Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Nothing yet. I honestly question whether or not it will actually happen. I understand that r&d needs to be thorough however their market is only shrinking as 2011 mac users are either upgrading or finding other solutions.
Remember the MacBook Airs and Retina Pros don't have ethernet ports. So there would always be a market for a USB+Ethernet Thunderbolt connector.
 
No reply from them yet. But other solutions coming soon. Caldigit has a 200 dollar hub coming soon. And this looks promising.

Caldiget's hub was released in November (I think.) It is working well for me so far, but I admit I don't have many USB 3 devices (only reason I purchased it.)
 
My issue

well this is my issues with all this,

I have a 8TB Graid that i have a lot of movies and music on ( go figure ).

Its Thunderbolt, Also I have a iMac at the house with 2 Thunderbolt connections, after a trip to the floor with my MBP I got shafted with a DVI |[]| type of ( display ) port instead of a Thunderbolt like my last MBP, so i like to take the Thunder cable and just have a adaptor for anything.

I know what you might say is just keep the 8th at the house on the iMac, well i travel and like taking this with me. Any thoughts ?


K.
 
I saw a prototype of the Kanex Thunderbolt to USB3/eSATA dongle at CES. Looked nice and clean but it was not being demoed. It was a statics display.

Possibly April release.
 
I saw a prototype of the Kanex Thunderbolt to USB3/eSATA dongle at CES. Looked nice and clean but it was not being demoed. It was a statics display.

Possibly April release.

Cool, thanks for sharing. Still no email from them. Good to know this is real and not just a page they made.

BTW did they mention price?

Edit: According to this Facebook under 100 dollars…

https://www.facebook.com/kanexproducts
 
Last edited:
So it is not vaporware?

Vaporware until it actually can be purchased and used by end-users.

Sort of like the Sonnet Echo dock announced a year ago, and now pushed out until the Summer/Fall.

Announcing products but not delivering doesn't bring companies any revenue.
 
Size is not the issue, the issue is price. It is overkill for something that should be simple. Like using a docking station as an extension chord.

All I want is TB to USB. My SSD is on my USB hub so anything I can put on another hub is bandwidth that will not slow the USB.
 
I use the Belkin Thunderbolt Express.

It works really well, USB3.0 limited to 2.5GB/sec BUT that is more than enough
to run my USB3.0 portable / 3.5 drives, which CANNOT move data around anywhere near
that fast..... spinners just won't read write any faster.

It's still WAY faster than USB2.0 and also gives me a TB through port & FW800 for some
older peripherals.

Not cheap and I did consider "not bothering" but it helps with my 2011 MBP, having
only TB and USB2.0 plus 1 x FW800.

Keeps connections nice and neat too with just one cable from the MBP.
Caldigit would probably have been the better solution with hindsight.

M.
 
All Macs since about 2000 have Gigabit Ethernet.


Both of you are way off.

According to the product documentation available on the Internet Apple made computers with Fast Ethernet up until 2005. Below is a list of ones that were easily found. There may be other that are not included in the below list.

Facts said:
Mac Mini - January 2005
Mac Mini (Late 2005) - September 2005

iMac (Summer 2000) - July 2000
iMac (Early 2001) - February 2001
iMac (Summer 2001) - July 2001
iMac (Flat Panel) - January 2002
iMac (17-inch Flat Panel) - July 2002
iMac (15-inch Early 2003) - February 2003
iMac (17-inch Flat Panel, 1GHz) - February 2003
iMac (15-inch USB 2.0) - September 2003
iMac (17-inch USB 2.0) - September 2003
iMac (20-inch USB 2.0) - November 2003
iMac G5 (17-inch) - August 2004
iMac G5 (20-inch) - August 2004

eMac - May 2002
eMac (ATI Graphics) - May 2003
eMac (1GHz G4) - October 2003
eMac (USB 2.0) - April 2004
eMac (2005) - May 2005

iBook (FireWire) - September 2000
iBook (Dual USB) - May 2001
iBook (Late 2001) - October 2001
iBook (14.1 LCD) - January 2002
iBook (16 VRAM) - May 2002
iBook (14.1 LCD 16 VRAM) - May 2002
iBook (Opaque 16 VRAM) - November 2002
iBook (32 VRAM) - November 2002
iBook (14.1 LCD 32 VRAM) - November 2002
iBook (800/900 MHz 32 VRAM) - April 2003
iBook (14.1 LCD 900 MHz 32 VRAM) - April 2003
iBook G4 - October 2003
iBook G4 (Early 2004) - April 2004
iBook G4 (Late 2004) - October 2004
iBook G4 (Mid 2005) - July 2005

PowerBook (FireWire) - February 200
PowerBook G4 - January 2001
PowerBook G4 (12-inch) - January 2003
PowerBook G4 (12-inch DVI) - September 2003

Macintosh Server G4 (AGP Graphics) - January 2000
 
But you can't retrofit Gigabit Ethernet via Thunderbolt or USB 3.0 to any of the Macs on the list regardless.

I never said it was possible to retrofit anything. Additionally, there is no need to retrofit anything since all of the computer on the list already have Gigabit Ethernet.
 
My -guess- is that the market for a thunderbolt-to-USB3 adapter is so small, that one will never come onto the market.

Why go to the time and trouble to design and manufacture a product that is all-but-guaranteed to NOT sell ???
 
My -guess- is that the market for a thunderbolt-to-USB3 adapter is so small, that one will never come onto the market.

Why go to the time and trouble to design and manufacture a product that is all-but-guaranteed to NOT sell ???

You are kidding, right?

Forget macs models that really need this, look at the market logically.

Almost every external device has a USB. Very few of them have a TB. The current iMacs have two TB ports. How many people do you think have that many TB devices? How many have more TB devices than USB ones so are short on ports?

Ok, not the latter is not the best comparison since USBs can use a hub and TB uses a daisy-chain but you see what I mean and the first example stiull works. Having one of the TB ports be a USB is mush more preferred by most people. Not to mention that there are advantages to having a second USB bus.
 
You are kidding, right?

Forget macs models that really need this, look at the market logically.

Almost every external device has a USB. Very few of them have a TB. The current iMacs have two TB ports. How many people do you think have that many TB devices? How many have more TB devices than USB ones so are short on ports?

Ok, not the latter is not the best comparison since USBs can use a hub and TB uses a daisy-chain but you see what I mean and the first example stiull works. Having one of the TB ports be a USB is mush more preferred by most people. Not to mention that there are advantages to having a second USB bus.

I think the point is that the intersection of people willing to part with money compared to the number of laptops or desktops out there with only USB 2.0 is rather small. Those hungry for a solution, probably have purchased their Caldigit or Belkin docks, especially considering the other utility possible.

Sure, could probably design and produce one to sell for $29-49, but also consider how many would need to be sold to pay back the investment to make one.

Apple made their Ethernet adapter because there was a real need to provide an Ethernet port on their laptops. As for USB 3.0, they'd rather you purchase a new laptop. Similarly, notice how there is no Apple branded HDMI dongle for either Thunderbolt or mDP, but there are built-in HDMI ports on the latest Mac mini and Macbooks?

Look at it from a business perspective, rather than a need perspective. Just how many Thunderbolt-equipped computers are out there clamoring for the addition of a sole USB 3.0 port?

Sure, I'd buy one, but I buy all these gadgets. But the price had better be less than $49; and I already have the Belkin and Caldigit docks. :)
 
[[ You are kidding, right? ]]

No, not kidding at all.

If there was a sizable market for a thunderbolt-to-USB3 adapater, there would be a number of such adapters on the market now.

That's how "markets" work. Where there's enough of a need, there will be an effort to -fill- that need.

The reason that there has yet-to-appear a tbolt-to-USB adapter suggests that the companies that are capable of building such devices realize the market is either nonexistant, or so small that not enough units could be sold to cover the cost of developing, building and then distributing the product.

Just because YOU want one, doesn't mean many others do...
 
If there was a sizable market for a thunderbolt-to-USB3 adapater, there would be a number of such adapters on the market now.

That's how "markets" work. Where there's enough of a need, there will be an effort to -fill- that need.
Just because YOU want one, doesn't mean many others do...

I don't always agree with you, but I agree with you on this one....

The 2011's are the only Macs that truly "need" this. I actually owned 3 2011 Macs (Mac Mini, Macbook Air, and MBP), so I would have been the perfect one for one of these solutions, but I've already sold and/or given away each one (for various reasons).... As time progresses, more and more will have updated away from the 2011's which means less and less need will be there for this. In two years from now, the 2011's will be all but a distant memory for many Mac users (5 years is a long time in PC world even for Macs).

The market for a Thunderbolt to only USB 3.0 is small and those that need it, can be served by $200 solutions (Caldigit, Belkin, Akitio) that already exist in the market.

Edit: And before any one jumps on me about why I would have upgraded all three of those: 2011 base mini, sold to upgrade to the 2012 Mid-Mini w/ Quad core. MBA had only 4GB of RAM which was not enough for the VM's I run, so I gave it to my father-in-law so he had something better than a 2009 MBP and bought myself a 2013 and sold my early 2011 15" MBP to buy a retina 2013 15" MBP for my wife....
 
The market for a Thunderbolt to only USB 3.0 is small and those that need it, can be served by $200 solutions (Caldigit, Belkin, Akitio) that already exist in the market.

I am not interested in a $200 for what is to be basically just an adapter. What I *AM* interested in is a second USB bus.

My primary bus is my boot SSD and various low-speed devices. If I want to hook up another USB drive it will not go somewhere where it fights for resources with my SSD.
 
I am not interested in a $200 for what is to be basically just an adapter. What I *AM* interested in is a second USB bus.

My primary bus is my boot SSD and various low-speed devices. If I want to hook up another USB drive it will not go somewhere where it fights for resources with my SSD.

USB Hubs are inexpensive and widely available. Some even work well with Macs :D
 
USB Hubs are inexpensive and widely available. Some even work well with Macs :D

A hub is not the same thing as a bus.

Yes, I can go over to stables and buy a USB hub but that is splitting the bandwidth that goes to all devices. I do not want to do that. Since my boot drive is on the existing bus I am not about to put something on there that will fight with it for bandwidth.

The solution to that is a second bus. Which is what Apple should have given us with the new iMacs but did not.
 
If I want to hook up another USB drive it will not go somewhere where it fights for resources with my SSD.

Which is why Thunderbolt with its daisy chaining, dedicated controller per devices and ability to run multiple mass storage devices with little degradation in performance to anything in the chain, is much more desirable to USB for connecting boot and primary storage devices.

By the time all this wishing-for and shoulda-woulda-coulda's have been thoroughly belly-ached with no constructive outcome, its becomes pretty clear just how affordable and effective Thunderbolt is when employed for its intended purpose.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.