New Apple Features - Thunderbolt

For link on Apple's page: http://www.apple.com/thunderbolt/
For link on Intel's page: http://www.intel.com/technology/io/thunderbolt/index.htm

Thunderbolt is a new port made by Intel (USB 2.0, Firewire 800, USB 3.0) on the new MacBook Pros. It's up to 20 times faster than USB 2.0 and more than 12 times faster than Firewire 800 ( And still twice as fast as USB 3.0).

"One small port. One giant leap in possibilities.

MacBook Pro now gives you access to a world of high-resolution displays and high-speed peripherals with one compact port. That’s because Thunderbolt is based on two fundamental technologies: PCI Express and DisplayPort.

PCI Express is the technology that links all the high-performance components in a Mac. And it’s built into Thunderbolt. Which means you can connect external devices like RAID arrays and video capture solutions directly to MacBook Pro — and get PCI Express performance. That’s a first for notebooks. Thunderbolt also provides 10 watts of power to peripherals, so you can tackle workstation-class projects on the go. With PCI Express technology, you can use existing USB and FireWire peripherals — even connect to Gigabit Ethernet and Fibre Channel networks — using simple adapters.

And because Thunderbolt is based on DisplayPort technology, the video standard for high-resolution displays, any Mini DisplayPort display plugs right into the Thunderbolt port. To connect a DisplayPort, DVI, HDMI, or VGA display, just use an existing adapter."

Source: Apple's website

apple.com

"Powerful technology from a powerful collaboration.

Thunderbolt began at Intel Labs with a simple concept: create an incredibly fast input/output technology that just about anything can plug into. After close technical collaboration between Intel and Apple, Thunderbolt emerged from the lab to make its first appearance in MacBook Pro.

Intel co-invented USB and PCI Express, which have become widely adopted technologies for data transfer. Apple invented FireWire and was instrumental in popularizing USB. Their collective experience has made Thunderbolt the most powerful, most flexible I/O technology ever in a personal computer."

Source: Apple's website