Sony is “threatening to fragment the Thunderbolt standard before it even has a chance to clear port,” John Brownlee reports for Cult of Mac. “On their latest Vaio, “instead of using the Mini DisplayPort standard that Apple has settled upon for its own implementation of Thunderbolt, Sony’s decided to go with a USB head, despite the fact that in the past, the USB Implementers Forum stated in no uncertain terms that ‘USB connectors are not general purpose connectors and are not designed to be used in support of other technology applications or standards or as combo connectors.’”

Brownlee writes, “Irritating. While Sony is free to ultimately choose whichever connector it pleases for Thunderbolt, it’s discouraging to see Thunderbolt fragment into talk of USB-to-Mini-DisplayPort adapters before the first Thunderbolt peripheral has even shipped. Boo, Sony. Boo.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Typical. Whether led by homegrown talent or one unchivalrous knight, from rootkit CDs to fake iPods to screwing up standards, Sony remains firmly committed to proprietary douchebaggery. It’s crap 4-circuit FireWire, er, “i.LINK,” all over again. Good thing that nobody with money and sense buys a Sony laptop over Apple MacBook Pro/Air. Thanks to their own endless bumbling, Sony can’t much threaten anybody or anything with their love of the proprietary. Sony’s ability to undermine and fragment tech standards has been greatly diminished.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader "Lava_Head_UK" for the heads up.]