Well, we got vidock micro 4 which is an external graphics solution for thunderbolt coming out in December so hope is still there
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Is anyone actually using thunderbolt.
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Well, we got vidock micro 4 which is an external graphics solution for thunderbolt coming out in December so hope is still there
To the tune of $979, no thanks. If it were more like $200 for an external PCIe cage now we'd be talking. The first thing I'd do is mount that puppy to the back of a nice big monitor. But for the price of the dock + video card I can buy a decent enough PC it's not economically viable right now to go with the Vidock.
ya, for nearly 1k for what is essentially a powered box with a video card.
please. you can pick up a geforce 560 ti, which, while not the highest end, is pretty darn snazzy for $200
the cable, box and few controller chips needed shouldn't be costing an aditional $700 or so. Pricing at that level is pricing to fail.
please. you can pick up a geforce 560 ti, which, while not the highest end, is pretty darn snazzy for $200
the cable, box and few controller chips needed shouldn't be costing an aditional $700 or so. Pricing at that level is pricing to fail.
I think it will be around 300 dollarish so I think you could get top end graphic card plus the box with around 500 dollars. Anyway, the usefulness of the box is subjective. I usually need to travel to a place and stay there for about 4 months on a yearly basis so the portability of the box really is a big plus for me.
For owners of Macs other than the current revision of the MacBook Air, I can see how people would be confused about it's usefulness.
If you have a current-model Air, Thunderbolt is awesome. I got a Thunderbolt display, and use it not only as a gorgeous 27" display, but also to connect the Air to my gigabit ethernet and to attach an external Firewire 800 drive, as well as the external dvd-burner
Because of the thin, tapered form factor of the machine, there is no room for gigabit and Firewire 800 ports on the Air. Along with the optical display, I agree with Apple's engineering decision to leave them off the Air. But to have gigabit and fw800 available through the monitor via Thunderbolt is incredible.
Thunderbolt Display + MacBook Air = Happy Mac User
If you have a current-model Air, Thunderbolt is awesome. I got a Thunderbolt display, and use it not only as a gorgeous 27" display, but also to connect the Air to my gigabit ethernet and to attach an external Firewire 800 drive, as well as the external dvd-burner
Because of the thin, tapered form factor of the machine, there is no room for gigabit and Firewire 800 ports on the Air. Along with the optical display, I agree with Apple's engineering decision to leave them off the Air. But to have gigabit and fw800 available through the monitor via Thunderbolt is incredible.
Thunderbolt Display + MacBook Air = Happy Mac User
Just remember you have to undock the external drive before you disconnect. I keep forgetting to do that. Hopefully they can do something in OSX about that at some point.
Perhaps Apple will add an "Undock" command to OS X similar to what Windows laptops have had for years.
I was on the list, they emailed me a week or so ago with a pre-order offer for the new Magma Thunderbolt cage.
http://www.magma.com/thunderbolt.asp
Does not include video card or monitor...
I am using thunderbolt with my promise Pegasus hard drive. I use it to back up photos from aperture back up some Time Machine among other things. I really enjoy the speed that I get to do things with and I love the capacity! While it is a little expensive
I feel it is worth it for the long run.
I feel it is worth it for the long run.
Absolutely
I have a MacBook Air and it is connected to a Promise Pegasus R4 drive, which is actually cheaper (per TB) - and much faster - than than the LaCie TB drive.
I use it for direct access to my photos and to other media. It's much faster than any internal drive could be, including the very fast SSD drive that comes with the MacBook Air.
I also have a standard Dell 24" Monitor connected out the back end of the R4 drive using a standard mini display port adapter connected to a standard VGA connector. Works great. I keep the MacBook Air in clamshell mode the entire time, using an external bluetooth keyboard and tack pad.
I have a MacBook Air and it is connected to a Promise Pegasus R4 drive, which is actually cheaper (per TB) - and much faster - than than the LaCie TB drive.
I use it for direct access to my photos and to other media. It's much faster than any internal drive could be, including the very fast SSD drive that comes with the MacBook Air.
I also have a standard Dell 24" Monitor connected out the back end of the R4 drive using a standard mini display port adapter connected to a standard VGA connector. Works great. I keep the MacBook Air in clamshell mode the entire time, using an external bluetooth keyboard and tack pad.
It may be adequate for most users but based on the costs for TB peripherals so far it may not be much cheaper.