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Apple leaks Cinema Display refresh, teases dual-monitor Thunderbolt setup?
The cat Apple is out of the bag, apparently. Thanks to a leak on its website, there's evidence that Cupertino's readying a formal introduction of Thunderbolt to more devices. Keen eyes from MacRumors have spotted products on the site now sporting OS X Lion backgrounds, notably, what appears to be T-bolt connected Cinema Displays. The images showing the hook-up no longer appear to be listed, but the dual-setup above sure looks nifty. Considering Lion's got about two weeks left to rear its head and meet that July release, we'd surmise it won't be long until you'll be able to opt for a similar rig. Now can we please just get an anti-glare option? [Thanks, Trey]
Apple Thunderbolt cable, Promise RAIDs now available to get your 10Gbps interconnect on
Was it really four months ago that Intel and Apple took the curtains off of Thunderbolt I/O? The MacBook Pro and iMac lines have since been refreshed with the interconnect, but early adopters haven't had much more than a fancy port to stare at. Thankfully, Apple's $49 T-bolt cable is finally available as your ticket to the 10Gbps superhighway. Apparently, it quietly hit Apple's web store this morning along with some fresh Promise Pegasus RAID enclosures ($1k for 4TB up to $2K for 12TB) to support it. All of the peripherals appear to be in stock and ready to ship; so if you've been eagerly waiting to make use of that extra port, now's your chance.
Apple's MacBook Air duo to receive Sandy Bridge and Thunderbolt upgrade in June or July?
We've already seen Intel's Sandy Bridge processors and Thunderbolt reinvigorating the MacBook Pro line, so it's only logical for the MacBook Airs to eventually follow suit -- presumably they'll pick up Sandy Bridge's 17W mobile processors to match the current 10W and 17W Core 2 Duos. So when can we expect this to happen? Well, according to DigiTimes' sources within the supply chain, Apple may receive shipment of the refreshed Airs in late May ahead of a June or July launch -- this echoes earlier reports from Apple Insider and CNET that cited the same time frame. Additionally, DigiTimes says Quanta will continue to assemble Apple's ultra-portable laptops, with Simplo Technology and Dynapack supplying the battery packs. As always, we shall remain open-minded about such rumors, but you'll know the real deal as soon as we do within the next couple of months or so.
Canon 'excited' about Intel Thunderbolt I/O, makes no promise to support it
Would you like a Canon professional video camera that blasts footage to an editing rig at up to ten gigabits per second? How about a consumer-grade camcorder that transfers files to your home computer at the same blazing speed? Such things might be in the pipeline at Canon, but we can't really say for sure. Today, the Japanese camera company came out in support of Intel's Thunderbolt I/O, saying how "it will bring new levels of performance and simplicity to the video creation market," but without so much as a formal press release -- nor, in fact, a pledge to work towards any of the ultra-speedy optical gear of which we've been dreaming. Oh well, there's always next week.
Switched On: Back from the Mac
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. Last week's Switched On discussed Nokia's quest to help Microsoft create a third mobile ecosystem alongside those of Apple and Google. That word – ecosystem – has clearly passed into the pantheon of buzzwords, leveraging many synergies from purpose-built paradigms. And yet, building and maintaining ecosystems is something few companies really understand. True technology ecosystems are more than just successful platforms or throwing many products together simply because they are owned by the same company. They are characterized by strategically implemented nurturing. One concept that Apple seems to have adapted from natural ecosystems is the concept of the water cycle you probably learned about in grade school. Apple turns up the heat on the life-sustaining water of innovation that passes between the well-grounded Mac market and the soaring growth of the iOS market. Apple alluded to this cycle in its Back to the Mac event. After inheriting many technologies from Mac OS X, iOS began offering Mac OS X launch screens, full-screen apps, app resuming, and document autosaving. This week's announcements, though, show that the cycle may soon be heading again in the other direction as Apple showed off two Mac technologies that may well wind up strengthening the iOS ecosystem.
