4 ms·

Until thunderbolt stop being a proprietary technology, I hope it will stay where it is right now: ready to disappear into irrelevance when OCuLink (finally) com

by chronid 12y ago

Until thunderbolt stop being a proprietary technology, I hope it will stay where it is right now: ready to disappear into irrelevance when OCuLink (finally) comes out.

threeseed 12y ago
I can't see that happening. For one Thunderbolt sharing the DisplayPort connector is critical for many laptop makers who simply don't have the space to fit any other ports. And secondly Apple has a strong presence in the content creation markets which will be hard to overcome. But the biggest issue of all is that there really isn't any benefit for the mass consumer in any of these technologies. USB is more than capable for storage and many other needs.
- mmastrac 12y ago
  Apple's strong presence in content creation didn't help Firewire. It's tough to see if their newer, stronger position might help, but I think we'll see history repeat itself and find that USB3.x will eventually support high-performance graphics. Alternatively you'll just see PC makers shipping 4k+-capable HDMI ports.
  - chronid 12y ago
    I doubt it's even possible for USB3 to support high-end graphics. The bandwith for intensive applications is just not there, and not having direct access to memory (like with PCI-E) could be another obstacle. Everything is possible, sure, but... I don't see thunderbolt-like technologies to be an USB replacement, though. More like a definitive standardization of docks for laptops with interesting side effects.
    - Dylan16807 12y ago
      I'm not sure if you're talking about connecting a monitor or connecting a graphics card. Graphics card is easy, USB is only a small multiple slower than thunderbolt, and as long as you have room for the textures 4Gbit/s is fine. Uncompressed 4k is trickier. It looks like thunderbolt 2 has barely enough bandwidth, and USB 3.1 has barely not enough. No reason to expect they won't have a 3.x that supports it.
      - 0x0 12y ago
        Is it still the case that USB causes heavy CPU usage? Even if there was enough bandwidth for 4k video, it'd be a drag if it meant pegging a CPU or two to 100%...
  - modfodder 12y ago
    I always see comments like this and wonder what they expected from firewire. I've never had trouble finding firewire hard drives and peripherals. Best Buy and CompUSA always carried them (staples and office depot never really carried them, but firewire is/was only useful for needing large/fast throughput like that needed for video editing). Firewire was never as ubiquitous as USB and I don't believe Apple ever intended it to be, but it was far from being a failure.
- Sanddancer 12y ago
  Depends on the connector, to be honest. My laptop from a couple years back has an esata port that's shared with a USB port. Similar could be done with a full-size Displayport or USB C connector, for example. Also, one of the big problems I have with thunderbolt as a technology at all is that you have to play mother-may-I with Intel in order to even get a look at the chip datasheets so you can think about creating a thunderbolt device. Though you hit the nail on the head with the last paragraph. Thunderbolt creates more problems than it solves. USB 3.1, with the new type C connector, gives a reversible cable, a lot of bandwidth, and a low price, while Thunderbolt's stuck with its needlessly expensive active cable which further discourages people from looking at the technology. Were Intel to revamp the spec and get more people involved, Thunderbolt could have had a chance, but as it stands, it's a dead protocol walking.

by chronid 12y ago

Until thunderbolt stop being a proprietary technology, I hope it will stay where it is right now: ready to disappear into irrelevance when OCuLink (finally) comes out.

threeseed 12y ago

I can't see that happening. For one Thunderbolt sharing the DisplayPort connector is critical for many laptop makers who simply don't have the space to fit any other ports. And secondly Apple has a strong presence in the content creation markets which will be hard to overcome. But the biggest issue of all is that there really isn't any benefit for the mass consumer in any of these technologies. USB is more than capable for storage and many other needs.

mmastrac 12y ago
Apple's strong presence in content creation didn't help Firewire. It's tough to see if their newer, stronger position might help, but I think we'll see history repeat itself and find that USB3.x will eventually support high-performance graphics. Alternatively you'll just see PC makers shipping 4k+-capable HDMI ports.
- chronid 12y ago
  I doubt it's even possible for USB3 to support high-end graphics. The bandwith for intensive applications is just not there, and not having direct access to memory (like with PCI-E) could be another obstacle. Everything is possible, sure, but... I don't see thunderbolt-like technologies to be an USB replacement, though. More like a definitive standardization of docks for laptops with interesting side effects.
  - Dylan16807 12y ago
    I'm not sure if you're talking about connecting a monitor or connecting a graphics card. Graphics card is easy, USB is only a small multiple slower than thunderbolt, and as long as you have room for the textures 4Gbit/s is fine. Uncompressed 4k is trickier. It looks like thunderbolt 2 has barely enough bandwidth, and USB 3.1 has barely not enough. No reason to expect they won't have a 3.x that supports it.
    - 0x0 12y ago
      Is it still the case that USB causes heavy CPU usage? Even if there was enough bandwidth for 4k video, it'd be a drag if it meant pegging a CPU or two to 100%...
- modfodder 12y ago
  I always see comments like this and wonder what they expected from firewire. I've never had trouble finding firewire hard drives and peripherals. Best Buy and CompUSA always carried them (staples and office depot never really carried them, but firewire is/was only useful for needing large/fast throughput like that needed for video editing). Firewire was never as ubiquitous as USB and I don't believe Apple ever intended it to be, but it was far from being a failure.
Sanddancer 12y ago
Depends on the connector, to be honest. My laptop from a couple years back has an esata port that's shared with a USB port. Similar could be done with a full-size Displayport or USB C connector, for example. Also, one of the big problems I have with thunderbolt as a technology at all is that you have to play mother-may-I with Intel in order to even get a look at the chip datasheets so you can think about creating a thunderbolt device. Though you hit the nail on the head with the last paragraph. Thunderbolt creates more problems than it solves. USB 3.1, with the new type C connector, gives a reversible cable, a lot of bandwidth, and a low price, while Thunderbolt's stuck with its needlessly expensive active cable which further discourages people from looking at the technology. Were Intel to revamp the spec and get more people involved, Thunderbolt could have had a chance, but as it stands, it's a dead protocol walking.