thunderbolt

LAS VEGAS--If you have a Thunderbolt-enabled computer but just can't afford Thunderbolt storage, LaCie has something that will ease the pain.

The company showed off at the start of CES the first Thunderbolt hub that also supports an eSATA connection, called the eSATA Hub Thunderbolt Series.

This is a device about the size of a portable external drive that comes with two Thunderbolt ports and two eSATA ports. Users can connect up to two eSATA drives to the hub and it will instantly make them work with a host computer via one Thunderbolt port. With the other port, you … Read more

The cable for charging and transferring data from iPhones, iPods and iPads could soon undergo another major shift, switching to technology that could speed up both tasks.

In a freshly published patent application, picked up by Patently Apple this morning, Apple details a new type of cable that blends together increased power and faster data transfer technologies, including Thunderbolt.

While not going so far as to call out the technology by name, the patent application notes that the proposed cable could support DisplayPort and PCI Express--the two technologies that are bundled together in Thunderbolt's architecture.

Along with the faster … Read more

One of the added benefits to the next generation of Intel Ivy Bridge processors coming later this year is its native support of Thunderbolt. The newly announced high-end ThinkPad Edge S430 will feature Thunderbolt as one of a bevy of extra features aimed at taking this middle-range small business line of laptops up a notch.

It's unclear whether it will feature Ivy Bridge, but considering that the new CPUs will release in June, coinciding with the S430's release, we can guess that it's likely that the S430 will feature the new Intel processors.

The Edge S430 doesn't look particularly striking, but Lenovo promises metal accents and a soft-touch finish that might make holding it more impressive. Besides having "the latest Intel Core processors," additional options will include an optical drive or, alternatively, a second hard drive, and Nvidia Optimus graphics. The Edge S430 will start at $749. … Read more

We saw some pretty cool monitor innovations in 2011. A new panel technology debuted, the thinnest panel yet was revealed, as was a monitor that functioned fully, without requiring a physical connection to a PC.

Going into 2011, we'll likely continue to see thinner monitors with more power baked into them, cheaper IPS monitors, more monitors that are completely self-sufficient (no PC required, necessarily), and be on the lookout for DisplayPort to finally take off in a big way.

But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Right now now it's time to take a look back at 2011 and the most impressive monitors that came through CNET Labs. … Read more

Laptop and desktop computers aren't always the most high-profile of products shown at CES, but with an influx of new, thin, ultrabook laptops expected, as well as an updated CPU platform from Intel, you're sure to get a detailed view of what PCs will be on shopping lists for the rest of 2012.

Laptops get thinner We've seen a good handful of ultrabooks already, but the rumor mill says that nearly every computer manufacturer will get in on the act with at least one 13- or 14-inch entry. Remember that an ultrabook (according to Intel's official definition) can include laptops in the 15-inch range, so we may see some of those as well.… Read more

USB 3.0 has gotten the green light for becoming a standard offering on Intel-based Windows PCs next year.

The USB Implementers Forum announced this week that the upcoming "Ivy Bridge" 7 Series Chipset and other Intel chipsets have achieved USB 3.0 certification. Chipsets are support silicon that work in tandem with the main processor.

USB 3.0, aka SuperSpeed USB, delivers up to 10 times the data transfer rate of USB 2.0, as well as improved power efficiency.

Intel's Ivy Bridge silicon, due to ship in Windows PCs in the April-June time frame, will … Read more

Apple has released an update to iTunes, bringing the latest public release of the software to version 10.5.2. This update contains small fixes for an audio distortion problem that may happen when playing or importing audio from some compact discs. Beyond this fix, the program contains some undocumented iTunes Match refinements.

The update should be available via Software Update for most users, but can also be downloaded directly from the iTunes 10.5.2 download page. (Note: some browsers are currently still showing the page for version 10.5.1, but Apple's link will still direct you … Read more

Ultrabooks have arrived. Yet, for many, 2012 will be the first year they seriously consider buying one. If they're the future of laptops, then they have a long way to go before they become what people want in the present.

From one perspective, ultrabooks and the MacBook Air are the most exciting laptops to come around the pike in a long while. From another perspective, they're the sort of laptops that provide the least amount of computing value for the dollar, and are precisely the sort of fancy gadgets that cash-strapped holiday buyers will skip for better deals. After all, computers are commodity devices, right?

Well, yes and no. The iPad and the Kindle Fire have quickly shown that stylish, fun devices can quickly trump beefy specs, although in both cases they're relatively affordable buys. A friend of mine who recently e-mailed me summarizes the ultrabook situation perfectly:

"From my Luddite perspective, it's completely invigorated the laptop market for consumers just when everyone was beginning to crank out the same old 5-pound, 15.6-inch, DVD/Webcam, dual-core whatever machine."

He argued that the size and weight of these laptops are far more important than performance, gaining a family acceptance factor that trumps an ability, for instance, to play PC games with higher-end graphics.

I've had a hard time recommending ultrabooks for everyone, though. While they're getting awfully close to being the "laptop for everybody" that Apple's MacBook Air is currently gunning to be, a few key improvements still need to happen in 2012. As we look ahead to the Consumer Electronics Show, where new laptop announcements are a common occurrence (stunningly enough, CES is less than six weeks away), this is what I hope happens to make ultrabooks more relevant. … Read more

The MacBook Air has won me over, after a long period during which I'd felt skeptical about the concept. Small, light, fast startup, long battery life; it's all great, except for two things: limited internal storage and few ports. A clean-looking solution for the latter has been made, but it's just looking for funding.

The LandingZone, a MacBook Air docking station, is a Kickstarter project that's aiming to help Air owners with their port woes--but only to a point. The $200 dock concept has four USB 2.0 ports, an Ethernet port, a Mini DisplayPort, and a Kensington-compatible locking port. What it conspicuously lacks is Thunderbolt support. … Read more