“Next week Apple will have a product event, presumably to announce the next generation of MacBook Pro notebooks,” Bob Cringely writes for I, Cringely. “Every year we see these upgrades. The notebooks get faster with more storage and every couple years they look a little different.”
“This time, however, there will be another change — the addition of a new type of peripheral data port called Light Peak that promises, at 10 gigabits-per-second — to be the fastest-yet connection between a Mac and a storage device or even from one Mac to another,” Cringely writes. “And this latter use is key because in addition to Light Peak-equipped MacBook Pros, I expect to see next week a Light Peak Mac Mini.”
Cringely writes, “Now that’s interesting.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Mtnmnn” for the heads up.]
Perhaps a replacement for the useful functionality of “FireWire Target Disk Mode.” But hopefully, the FireWire port will remain (on the Macs that still have FireWire) for a few more generations.
The FireWire port, along with all the other ports, will be gone in favor of design simplicity. However, Apple will sell you a Light Peak to FireWire adaptor for 30 dollars.
I predict no firewire port, but an available adaptor from Light Peak to firewire.
Is that possible in a viable way? FireWire works differently, with protocols for things like daisy-chaining. If it’s just a matter of making a cheap adapter that changes the shape of the connector (like going from FireWire 400 to FireWire 800), someone would be making such adapters for USB to FireWire conversion and selling it for $30.
Somehow, I don’t think this new Light Peak technology is so directly and simply compatible with FireWire.
Yes and no. Lightpeak is design to transport other protocols. So USB and Firewire can essentially be tunneled through light peak. It would not be so much an adapter as a firewire port/card that connects through lightpeak.
So if it’s possible technically, you’re saying it will be some type of more costly (and bulky) interface device, not a simple adapter that costs $30 (or $15 without the Apple logo on it).
“Every year we see these upgrades.”
Yes, but Apple doesn’t host an “event” to announce them.
Re “…hopefully, the FireWire port will remain (on the Macs that still have FireWire) for a few more generations.”
Isn’t that a tautology? Of COURSE the port will remain on those machines that still have the port. Apple’s trend, however, has been away from Firewire, which is not present on the MacBook Air line at all.
If this is the case, I would think there would have to be a concerted effort by Intel and their partners to roll out LightPeak devices alongside any new computers that had it. It’s not going to be a big selling point if you don’t have anything to plug into it.
Here, here!
Where, where?
Or did you mean, “Hear, hear!”
Beer, beer!
Or did you mean, “Bear, Bear!”
There, there…
Might LightPeak it be plug-compatible (autosensing) with USB3? if so, there would already be a market of available products. True, the really high speeds would only come with LightPeak devices, but at least you could do both.
Lightpeak by name suggests a light based system of data transport. Doesn’t seem likely that it could share a port with a wire based transport system. Therefore an autosensing mechanism seems pretty unlikely.
Ah, hum,
Light Peak is a bus rather than an interface. USB3 runs over it, so you can use it to run all your usb3 devices through it. And others too.
While Firewire may be old, I still find it much much faster than USB 2 for large file transfer and tons of smaller files. When I do video file handling, I always prefer Firewire…. and we are talking 400 here as 800 never really caught on.
Just a thought,
en
I have a feeling the iPad 2 will have LightPeak also, so there will be something to play with. Perhaps some external hd partners also.
Holy crap.. how many products are they updating :S
Light Peak is cool, but of little use until other gadgets have it too.
much more important now and forever would be the rumored addition of an SSD boot/system/app drive in all Macs. that would great.
What about the scuttlebut that the initial version of LightPeak will not be fiber optic, but rather, copper (and that the name will change)? Any thoughts on this?