pushing USB on their motherboards, and as that was >95% of the market at that time, Apple supported the vastly inferior USB interface over their 33* faster firewire interface so us Mac users could use printers, mice, etc with usb, but still have firewire for fast transfers. That's partially why the original iPod was so revolutionary, and mac only; moving songs at 400Mbps was vastly better than dealing with usb's maximum speed of 12Mbps. Firewire was so ahead of its time, it(the revision from 1995)'s still typically faster than USB 2.0, 14 years after it was introduced.
- aristotle0dude, on 09/27/2009, -5/+24Steve Jobs kidnapped a time traveller in the 80's and has been slowly introducing 25th century technology from the time ship. The iPhone is one such example of this and this is another. iPhone/iPod Touch == PADD, Light Peak == ODN conduit.
All kidding aside, Apple seems to really push the industry along. - 80hd, on 09/27/2009, -1/+19I bet that Intel isn't trying to make a 10 gigabit horseless carriage out of this.
Computers have been getting faster and faster but always within the same contrstraints. For example, disk controllers always handle storage, video data always goes over DVI/HDMI/VGA, peripherals always use USB or whatever.
I wouldn't be surprised if LightPeak is going to be pushed as an all purpose connection that allows resources to be reconfigured ad-hoc.
4 computers, all pooling their sum of resources to do 3d animation work. GPU, CPU, memory, storage, all working as a seamless unit over a 10gbit link. Awesome. - mrBitch, on 09/27/2009, -3/+20@ vtnerd, RE: " ..You're joking right? Apple's measly market share did not lead to the success of USB."
Wow, you're joking right? You don't know your tech history do you? - kevinmoore, on 09/26/2009, -6/+23Read the article and find out!
- LordofChaosIori, on 09/27/2009, -1/+17***** YOU. Don't crush my dreams. My coat hanger can send light.
- HappyScrappy, on 09/27/2009, -1/+17Except for 10GigE, which has existed for some time and is already deployed.
- spazzcat, on 09/26/2009, -1/+16Doesn't replace all those?
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