Re: Pretty amazing Thunderbolt demo.

[Frank Gothmann] "All I am saying is that there's a lot more to the whole story than the one-example-fits-all approach"

Of course there is. But we also know Apple's history. If this is the way it's going, and I want to keep using OSX, then I can only use the tools that I have available. This demo proves to me, that there's a lot of potential here. Not to replace desktops, but to have all the power and connectivity of a desktop in a much more flexible form factor (for my needs, perhaps not yours).


[Frank Gothmann] "There's the driver issue, energy is a problem since most GPUs draw much more power than the external box can provide."

Yeah, manufacturers will need to retool their drivers. It's already happening. As far as power, not sure what you mean. Why will it need more than what you can get from the outlet on the wall?

[Frank Gothmann] "And PCIe 4.0 is in development, as is external PCIe.
So.. why limit the possibilities, why build even more walls? My clients don't walk in with TB or FW800 drives. Most come with USB 2.0, some USB 3.0 or eSata. I doubt this will change anytime soon.Wouldn't it be convenient to have these built in, no adapters, especially since it's only politics why Apple chooses not too, no technical reason whatsoever. "

Macs don't have USB ports? I'm not following you here. Are there other computers that have built in sata? Clients always send me USB drives too as they are the cheapest/most ubiquitous.

It is true, 4x can't cut it for everyone, but it's just the beginning. That demo is a beginning. There's no reason for me, personally, for PCIe 4.0 at the moment. Thunderbolt presents more opportunity, for me and my needs, than a faster pcie bus. I like fast CPUs as well, but this demo was an eye opener.

[Frank Gothmann] "It has zero advantage for me so I refuse to cheer at the prospect of this being the only choice for high bandwidth io in Apple's future. I'll happily cheer at the prospect of it being an addition, not a replacement.

Yes, Apple probably won't have to build MacPros anymore to further their business. To me, that's bad."

We see it differently and that's fine. Thunderbolt is more flexible, which is good for me personally. I'll take that over more lanes.

I do think we will see another MacPro or two, but for apple, it doesn't make sense to keep producing them if they don't sell. I do believe they will offer an alternative that won't be an iMac or a MacPro. If not, there's plenty of PCs that will fit the bill.

Jeremy