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Apr 12, 2001
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Last week, Intel demoed a new interconnect technology called "Light Peak" which promises to be a flexible high performance optical connector:
Intel just showed off a glimpse of the future: Light Peak, an optical interconnect for mobile devices that can run as fast as 10Gbps. That's fast enough to do everything from storage to displays to networking, and it can maintain those speeds over 100-meter runs, which is pretty astounding. Intel says the idea is to drastically reduce the number of connectors on mobile devices, which should allow them to get even smaller
The technology could eventually replace the use of Firewire, USB and even display connectors in the future. Engadget has since revealed that 'Light Peak' was actually originally conceived of by Apple and brought to Intel.
Apple had reached out to Intel as early as 2007 with plans for an interoperable standard which could handle massive amounts of data and "replace the multitudinous connector types with a single connector (FireWire, USB, Display interface)."
The original conversations happened between Apple's Steve Jobs and Intel's Paul Otellini. In fact, the technology was said to have been demoed last week on a prototype Mac Pro motherboard.

The new connector is rumored to be introduced into the Mac lineup in the Fall of 2010, with a low-power variant due in 2011 for mobile devices. Such a move could result in a single connectivity standard in the future, reducing the types of ports on a device to only this single one. The fact that various types of data including High Definition displays can be driven through the connector has led to some speculation that Apple could incorporate such a connector into their rumored tablet.

Article Link: Apple and Intel Collaborate on Next Generation 'Light Peak' Connectors?
 
Heard it transfers at 10GB/s. At the moment that's a BluRay movie in 30 Seconds. And plans for it to increase to 100GB/s within the next 10 years. :)

Also notable is that it can be used in Exchanges to speed up internet connections and phone calls/SMS... :cool:
 
Sounds nice.

It would still need at least two copper wires to supply power to devices without their own power plugs. Only way to get power through optical would be to have little solar cells on the end. :)
 
Well, if this comes out in 2010, it'll make SATA3.0/eSATA/USB3/FW3200 all redundant before they get mainstream.

It might get a tad confusing if every connector on the computer has the same shape.
 
THIS is what I've been waiting for! I'm so tired of 5 different ports with different cables and connectors! Give me ONE cable (or somehow do it all wirelessly ;) )!!!
 
Sounds nice.

It would still need at least two copper wires to supply power to devices without their own power plugs. Only way to get power through optical would be to have little solar cells on the end. :)

Yeah, it has incorporated copper wires for power. It's also robust and flexible enough to work even when tied into a knot (not a trivial thing with optical connections).
 
Well, if this comes out in 2010, it'll make SATA3.0/eSATA/USB3/FW3200 all redundant before they get mainstream.

It might get a tad confusing if every connector on the computer has the same shape.

Haha, I was just thinking of that. Just color code them :]
 
Well, if this comes out in 2010, it'll make SATA3.0/eSATA/USB3/FW3200 all redundant before they get mainstream.

It might get a tad confusing if every connector on the computer has the same shape.

The idea is that any port can connect to any device that's Light Peak compatible. There's not gonna be any confusion with this one :)
 
This sounds sweet. That is some serious speed. Only problem, that is one more interface to add on to the ever growing list of interfaces. FireWire 400 is dead, 800 by next year. USB 2.0 is going be dead soon, and 3.0 is nowhere to be seen. Very interesting stuff here.
 
Haha, I was just thinking of that. Just color code them :]

Um...no...

The whole point is that all the connectors are the same. You can plug anything into any port.


So no DVI, HDMI, Displayport, USB, Firewire, ADB, TOS link, microphone, etc... Everything would plug into any LightPeak port reguardless of it's function.

Of course, for a while they'd have to have all the legacy ports until the device makers catch up.
 
At face value, it sounds more like a reincarnated ADC (Apple Display Connector) than a replacement for USB.

Additionally, it’s going to take a hell of a lot of marketing and arm twisting to get the entire peripheral industry to adopt Light Peak. I just hope Apple doesn’t go radical with it (like they did with USB 1.0, which worked in their favor).

The big question is why is Intel promoting USB 3.0 if they have Light Peak coming around the corner (2010). And why did Apple (who has never been afraid to develop a new standard) have Intel develop it?

Somehow this story doesn’t add up.
 
They JUST moved to mini display port for displays, and right now Apple only has one display that supports it natively. Fall 2010 seems a little quick to move to a new standard for display technology, but I guess it wouldn't be the first time Apple did that.
 
It might get a tad confusing if every connector on the computer has the same shape.

Haha, I was just thinking of that. Just color code them :]

I don't understand. It doesn't matter which USB port you plug your mouse/keyboard/iphone/printer/scanner/thumb-drive into. Why? Because they all identify themselves over a common protocol. Why couldn't this connector do the same? It just has the ability to cover more uses such as video and networking because of its higher bandwidth abilities.
 
Heard it transfers at 10GB/s. At the moment that's a BluRay movie in 30 Seconds. And plans for it to increase to 100GB/s within the next 10 years. :)

Also notable is that it can be used in Exchanges to speed up internet connections and phone calls/SMS... :cool:

Gb not GB.
 
Does it operate at peak speed all the time like Firewire does? USB 2.0 rarely operates above half its rated speed and often runs at USB 1.1 speeds. It only goes up to its maximum speed in short bursts.
 
Gb not GB.

... correct... little 'b' stands for "bits". big 'B' stands for Bytes. It's fast, but you're talking about a magnitude of 8 difference.

Generally, protocol transfer speeds are represented in bits per second, and storage mediums are represented in bytes.
 
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