Thunderbolt, really?

[Alex Gerulaitis]

Someone elsewhere on this forum linked this CNet live blog:

10:19 a.m. (Dong Ngo) : The cable is not backward compatible with USB 3.0. Also you won’t be able to “upgrade” to this via add-in card. The only way to have it is getting a new computer/motherboard.

HTH
Alex
DV411

[Bob Zelin]

the one important thing to understand about Thunderbolt is that this is technology, no different than anything else that has ever come out (like SCSI on the original MAC). This is generation 1 of Thunderbolt. Which means that you have only 6 devices maximum, which includes the computers, drives, monitors, etc. AND with a 3 meter cable limit. So don’t think you are building a big networks with this – it’s right now similar to what SCSI once was when it first came out.

And yes – all your existing peripherals are not compatible – all AJA, Blackmagic, drive arrays, printers, scanners, etc, etc. all don’t work.

And so you will rush out to buy Thunderbolt, and the next gen will come out (lets say 2012), and it will be newer, faster, better, cheaper, and incompatible with what you already have (or it will slow down if you use your existing gear). I am sure that ONE DAY (1 -2 years) there will be host adaptors, switches, hubs, etc, etc, but not today.

And you know exactly what will happen already – for the next 3 years, everyone will buy into this (and it will be great), and in 2014, something better (and incompatible) will come out, and we will all throw out our investments, and buy the “next thing”.

This is day 1 of Thunderbolt/Lightpeak. It will get better, it will change, it will become more flexible, and you will continue to spend money on it (or something else) every few months – just like we always do.

But am I anxious to see the Pegasus from Promise in action – you bet I am .

Bob Zelin

[Alex Gerulaitis]

[Bob Zelin] ” the next gen … will be … incompatible with what you already have (or it will slow down if you use your existing gear)”

Bob is right on the money – as we have yet to see any TBolt devices or killer app that make it more than just another bus, or a simple evolution of purely laptop based connectivity.

That said, I doubt the next TBolt iteration will make the current one obsolete: that’s not what happened to USB – and even SCSI – or HDMI. Because Thunderbolt is based on two protocols – PCIe and DP, there is no reason for future iterations to not be backward compatible, or to slow down with slower devices. PCIe is a switched bus, easily managing slower and faster devices.

Alex
DV411

[Alex Gerulaitis]

[Alex Geroulaitis] ” I doubt the next TBolt iteration will make the current one obsolete: that’s not what happened to USB – and even SCSI – or HDMI”

The issue however is not that the current version will become obsolete. It’s that it’s limited to motherboards with integrated graphics – i.e. laptops and entry-level nettops and desktops – basically making it unusable for heavy duty graphics applications – be it gaming, 4K editing or compositing.

Frankly I don’t understand the logic behind combining DP and PCIe in Thunderbolt. Separating them will make for an easy implementation of Thunderbolt on any computer with a PCIe slot. Combining them – confines Thunderbolt to systems with integrated graphics.

Your (probably not inexpensive) Thunderbolt storage box or broadcast IO device will not be able to connect to your main editing system – only to your laptop. Does this make sense?

Did Intel and Apple really envision Thunderbolt as exclusively mobile and light duty computer interface?

Alex
DV411