Any discussion of the value of Thunderbolt is moot at this point since there are no peripherals that use Thunderbolt (other than the Apple Cinema Display monitors that can use the Thunderbolt in lieu of Mini DisplayPort). If and when the Thunderbolt-connected drives from LaCie and Promise actually ship later this year, we can discuss further at that point. Until then, HP's decision to forgo the adoption of Thunderbolt is spot on.
Wrong. HP's decision is short-sighted. This is why Apple is so far ahead of the competition.