Thursday, April 14, 2011

Behind the scenes on Thunderbolt



Before I get in to showing all the products with Thunderbolt in the works, I need to mention that there is a feud going on.  Every Thunderbolt cable on the floor was a very recognizable white, manufactured specifically by Apple.  Why?  They're fighting with Intel for exclusivity on the damn port.  (Don't forget that Intel is actually the owner of the technology)  Apple I get it, you want world domination, but stop being the whiney kid in the corner of the sandbox.  Making the port exclusive will reduce adoption of the protocol and raise prices across the board of hardware.  What about exclusivity makes this a good idea!?

All these third-party companies clearly have Thunderbolt working in various forms, but as explained to me by the folks at Lacie, the only holdup is manufacturing and shipping rights.  When I asked about pricing from G-Tech, they mentioned that a Thunderbolt-equipped drive system will likely be more expensive, because of the port.  Because of these fusses, no one has a manufacturing and shipping date, or a price point.  Right now, all they have to offer us is a dream in the form of a prototype.

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