This story is not a repeat from 2000. We are once again talking about transfer speeds and the relative qualities of two wired transfer standards. Thunderbolt and USB 3.0.
A little background. USB 3.0 is the latest version of the long standing data transfer standard. Yeah, there are about 15 different connectors but the basics are all the same. Every computer made after 2000, no matter the OS, supports USB 2. USB ups the transfer speed around 110MBps. As other parts of the pipeline get better, that should reach 640MBps or just shy of SATA3 speeds.
Thunderbolt is a new standard from Intel and is currently only available in some Macs. Intel's goal is to create a standard that can stand up to professonal video development. When maxed out, Thunderbolt can reach a transfer speed of 1.2GBps. Nothing on the market short the highest end sold state hardrives can move that much data. Intel and Apple also tout Thunderbolt's ability to push video out to large monitors along with enough power to power 2 30 inch LED monitors.
At the end of the day, neither really stand up. USB 2 is not that much faster than USB 3. Since it uses the same ports, it will simply replace the current standard. After 10+ years, not much has changed. Thunderbolt has no place on the consumer. Most people are moving to notebooks and wireless standards.
For Now,
Mike
Chicago laptop repair
