Hewlett Packard Not Convinced of the Value of Thunderbolt

[bommai]

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In the professional world I have not seen hdmi at all. All I see are full size display ports. Dell hp etc.

 

[erzhik]

HP does have a point and I don't see why so many of you are so defensive. Thunderbolt is Firewire all over again. It will get great introduction, tech people will clap but in the end..USB will take over the market. Reason? Every single person knows USB. USB 3.0 will be on every single thing, thunderbolt won't. Even Apple themselves are not sure about it.

And with HP being not convinced, nobody will adopt thunderbolt. Like them or not, HP still dominates the market and other look up to HP in terms of new technology adoption. And for those saying HP makes cheap computer, well yeah... They are cheap and cost less. Not everyone can afford a $2000 laptop you know.

 

[leandroc76]

HP was never really a big supporter of thunderbolt. Not sure why this is big news.
Meanwhile Dell, Sony, Apple, Intel and many other big brands are behind Thunderbolt.

Exactly, and lets face it, if your still buying an HP rig, you are not exactly looking for loads of computing power.

 

[faroZ06]

Although I dislike HP hardware...they (really the entire Wintel industry) have a point: If there's not much point/value/improvement for TB over USB 3.0 for the 90% of consumers out there, what's the point in investing in TB?

I agree.

USB 3.0 is blazing fast and it's the evolutionary...not revolutionary...it's backwards compatible...it's familiar...the whole 9 yards.

This is going to be another USB vs. Firewire story...where they both exist but 1% of the world actually uses FW (even if it's on 8% of the machines) while everyone else uses USB.

There will always be exceptions and certain folks may really need TB, but for the very very very high majority of consumers, USB 3.0 just makes so much more sense. As well as for the manufacturers.

I have to add that it doesn't help TB's cause that Apple is the one leading the adoption on TB...everyone knows Apple is proprietary (gotta love all their iOS chargers/cables).

USB is more useful for consumers because it's cheap, and it works with little flash-memory cameras. I need a lot more speed for my HDV camcorder. Even FireWire is slightly too slow for it.

 

[ericinboston]

As of now, we only have about 3 products announced with TBolt. Two of them are HDD arrays that will run $1799 and up guaranteed, the other is a portable dual HDD enclosure that will still only serve a market that is already flocking to Apple.

And not trying to compare oranges to oranges...but there are over 130 external hard drives supporting USB 3.0 right now!!....and you know how much more expensive they are than last year's USB 2.0 predecessor?...about $10. On a bad day. 1TB USB 3.0 drives selling for $89 (Western Digital, so no junk names) and up.

With 130 external drives out already, I would say USB 3.0 has already won...it's just time for the desktops/laptops to stick the ports on.

 

[OllyW]

I haven't seen any devices that use USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt yet.

And I hate USB's inability to be used for video editing and its use of computer resources. Thunderbolt seems better for now...

Have you looked?

Most of the new external hard drives coming out now have got USB 3.0.

There are no Thunderbolt products shipping, the first ones are expected for Summer 2011.

 

[faroZ06]

I find it funny that the resident Apple Fan boys are touting the benefits of the NEW hardly adopted connection, saying people need this and this is the future.

Those same people hammer google/microsoft/verizon/samsung/dell/hp for things they do that "doesnt really matter, or has no use"

NFC?
LTE?
Bluray?
Voice Recognition?

and so on...

Voice Recognition is used in the iPhone, and I personally think it sucks. BluRay is pointless because of the growing HD streaming services that are cheaper than buying a Bluray player and discs.
Who says LTE is bad?
And I think that USB 3.0 will become more widely used, but I do like Thunderbolt more for its pro video capabilities.

 

[faroZ06]

Have you looked?

Most of the new external hard drives coming out now have got USB 3.0.

There are no Thunderbolt products shipping, the first ones are expected for Summer 2011.

Really? I've been looking online a lot for hard drives recently and haven't seen any with USB 3.0. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place.

Also, Thunderbolt is much newer than USB 3.0, so it's not expected to have products for it yet. I still think that unfortunately, USB will become more widely used.

 

[Steve121178]

Ahhh, HP. The Microsoft Windows of computer hardware.

HP are not worthy of such praise.

 

[prrbill]

They All Laughed

The same thing was said by the PC crowd about Apple using USB on the original iMac. I was an Apple Demo person and demoed the iMac at the local Micro Center. MC was the first retail store with the "store within the store" concept and the PC department was right next to the Apple department. All the PC sales people were laughing about Apple using an Intel invention (USB) on the iMac after it had died on the few PCs it was tried on.

"Ho, Ho, Ho, who's got the last laugh now?" ("They All Laughed" by George and Ira Gershwin)

 

[dgree03]

Although I dislike HP hardware...they (really the entire Wintel industry) have a point: If there's not much point/value/improvement for TB over USB 3.0 for the 90% of consumers out there, what's the point in investing in TB?

This is EXACTLY what apple fans always put forth when trying to get people to understand why Apple is successful. But yet, when it isnt a apple product, then using this train of thought is bad

 

[faroZ06]

The same technology is designed to work with copper cables (called Thunderbolt by Intel) and using fibre optics (called Lightpeak by Intel). Apple uses copper cables, which is the technology that actually works today, and uses the name that Intel gave it.

Just saying, thunder is only sound, not light. Why did Apple use that name?

 

[layte]

Really? I've been looking online a lot for hard drives recently and haven't seen any with USB 3.0. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place.

Type 'USB3 HDD' into Google shopping and see thousands of results pop up.

 

[Vulkan]

.... and this is another decision that puts pc manufacturers in the stone age compared to where we are with the macs. idiots.

 

[Marx55]

Apple should include Thunderbolt in all products to avoid repetating the Firewire fiasco.

 

[toddybody]

I only read half the previous posts in this thread, but I caught the general mood. As a video professional, I must say...

WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE???

Thunderbolt is exactly what I've been wanting. It's a tiny port that goes a long way toward eliminating obsolescence. I'll be able to edit HD video at full performance anywhere on a laptop with a RAID array without dragging a Mac Pro around. It has the potential to hook almost anything to anything.

Yet, you people say it's "too fast", asking what's the need? Seriously??? I suppose when half the posters say that USB2 was better than Firewire, they're probably not gonna get it no matter what they hear. If I see another post on any forum or blog saying Thunderbolt is pointless, I just may scream.

Uhhhhmmm...I dont think folks are complaining that its "too fast". The primary arguments are adoption and viability.

Since SSD are so expensive, the likelihood of folks spending 1k in SSD for a ThunderBolt external enclosure is pretty slim right now. Sorry, we cant all be $$$ baller $$$ "video professionals" like you

 

[iSee]

That's OK; I'm not convinced of the value of HP

 

[ericinboston]

USB is more useful for consumers because it's cheap

Cheap? Huh? (Price, quality, ???) You need to elaborate...USB (which has been extremely mainstream since the late 90s) has been around since 1994.

...and it works with little flash-memory cameras. I need a lot more speed for my HDV camcorder. Even FireWire is slightly too slow for it.

USB works with everything...cameras, printers, mice, keyboards, hard drives, sound cards, etc. It works with everything because it's been around for 16+ years. Of course when it was 2 months old it did not work with the millions of units that it does today...simply because as things become a standard, it's used more and more.

Yes, you fall into the 1% of consumers/prosumers that need extremely fast i/o to do the work that you want to do in the fastest possible time in order to save you time and money. You will probably want TB instead of USB 3.0.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Just saying, thunder is only sound, not light. Why did Apple use that name?

1) The name isn't "Thunder", it's "Thunderbolt." The definition of a thunderbolt is simultaneous thunder and lightning. So your quibble is misplaced as a thunderbolt has both visual and audible features.

2) Did Apple name it? It's an Intel technology. Apple only helped in it's development.

 

[Digital Skunk]

I only read half the previous posts in this thread, but I caught the general mood. As a video professional...

Not everyone edits video.

And not trying to compare oranges to oranges...but there are over 130 external hard drives supporting USB 3.0 right now!!....and you know how much more expensive they are than last year's USB 2.0 predecessor?...about $10. On a bad day. 1TB USB 3.0 drives selling for $89 (Western Digital, so no junk names) and up.

With 130 external drives out already, I would say USB 3.0 has already won...it's just time for the desktops/laptops to stick the ports on.

Don't you DARE go and compare oranges to oranges. . . . it MUST be Apples to Oranges!

Seriously though you're so correct. The price increase of USB3.0 is tiny, smaller than FW800. I've seen USB3.0 enclosures from every major drive maker so far and even high end production capable USB3.0 devices.

It's truly a shame that Apple hasn't put USB 3.0 into their any of their machines.

Really? I've been looking online a lot for hard drives recently and haven't seen any with USB 3.0. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place.

You are SO looking in the wrong places.

www.newegg.com
www.besbuy.com
www.target.com
www.walmart.com
www.tigerdirect.com
www.staples.com

Just to name a few.

Also, Thunderbolt is much newer than USB 3.0, so it's not expected to have products for it yet. I still think that unfortunately, USB will become more widely used.

There will be both, like there is for FW800 and USB 2.0 now. USB will still be used for lower bandwidth applications that 90% of the industry will use. TBolt will be used by that last 10% that needs or think they need the high throughput.

 

[emulator]

I like apple but they have to realize with only 10% of the computers no one is going to go out of their way to make some hardware that will only work on those machine. Look at display port. No one in the industry uses it but Apple, For people with macs if they want to use a non mac monitor they have to purchase adopters.

Apple use different kind of connectors to make people buy accessories and adapters for 10x more.

It's similar to HDMI cables, you can get perfect, gold plated cables for $1 shipped while people buy similar cables for $25 at BB.

 

[Thunderhawks]

Just saying, thunder is only sound, not light. Why did Apple use that name?

Blitzkrieg was taken!

 

[mBox]

They have a point as of now since there are very few reasons to include a thunderbolt port, however I hope and think this will change in the near future at which time HP will jump on the bandwagon.

I couldnt care less what HP or other mfg are up to these days. Maybe years ago but not at my level of computer usage, Apple products or whatever I may need is all that I care about.
If im worried about Thunderbolt it would only concern my Apple product.
All HP does for me are printer products. We dont even use them for 3D workstations anymore. Other mfg do better such as BOXX technology.

 

[ericinboston]

I only read half the previous posts in this thread, but I caught the general mood. As a video professional, I must say...

WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE???

Thunderbolt is exactly what I've been wanting. It's a tiny port that goes a long way toward eliminating obsolescence. I'll be able to edit HD video at full performance anywhere on a laptop with a RAID array without dragging a Mac Pro around. It has the potential to hook almost anything to anything.

Yet, you people say it's "too fast", asking what's the need? Seriously??? I suppose when half the posters say that USB2 was better than Firewire, they're probably not gonna get it no matter what they hear. If I see another post on any forum or blog saying Thunderbolt is pointless, I just may scream.

Um...I don't think anyone here is stating it is too fast. I think the main points in this thread are:

1)TB is extremely fast compared to consumer stuff before (USB 2.0 and FW)
2)But is TB going to be adopted/put on every low end-mid grade computer (not just Mac) like USB? Doubt it. Especially with Apple promoting it (gotta love all the proprietary iOS chargers/cords as well as the display cables, etc)
3)USB 3.0, for 90% of consumers, is just as fast as TB for what consumers will be using it for (printers, cameras, syncing iPod, backing up 100GB data, etc).
4)USB 3.0 is evolutionary...not revolutionary.

 

[NebulaClash]

Yeah, the future is great! As an iPad user I get to buy a $50 HDMI adapter to plug into my iPad's propitiatory 30 pin port!!!

One exclamation mark can easily make the point that you are a cheapskate who pays too much for his tech.