Report: Apple pushed Intel to develop Light Peak cabling

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  • Reply 121 of 156
    newbeenewbee Posts: 2,055member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dr Millmoss View Post


    No, it recorded. One of the main issues was that Beta had a shorter recording time than VHS.





    Thanks for the clarification ... I knew it had something to do with recording. Back then I was always so broke, I owned neither ... ah, the bad old days.
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  • Reply 122 of 156
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by newbee View Post


    My memory might have failed me on this but wasn't beta's failure to have the ability to record as well as play the big reason for it's demise ... please correct me if I'm wrong.



    AIR, Beta had a recording maximum of 60 min, later 90 min, VHS had 2 hour and 4 hour formats.



    That meant you could set the VHS recorder and record an entire movie (with commercials) while you were out partying/working.



    With Beta, you had to stay at home and change tapes.



    Convenience, in this case, trumped quality!



    *
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  • Reply 123 of 156
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Abster2core View Post


    Sounds like you may need your eyes checked.



    Oh, my eyes are quite fine.



    Don't worry: no matter where the technology comes from Apple will probably be the first to brand it, but they need Intel to build it into their chips. Ultimately this will require technology licensing from another party because Intel doesn't do much of this stuff, afaik. So it does matter who invented it. That's the group that needs to license it to Intel or Apple.
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  • Reply 124 of 156
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kim kap sol View Post


    Wrong. In most cases, flash memory is faster than hard disks.



    Problem is that writing is always slower than reading, sometimes significantly. Beside high-end (and price) units, most consumer flash cards are still writing slower than HDD.



    Would be interesting to know what read/write speed iPhone flash has....
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  • Reply 125 of 156
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Abster2core View Post


    You might be alone.



    "The technology is based of the same concept of HDMI 1.4 -- you take one cable and you apply technology to it that allows it to carry out multiple protocols. In the case of 'Light Peak' you can have a cable that can carry a high quality video signal, transfer data at 10GBps, connect with an iPod, provide USB connectivity, and allow for the same capabilities of ethernet. http://t3chh3lp.com/blog/2009/9/26/a...-light-pe.html



    "With the initial specification set to transfer data at a blistering 10Gpbs full duplex over cables as long as 100 meters (and with speeds up to 100Gbps lined up for future revisions), a single Light Peak connection could replace DVI, USB, gigabit Ethernet, FireWire, eSATA and just about anything else that would connect your computer to its environs. http://www.tuaw.com/2009/09/26/is-ap...ak-connectivi/



    I don't think intel wants to spill the beans for Apple so they sell the interface in general terms. This is OK as Apple will eventually make clear this ports usage.



    One obvious use that encompasses all the Ports listed is the use in connecting docking stations. In any event I don't think we will be seeing this replace USB anytime soon. Apple is pretty smart about such things and they realize that USB is still a viable way to connect hardware. Even Ethernet can't really be factored out of a desktop as it is still in wide use. So LP will have to have a forte beyound these legacy ports. At least until Apple and it's LP partners can offer the infrastructure required to replace all those legacy ports.





    Dave
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  • Reply 126 of 156
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  • Reply 127 of 156
    Something important to note is that LightPeak appears to have a dedicated controller chip (though that would be inevitable I guess given the need to interpret the optical signal).

    This saves LP from USB's issue of reliance on the CPU, and would give it the real-time, in-time, sustained transfer benefits of FireWire.

    Computerworld link: http://www.computerworld.com/s/artic...es_using_light
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  • Reply 128 of 156
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member


    The link seems to be little more than a mention that someone twenty years ago made a passing reference to the general idea of a unified optical interconnect, as part of a larger proposal concerning "Universal Digital Information Storage Media."



    It doesn't appear that there was any work whatsoever done beyond that, so I think Apple or Intel or both would be pretty safe in claiming authorship of whatever actual product they are planning.



    If not, I'd like to declare here and now that we should really have smaller, faster computers, batteries that last a week, ubiquitous natural language recognition as the interface of choice, and handsets that house bright, powerful projectors.



    And now I am the greatest inventor of all time.
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  • Reply 129 of 156
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by aldonius View Post


    Something important to note is that LightPeak appears to have a dedicated controller chip (though that would be inevitable I guess given the need to interpret the optical signal).

    This saves LP from USB's issue of reliance on the CPU, and would give it the real-time, in-time, sustained transfer benefits of FireWire.



    Well we would hope that it does, however there is a broad range of possibilities here Knowing Apple it is likely to be an itelligent controller, but we don't know that.



    I'm very hopeful that the team went all out to off load the system processors. On the other hand in the day and age of SMP systems they may have decided on a dumb controller.





    Dave
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  • Reply 130 of 156
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by wizard69 View Post


    I don't think intel wants to spill the beans for Apple so they sell the interface in general terms. This is OK as Apple will eventually make clear this ports usage.



    One obvious use that encompasses all the Ports listed is the use in connecting docking stations. In any event I don't think we will be seeing this replace USB anytime soon. Apple is pretty smart about such things and they realize that USB is still a viable way to connect hardware. Even Ethernet can't really be factored out of a desktop as it is still in wide use. So LP will have to have a forte beyound these legacy ports. At least until Apple and it's LP partners can offer the infrastructure required to replace all those legacy ports.





    Dave



    The last thing said in the video accompanying AI's article was, "We expect to see Light Peak ingredient components ready to ship in the markets by next year, 2010,"



    I would suggest that right now, Apple is planning a new interface for a Light Peak/Power cable to be used to replace every external communication connection on ever Mac of the future. And the first one may even be the Mac Tablet.



    It is even stated on Intel's Web Site:

    "Intel is working with the optical component manufacturers to make Light Peak components ready to ship in 2010, and will work with the industry to determine the best way to make this new technology a standard to accelerate its adoption on a plethora of devices including PCs, handheld devices, workstations, consumer electronic devices and more. Light Peak is complementary to existing I/O technologies, as it enables them to run together on a single cable at higher speeds. The Light Peak initiative builds on Intel’s commitment in working with the industry on existing I/O standards, and provides a path to continued progress into the future." Intel Light Peak Technology. http://techresearch.intel.com/articles/None/1813.htm



    All they would have to do is provide a Light Peak Power Hub that would inerconnect the Mac to all legacy systems. And that should be a minor issue is at all.



    And since it appears to be Apple's idea in the first place, the first iteration will be for a while available only thru Apple.



    When you think about it, A Apple Light Peak Power/Legacy Interconnect hubs could connect a Mac Tablet to virtually every (electronic) product that Apple or anybody else has every or will ever introduce. Now that would set the world on fire.



    Heck, even a new Airport 'Light Peak' Extreme is a possibility. (I understand the limitations of wireless)
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  • Reply 131 of 156
    al_bundyal_bundy Posts: 1,525member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by newbee View Post


    My memory might have failed me on this but wasn't beta's failure to have the ability to record as well as play the big reason for it's demise ... please correct me if I'm wrong.



    BETA was too expensive even though the quality was a lot better. i think it's still used by video professionals. at the very least it was used until a few years ago
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  • Reply 132 of 156
    welshdogwelshdog Posts: 1,929member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by al_bundy View Post


    BETA was too expensive even though the quality was a lot better. i think it's still used by video professionals. at the very least it was used until a few years ago



    Yes pros used broadcast grade Beta decks for many many years and then moved to the digital form. It's called Digital Betacam. And yes it is still in use although I believe Sony has stopped making the machines. Now there is HDCAM and it is based on Beta as well. HDCAM decks can play DigitBeta and there are some other models that can record it, but they don't have Digibeta as their primary design function.



    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDCAM
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  • Reply 133 of 156
    al_bundyal_bundy Posts: 1,525member
    in the late 1990's i had a SCSI scanner. that went the way of the dodo as well since USB was so much cheaper. finally bought a FW port around 2003 only because it came on a sound card i bought to upgrade my PC. and i was looking for a way to download movies off my camcorder
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  • Reply 134 of 156
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by columbus View Post


    VGA

    Mini VGA

    DVI

    Mini DVI

    Micro DVI

    Display Port



    I may have missed some.





    Then you'll have to wait for rev. B, because everyone knows you never buy a rev. A Apple product.





    This is a very valid point. It seems Apple is trying to simplify and reduce the number of ports, not add new ones. Also explains lack of HDMI.



    ADC as well. As for the lack of HDMI, I think Apple either didn't anticipate displayport would be the complete failure it has been, or wanted something that hardly anyone else was using so they could heard users into buying the cadillac of 24" displays.



    As for light peak. this is a game changer. A single cable to replace device, video, and network connections and at much higher speeds. My only concern is how its going to play with current connection standards. If adapters are difficult or impossible to make, it would slow down adoption no matter how good it is.
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  • Reply 135 of 156
    The 'pipe' here isn't anything new... TOS, SP/DIF, Fibre Channel... whatever... The news here is creating a set of protocol supersets so this one wire can use multiple protocols at the same time. So, you'd still have to worry about each device understanding each other... but at lease they'd all use the same wire.



    A neat idea, but for this to work at all, you'd have to see it appear on all of Apple's gear at once - and hopefully some 3rd parties would follow along. Other than reducing clutter, a 10GB connection for a scanner, printer, iPod... whatever... is a bit of overkill. But, the next generation of flash-based storage might need something like this to keep moving...



    Interesting stuff...
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  • Reply 136 of 156
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by BenRoethig View Post


    ADC as well.



    It was more than ten years ago, but you could also add the Apple AV connector, used (to my recollection) on only on two Mac models and two displays sold during the early 1990s. Apple has tricked around with display connectors an inordinate number of times, sometime it seems arbitrarily. But I think this is really a function of a desire to make this connection tidier and more functional. Nobody else seems to care.
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  • Reply 137 of 156
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dr Millmoss View Post


    It was more than ten years ago, but you could also add the Apple AV connector, used (to my recollection) on only on two Mac models and two displays sold during the early 1990s. Apple has tricked around with display connectors an inordinate number of times, sometime it seems arbitrarily. But I think this is really a function of a desire to make this connection tidier and more functional. Nobody else seems to care.



    Not quite. ADC was a proprietary implementation of DVI (with power, usb, and firewire also built it) from 2000 to 2005.
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  • Reply 138 of 156
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by BenRoethig View Post


    Not quite. ADC was a proprietary implementation of DVI (with power, usb, and firewire also built it) from 2000 to 2005.



    No, I didn't even mention ADC. I was talking about the Apple AV connector, which was a very different animal.



    EDIT: Few remember, so here it is:



    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_A...ion_14_Display
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  • Reply 139 of 156
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by BenRoethig View Post


    ADC as well. As for the lack of HDMI, I think Apple either didn't anticipate displayport would be the complete failure it has been, or wanted something that hardly anyone else was using so they could heard users into buying the cadillac of 24" displays.



    As for light peak. this is a game changer. A single cable to replace device, video, and network connections and at much higher speeds. My only concern is how its going to play with current connection standards. If adapters are difficult or impossible to make, it would slow down adoption no matter how good it is.



    i'm sure people will run out to buy $100 keyboards and mice just because the have this cool fiber optic wire coming out
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  • Reply 140 of 156
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by columbus View Post


    ? because everyone knows you never buy a rev. A Apple product.



    Ludicrous!



    Apple sells virtually millions of hundreds of first-time products. And the overwhelming majority of buyers are glad they did.



    Thank goodness, or there wouldn't be version B's.
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