Who the hell buys thunderbolt accessories? ...
The whole idea look stupid with the new USB 3.0 itself capable of 10GBps which was the thunderbolt's main selling point. Why would people buy a new connector when there is the ubiquitous USB which can do the same thing and you can literally plug anything to it?
...
Because it is not the same thing.
There are other useful interfaces that provide capabilities that USB 3.0 cannot provide:
- like SAS
- like Fiber Channel
These interfaces are for pros, not the everyday consumer.
Thunderbolt brings some of that high speed capability down to the prosumer level, or to consumers who require a reliable, high-speed interface.
Note well the lack of reliable USB 3.0 RAID systems. Many empty chassis configs at
Amazon and other vendors, but also a large number of bad reviews and problem reports.
If all you need is a single drive, then you are right, USB 3.0 can do most everything you require.
There are many USB 3.0 peripherals out there; some certified, but most not. Your experience with them may be acceptable.
Within the USB 3.0 spec are many capabilities, some which help deliver the similar performance for storage products, but not all devices implement the full spec capabilities.
Can you tell from the connector or by looking at a product if a disk drive supports UAS or BOT? (check WikiPedia if you don't know what this means)
Can you tell by looking at a cable whether you have a good cable or a flaky one? Many USB cables seem to have difficulty reliably connecting at max USB 3.0 SuperSpeed. Do you know why these flaky cables are out in the market?
Can you tell by looking which USB 3.0 cables won't interfere with WiFi or BlueTooth
Can you tell by looking which PCIe or ExpressCard cards that can be added to existing Macs are certified and support the full USB 3.0 spec?
I say this not to say which is a better inteface, Thunderbolt or USB 3.0, but rather to point out that a well designed USB 3.0 device can perform well for most people, but cannot provide some of the capabilities that Thunderbolt can.
Further, Intel has decided that all Thunderbolt devices must be certified and pass a battery of tests before being sold on the market.
Yes, there is a USB-IF certification process, but certification is not required to sell a product. You can visit usb.org for the specs,and I can assure you that there are way too many USB 3.0 products on the market that cannot comply with the specs.
So...long story short, if USB 3.0 devices meet your requirement, then go for it. Just remember there is a smaller group of users whose needs are being met by Thunderbolt, when USB 3.0 cannot.
Disclaimer: I am the happy user of both USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt devices on both Macs as well as PCs. Alas, my g4cube cannot be upgraded to either USB 3.0, USB 2.0, or Thunderbolt. Only a very slow USB 1.1 set of ports, and 2 FW400 ports.
