I use to think Thunderbolt is Apple hype, but wow its AWESOME!!!

Thunderbolt

I have to agree, Thunderbolt is awesome. And actually, there are thunderbolt hard drives/disks, but they're kinda expensive. The (online) Apple store has a whole bunch of them. http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/mac_accessories/storage#m.tsConnections=thunderbolt

 

I agree. Hope next year tb becomes a mass product just like usb3.

 

Yes, I used the Thunderbolt cable and target disk mode to transfer about 50GB from my 2011 to my 2012 MacBook Air. It took minutes, instead of the hours it took to migrate to my 2011 over Wi-Fi. Thunderbolt is a great technology that deserves wider use.

 

For disk transfer, even to flash drives, USB 3 is just as fast as Thunderbolt, cheaper, and it doesn't take up the valuable Thunderbolt connector which you need for display.

 

That isn't entirely true. I have a Seagate Thunderbolt adapter and a USB 3.0 enclosure. When I use an SSD, I usually get slightly quicker transfer speeds with Thunderbolt. With a regular HDD, the difference is negligible, and USB 3.0 is usually a little faster.

Also, target disk mode doesn't work over USB, but it does work using Thunderbolt.

 

If you can afford it, and need it, it is a wonderful thing.

Hopefully the cost comes down, before it becomes the next FireWire.

 

Wait till Thunderbolt becomes what it was originally intended as, Light Peak.

 

Are you really serious? You are trying to argument that thunderbolt is good because you transfered 65 gb once and it was fast?


With usb 2 you would need probably need just 45 min. You should have spent the $50 on a external disk, it would be a much wiser decision.

Like someone said here, the only people who benefit from TB are the people with too much money.

 

Thunderbolt is already kind of a repeat of firewire. A standard Apple adopts whole-heartedly while the rest PC industry is somewhat less interested what with USBx's capabilities being good enough for most users.

I expect thunderbolt to become somewhat common with pro filmmaking and the like. Though USB3 is very capable for simple disk setups, an external raid enclosure could exceed the speed of the interface. While in many scenarios you might skip TB and move straight to fiberoptic solutions, thunderbolt might make more sense "in the field" for some.

But that's thinking strictly storage. Since TB to my understanding can be treated as an extension of a PCIe slot, the possibilities should exceed USB3. External graphics cards, RAID controllers and high bandwidth video capture boxes, all possible without some pesky conversion to USB's transfer protocols.

 

I didn't crunch the numbers until just now, but with my external USB 3.0 (2.5" standard platter drive) I get 90MB/s, which is only 12min for 65gb. Seems much less impressive now.

 

The main purpose is what you described (moving over content from an old Mac to a new one).

So what makes you the arbiter of whether spending $50 on a cable to save 40 minutes transferring data vs. buying an external hard drive is a wise decision, or what "too much" money is? The OP will be able to use the cable to transfer data from the 2012 MacBook Air to whatever he or she buys next (saving more time), or perhaps to connect to a Thunderbolt accessory. PCs are starting to ship with Thunderbolt ports now, so we may start seeing more devices. Even if it is the "next Firewire," it will get some usage.

 

TB is way too expensive. I will regret to buy them now once the price is drop.

 

Unfortunately all these super fast wires/cables are still only as fast as what you are reading or writing off/to.

 

Thunderbolt does have the daisychain advantage over USB 3.0, makeing the combination of both in a computer something powerfull.

 

With usb 3 it would take 12 min longer and he would own a external disk for the same price. By reading OP's post it doesn't look like he is willing to spend an astronomical price for any TB Hardware.

As long the prices for TB hardware don't drop and it doesn't look like it's goin to happen anytime soon, it's a ridiculous over prized technology.

 

So now you have moved the goalposts to USB 3.0 from your original post of USB 2.0. For starters, the cheapest USB 3.0 drive I can find at Newegg is $70. And maybe the OP doesn't need an external drive.

 

I don't know if he is the "arbiter ". However, I will back him on his point. For those of us who are not struggling to figure out a way to spend our money Thunderbolt is a ridiculous waste of money.

 

Nope. Only dull people.

The people slagging Thunderbolt are precisely the people that don't need it. Those that need it recognize the value.

 

I call shenanigans, because my USB 3.0 external hard drive could do that amount of data in 12 minutes and some change. It's not 12 minutes faster on a 12.5m task.
How did you compute that number?

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As in someone who has $50 to throw out, but not 6 minutes to waste?

 

It isn't as if the Thunderbolt cable is worthless after using it once. From other posts, I can tell that the OP has multiple Macs, and could use it to connect the Air to another one with a Thunderbolt cable.

 

oh dang, you're right. that might save you 12 minutes over a few years!

Once peripherals are widely available it will be more useful, but I'm sure there will be aftermarket alternatives then too.

 

Thunderbolt external drives seem to be about about 3x more expensive than their USB3/FireWire counterparts. I wonder if the cost of the interface elements will come down, or if not, could they sell a permanent Thunderbolt enclosure with easily swappable drives? I know that you can already put drives into an enclosure, but perhaps a system where it's extraordinarily simple for people who are afraid of such things, something very modular. It may be a moot point anyhow if they are able to bring the price of the interface down.