Thanks Cubytus....
Wife -- epidemiologist, MD, insect-borne disease specialist and researcher (particularly malaria)
Me -- Pro Photographer, Scientist in geo.... (not half as smart as my beautiful wife!!!)
We love our work, but we love one another more and we need the right tools for the field. For us, the field is the middle of nowhere.
What is ideal for some people here, may be a severe compromise for us. In fact, the MBP is a compromise already, and the Air isn't even possible for us to use, but we love the weight.
We could definitely use USB 3 on our MBPs. Why Appie's reluctantancy to give us technology everyone else uses, if they don't name claim to it is beyond me. USB 3 has been standard for several years. Graphics, statistical analysis and scientific programs all need lots of computing power, so we need those third-party back-up batteries (which we use sparingly.) And we need fast CPUs and mucho RAM.
Thunderbolt is better, but while waiting for reasonably priced competitive thunderbolt peripherals, USB 3 should have been included. I am sure Apple has its reasons, but it is frustrating to see others using faster drives than I can use on my MBP without paying a ransom to the hard drive companies.