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Possibly fake MacBook Pro spec sheet: USB 3.0, Ivy Bridge and no Retina Display
It's hard not to drown in Apple rumors right now, but here comes another one to help things along. As a counterweight to recent reports of MacBook Airs getting Retina Displays, the label above hints that the 13.3-inch MacBook Pro could be stuck with plain-Jane 1280 x 800. There's nothing to say that this bit of paper didn't derive from an inkjet hooked up to someone's imagination, but some of the other new specs have been rumored already from separate sources: notably the HD 4000 graphics reflecting the presence of Ivy Bridge, plus Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 co-starring on the I/O front. Those hypothetical additions would be great for productivity, but if there's nothing resolutionary about the new Pros then Apple had better find something else to console us with at WWDC. [Thanks, Josh]
Buffalo's HD-PATU3 HDD packs USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt, plays nice with Macs and PCs
Buffalo's new glacial lump of a HDD looks set to offer data speeds that are anything but. The HD-PATU3 is Buffalo's first HDD to share its storage goodness across USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt -- and it's compatible with both PCs and Macs. The external hard drive forgoes the need for any separate power supply and is set to arrive in both 500GB and 1TB iterations, but the company's Japanese arm isn't revealing any detail yet on precisely how much we can expect the duo to set us back.
Gigabyte Z77X-UP5 TH motherboard provides a double dose of Thunderbolt ports
Has your daisy chain met the end of the line? Fear not, dear peripheral addict, because Gigabyte's latest Z77X-UP5 TH motherboard is equipped to feed your addiction with double the number of Thunderbolt ports as we've seen from other manufacturers. The company is taking to the floor of Computex to show off its latest creation, which features two Thunderbolt ports that are each capable of 10 Gbps throughput. Better yet, the implementation leaves the PCIe 3.0 lanes untouched, as the Thunderbolt controller is powered by an additional chip from PLX. Sadly, neither pricing nor release date has yet been let out of the bag. For additional views of this novel creation, be sure to hit up the source link below.
Apple reportedly readying numerous Retina display MacBooks and multiple accessories for WWDC
New MacBook Pros are practically a given for WWDC (or, let's just say tears will be shed if they elude us), but now, 9to5Mac is stepping up the expectations in a major way. The outlet is now reporting that we could see two different versions of a revised 15-incher, not to mention Retina display-equipped editions of the 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air. Less certain (but certainly believable) is an iMac refresh, which would again get served with a Retina display, and a fourth major Mac update is apt to see the practically forgotten Mac Pro or the Mac mini updated with bolstered internals. For those following Apple, you'd know that updating so many products at one event isn't a typical move for the company, but Tim Cook's been doing things slightly differently of late -- and honestly, there's no better way to enforce the importance of Retina than to blow it out across the portfolios. Finally, a whole host of new accessories are said to be on tap, with "refreshed keyboards, mice, trackpads and AirPorts" on the list. Hit the source link for the down and dirty, and go ahead and wipe your calendar for June 9th; we'll be liveblogging every last announcement direct from Moscone.
Matrox DS1 docking station: $249 buys you Thunderbolt but no daisy-chaining
Thunderbolt has leant its air of celebrity to yet another device: the Matrox DS1 docking station, due out this fall for $249. The laptop dock has room for pretty much everything you'd want to plug in when you reach your desk, including DVI, gigabit Ethernet, audio in and out, two USB 3.0 ports and one USB 2.0. All those connections are then funneled into a single Thunderbolt output to your MacBook or Ultrabook. This provides "one cable convenience," but the lack of an extra port means there's no scope for daisy-chaining Thunderbolt storage or other components you might pick up at some point before 2015. If that seems like an important omission, look out for Belkin's alternative expected this Summer, which finds room not only for Thunderbolt in and out, but also for FireWire -- though likely at a higher price.
Intel to show third-gen Ultrabooks at Computex, makes USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt a necessity
When Intel first unveiled its grand plans for Ultrabooks at last year's Computex, many of the fireworks were consciously reserved for Ivy Bridge-based variants in 2012 -- well, they're here. This year's show in Taipei will show off the third generation of the skinny, MacBook Air-inspired platform, and Intel is toughening up the design requirements in the process. The thickness requirements are the same as last year, at 18mm for systems with screens under 14 inches and 21mm for bigger machines, but high-speed ports are now mandatory to get that coveted "Ultrabook" label and the full marketing weight of Intel's $300 million Ultrabook Fund: if a PC doesn't have either USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt, it's out of the running. Intel also wants security built-in, rather than optional, as well as guarantees that a system is quick and responsive when it's fully awake. Not that this would be terribly hard with the low-voltage Ivy Bridge processors launching at the same time, mind you. Just to reinforce the importance of it all, Intel is noting that the flood of Ultrabooks is about to pick up in a big way as the category hits the mainstream. We were promised 75 Ivy Bridge Ultrabooks this year in a presentation back at CES; that number's now up to 110, 30 of which will be Windows 8-friendly touchscreen models and another 10 opting for the convertible tablet route. At least some of those lightweight portables should pop up at Computex next week, and you can be sure we'll be investigating as many of them as we can to see just how well Intel's partners have advanced the game.
Kanex outs non-Apple Thunderbolt cable (updated)
Kanex is releasing its very own Thunderbolt cable. However, if you were looking for something shorter and cheaper than Cupertino's six foot, $50 beast, prepared to be disappointed. Costing $60, the only difference between the two is that this is black instead of white, but if your inner-Goth couldn't bear to see another pearly cable, then perhaps those extra ten bucks won't matter. Update: Our friends over at 9to5mac pointed out that WD and Elgato are also pumping out speedy cables to the masses.
ASUS and MSI launch Thunderbolt motherboards, tie for first place
You wait for one Thunderbolt-compatible motherboard and then two decide to arrive on the same day. Going alphabetically, ASUS' P8Z77-V Premium is its first Intel-certified board to pack Thunderbolt and it's followed immediately by the P8Z77-V Pro / Thunderbolt. The connection will hook up to multiple storage drives or any Thunderbolt-friendly display -- it can be daisy-chained to up to six different devices. MSI's Z77A-GD80 packs a similarly complicated naming convention (although it's not yet certified by Intel) and like ASUS' offerings, will arrive with Intel's Z77 chipset ready to play nice with those new 22nm processors. Alongside storage and monitor support, MSI also throws in the extra nugget that it'll connect to a graphics card, if you're so inclined. The full technical breakdown on both motherboards is housed after the break.
Refresh Roundup: week of May 7th, 2012
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
Thunderbolt on Windows gets hands-on, lacks Mac's hot-swapping
Thunderbolt's 10-gigabit interface is only just making its way to Windows after spending more than a year as a Mac-only feature, so it's not surprising that a lot of questions surround how well the Apple- and Intel-developed connection works for those of a Microsoft persuasion. A thorough test at AnandTech of one of the first motherboards to support the spec on Windows PCs, an Ivy Bridge-ready board from MSI, has shown some positive signs along with a few flies in the high-speed ointment. The good news? Most general storage devices will work as expected with a minimum of fuss, and you can even get some features of Apple's Thunderbolt Display working if you're willing to accept a lack of pre-supplied software brightness controls and USB support. The bad news comes mostly in the absence of true hot-plugging like on the Mac: if a device isn't plugged into the Thunderbolt port on boot, Windows won't see it. Professionals who need everything to be just perfect will want to wait, then, but bandwidth lovers will still find something to like if they're willing to build Thunderbolt-equipped PCs themselves.
Refresh Roundup: week of April 16th, 2012
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
G-Technologies' G-Raid with Thunderbolt drive now on sale, yours from $700
Thunderbolt-equipped RAID options from the likes of LaCie and Promise not satisfying your desire for a 10Gbps storage option? Good news, as Hitatchi's G-Technology is finally ready sell its G-Raid with Thunderbolt, which might just throw a smile on your face. We now know that you'll pay $700 for 4TB or storage, $850 for 6TB and $1,000 for 8TB. If you'll recall, the unit features a duo of T-Bolt ports for daisey-chains and two 3Gbps 7,200RPM HDDs that can be configured in RAID 0 for extra pep or RAID 1 for redundancy. That said, it'll require plug-in power, so don't expect to go mobile. Looking for more details in the meantime? Move your cursor over to the links below.
Blackmagic Cinema Camera packs 'feature film' 2.5K quality, touchscreen for $2,995
While Canon, Sony and Red have already stolen the show with new camera announcements here at NAB 2012, Blackmagic Design is trying to carve out a niche for its new Cinema Camera. Priced at $2,995, where the company sees this as differing from the competition is its ability to capture film quality video on its 2.5K sensor and output it to CinemaDNG RAW, ProRes and DNxHD file formats. That camera housing can take Canon or Zeiss lenses on the front, contains a built-in SSD within and has a capacitive touchscreen display for control and metadata entry. Once you've captured the video, the included copy of DaVinci Resolve can take care of all color correction needs, while the video can be pulled from the SSD over a variety of high speed ports including BNC SDI and Thunderbolt. Check out a few in-person pics in our gallery below and more specs in the press release after the break.
Cactus Ridge Thunderbolt controllers now shipping?
It was way back in September that the leaves fell and revealed Intel's plans for the Cactus Ridge revision of Thunderbolt chips. Now, VR-Zone claims it's received confirmation that the second generation controllers are finally shipping. As already announced, there are two versions: the quad-channel dual DisplayPort DSL3510 edition, and the double channeled Eagle Ridge replacement model DSL3310. It would be careless to speculate about which OEMs might adopt, and in what models, but with Apple already flying the Thunderbolt flag, that's at least one name you can scratch off the list.
LaCie eSATA Hub Thunderbolt Series now available for $200
Back at CES, we first got word of the LaCie eSATA Hub Thunderbolt Series that would put two hard drives of the eSATA sort to good use. The company announced today that the storage peripheral is available now via its online store with a $199 price tag. If you recall, the device will allow you to daisy chain up to 12 drives (six hubs) to a Thunderbolt-enabled Mac while still showcasing 3Gbps eSATA speeds. If you're wanting a closer look or you're ready to commit, visit the source link below.
LaCie eSATA Hub Thunderbolt now shipping
From the "it's about time" department, LaCie is finally shipping its Thunderbolt-equipped eSATA Hub, which will make those older drives hook up nicely to your new Thunderbolt display or Mac and maintain blazing transfer speeds. Full press release below. Show full PR text Upgrade Existing Storage with the LaCie eSATA Hub Thunderbolt™ Series Paris, France – Today LaCie announced the availability of the eSATA Hub Thunderbolt™ Series, its latest peripheral featuring Thunderbolt technology. This product delivers a solution for connecting eSATA hard drives to Thunderbolt-compatible Mac® computers, making them backwards compatible. The eSATA Hub also boosts transfer speeds and allows users to daisy chain with other Thunderbolt peripherals. Give New Life to eSATA Drives Consumers with new Macs who are interested in getting the best possible speeds with their existing multi-interface drives are no longer limited to USB or FireWire connections. In addition, businesses, photographers or other creative professionals who have upgraded their Macs to versions without ExpressCard/34 slots are now able to capitalize on their previous investment in eSATA hard drives. Daisy Chain Capability The eSATA Hub's dual Thunderbolt ports allow users to daisy chain other Thunderbolt peripherals. This means users can connect up to 12 eSATA drives (6 Hubs x 2 eSATA drives per Hub) to a Mac while maintaining full eSATA 3Gb/s speeds. It also helps organize desktops by connecting both a Thunderbolt compatible display and storage device via a single cable (sold separately from www.apple.com) to their Mac. Availability The eSATA Hub Thunderbolt Series is available through the LaCie Online Store and LaCie Storage Partners starting at the suggested retail price of $199.00. About LaCie With operations in the Americas, Europe and Asia, LaCie is the leading manufacturer of storage devices for PC, Apple® and Linux. LaCie has differentiated itself through sleek design and remarkable technical performance. Find out more about our products at www.lacie.com.
Western Digital intros My Passport Studio 2TB portable HDD, twin FireWire 800 ports included
Just days after WD revealed new 2TB My Passport drives for the USB 3.0-respecting world, along comes an option for those running OS X. Aside from the conventional USB 2.0 socket on the My Passport Studio, the Mac-friendly unit also packs a pair of FireWire 800 sockets. Not surprisingly, it ships with hardware-based encryption and password protection software, and while it'll probably come formatted for an Apple, there's nothing at all stopping other platforms from taking advantage. It'll ship in any capacity you want so long as you're happy with 2TB, and it'll be available at fine retailers around the globe this month for $299.99.
You're the Pundit: What's up with Thunderbolt?
When it comes to discussing the next big thing, we turn to our secret weapon: the TUAW braintrust. We put the question to you and let you have your go at it. Today's topic is Thunderbolt, Apple and Intel's next-generation device interconnection standard. Introduced with great fanfare, Thunderbolt devices are still thin on the ground. There are storage devices and ExpressCard cages, but the real promise of the speedy hybrid copper/optical interface has yet to show up on shelves. This despite the fact that Apple has integrated Thunderbolt support into its latest iMacs, MacBooks, and minis. So what's going on with Thunderbolt? Are we too early to the party, as Chris Foresman writes, or is Thunderbolt just a big name for what beloved TUAW blogger Rich Gaywood calls a "damp fart" of technology. You tell us. Place your vote in this poll and then join in the comments with all your analysis. %Poll-74276%
LaCie 2big Thunderbolt series external HDD review
We've already seen what Thunderbolt's capable of when it's used in conjunction with a couple of high performance SSDs, but not everyone needs NAND to meet their external storage requirements. What many do deem essential, however, is a ton of room for system backups and multimedia, and Thunderbolt's ability to transfer bits and bytes in the blink of an eye makes it an alluring alternative to other connections. If you find yourself among those desiring such a solution, let us introduce you to LaCie's 2big Thunderbolt series external HDD. The 2big packs dual 3TB spinners on the inside for a grand total of 6TB, and comes from the factory in a software RAID 0 configuration to take full advantage of Thunderbolt's considerable capabilities. This aluminum desktop behemoth has a price to match its name and stature ($799), so we figured we'd put the 2big through its paces to let you know what kind of performance you'll be getting in return for all that cash. So, as the great Rod Roddy would say, come on down (after the break) and let's get to it.
Western Digital MyBook Thunderbolt Duo is available now starting at $600
Back at Macworld, we laid our peepers on Western Digital's MyBook Thunderbolt Duo and were able to take a demo setup for a quick spin. Now, the dual-wielding external HDDs are officially on the market. You can snag 4TB (2x 2TB) and 6TB (2x 3TB) versions of this "über-fast" MyBook for $599 and $699, respectively. Don't forget: you can daisy chain up to six of these bad boys via the dual Thunderbolt ports on the kit's backside (if you have quite the piggy bank, of course) -- just like the four-unit set we encountered sporting 700MB/sec read and 500MB/sec write speeds in RAID 0. WD also says the storage devices are Time Machine compatible as soon as you can unpack 'em. If you're anxious to grab one of your own, hit the source link below to part with your funds. And for a quick refresher, take a gander at the gallery below.
