I'd like to think Apple is smarter than to create a new port standard that would only last for 2 years. Their 30-pin connector lasted nearly a decade.
Thunderbolt is Intel’s, remember. There’s not much Apple can do if they change it. Yes, collaboration, but if the current port physically can’t do what Intel wants it to do…
Thunderbolt is Intel’s, remember. There’s not much Apple can do if they change it. Yes, collaboration, but if the current port physically can’t do what Intel wants it to do…
LightPeak used a modified USB port for its first implementations. Had the USB morons allowed them to keep doing it, we would have had Thunderbolt ports that were backward compatible with USB. Imagine what that would have done for Thunderbolt adoption and what it would have done for keeping USB relevant.
I agree with the sentiment, but your suggestion that USB is losing relevance is a bit of a stretch. Wait, no, not "a bit of a stretch." What's the term I'm looking for? Oh yeah, "Nuts!"
Ask anyone on the street to tell you what USB is. If you can find anyone with a three-digit IQ over 12-years-old and under 90 who can't tell you, I'll bake you a cake.
Now, ask them what Thunderbolt is in the context of computers. If you can find even one person in ten in a random sampling who has any idea whatsoever I'd be amazed.
Obviously that's largely due to historical influences and doesn't say anything about whether USB's relevance is increasing or declining, but it does tell you something about the likelihood of it declining anytime soon. Other long-standing standards like PS/2 and RS9 serial didn't have anywhere near the level of consumer awareness and understanding driving them.
With USB3, the bandwidth exceeds all but the most demanding users' needs and so is perfectly acceptable, with the added benefits of being completely invisible to the user who doesn't care, and backwards compatible for the person with legacy components who doesn't want to buy new devices. Contrast that with trying to drive adoption of ANY alternative, even one with much better specs, which requires replacing both computer AND peripherals, and you can see why it will take a major upheaval in the user experience to overcome USB's inertia. Technical superiority isn't enough.
Ask anyone on the street to tell you what it means. Then ask them if they feel that 12 ports, all physically incompatible with one another, is really “universal”.
With USB3, the bandwidth exceeds all but the most demanding users’ needs...
Bandwidth schmandwidth. If you told people that a port exists right now that could replace everything they plug in–they could have one cable and one port that works with everything they own–they’d demand it and throw everything else in the garbage. They don’t know.
Ask anyone on the street to tell you what it means. Then ask them if they feel that 12 ports, all physically incompatible with one another, is really “universal”.
I agree with you that the variety of USB port interfaces is clumsy and kills the concept of truly being universal, but I don't agree with the idea that USB is losing relevance. I would bet more users and devices require USB than they ever have in the past and I expect that to grow. Even Apple's iDevices all use USB cables to charge and sync. I think we'll have to see wireless charging get well entrenched and WiFI get faster before we start to see USB start to fade.
If you told people that a port exists right now that could replace everything they plug in–they could have one cable and one port that works with everything they own–they’d demand it and throw everything else in the garbage. They don’t know.
Not if you told them they'll have to replace their printer and their backup drive and their scanner and their mouse and their camera and their phone.
Anyway, all of that is a side argument, and like I said, I agree with what you said about the original idea to put USB and TB on the same connector being a good one. I just don't agree that USB is becoming less relevant, and for better or worse, nor do I see anything on the horizon that suggests it will be anytime soon.
You can get an adapter from Thunderbolt to just about anything. Nothing but Thunderbolt ports on your machine, keep your old peripherals until it dies or you want a new one. Then it’d have a modern port (and, heck, daisy-chaining). I just remembered that now; daisy-chaining itself could kill USB.
You can get an adapter from Thunderbolt to just about anything.
The only TB-to-USB adaptor I can find is the Kanex that costs $80 and is the size of an outboard power supply. A quick search didn't even turn up a place to actually buy one (lots of places promising to get you one whoever they're available, but no one saying "in stock" or "now shipping").
Beyond that you're looking at a TB "dock" that costs >$200 and requires AC power.
I don't think we're at a point where TB is a viable replacement for USB ports on a computer. It would be nice if something like it were, but preferably something that doesn't involve active cables. $50 for a CABLE?! And the connectors are HOW big?! This is 2014. We can do better than that.
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Thunderbolt is Intel’s, remember. There’s not much Apple can do if they change it. Yes, collaboration, but if the current port physically can’t do what Intel wants it to do…
I thought you were talking about Lightning.
LightPeak used a modified USB port for its first implementations. Had the USB morons allowed them to keep doing it, we would have had Thunderbolt ports that were backward compatible with USB. Imagine what that would have done for Thunderbolt adoption and what it would have done for keeping USB relevant.
I agree with the sentiment, but your suggestion that USB is losing relevance is a bit of a stretch. Wait, no, not "a bit of a stretch." What's the term I'm looking for? Oh yeah, "Nuts!"
Ask anyone on the street to tell you what USB is. If you can find anyone with a three-digit IQ over 12-years-old and under 90 who can't tell you, I'll bake you a cake.
Now, ask them what Thunderbolt is in the context of computers. If you can find even one person in ten in a random sampling who has any idea whatsoever I'd be amazed.
Obviously that's largely due to historical influences and doesn't say anything about whether USB's relevance is increasing or declining, but it does tell you something about the likelihood of it declining anytime soon. Other long-standing standards like PS/2 and RS9 serial didn't have anywhere near the level of consumer awareness and understanding driving them.
With USB3, the bandwidth exceeds all but the most demanding users' needs and so is perfectly acceptable, with the added benefits of being completely invisible to the user who doesn't care, and backwards compatible for the person with legacy components who doesn't want to buy new devices. Contrast that with trying to drive adoption of ANY alternative, even one with much better specs, which requires replacing both computer AND peripherals, and you can see why it will take a major upheaval in the user experience to overcome USB's inertia. Technical superiority isn't enough.
Ask anyone on the street to tell you what USB is.
Ask anyone on the street to tell you what it means. Then ask them if they feel that 12 ports, all physically incompatible with one another, is really “universal”.
Bandwidth schmandwidth. If you told people that a port exists right now that could replace everything they plug in–they could have one cable and one port that works with everything they own–they’d demand it and throw everything else in the garbage. They don’t know.
I agree with you that the variety of USB port interfaces is clumsy and kills the concept of truly being universal, but I don't agree with the idea that USB is losing relevance. I would bet more users and devices require USB than they ever have in the past and I expect that to grow. Even Apple's iDevices all use USB cables to charge and sync. I think we'll have to see wireless charging get well entrenched and WiFI get faster before we start to see USB start to fade.
If you told people that a port exists right now that could replace everything they plug in–they could have one cable and one port that works with everything they own–they’d demand it and throw everything else in the garbage. They don’t know.
Not if you told them they'll have to replace their printer and their backup drive and their scanner and their mouse and their camera and their phone.
Anyway, all of that is a side argument, and like I said, I agree with what you said about the original idea to put USB and TB on the same connector being a good one. I just don't agree that USB is becoming less relevant, and for better or worse, nor do I see anything on the horizon that suggests it will be anytime soon.
Not if you told them they'll have to replace their printer and their backup drive and their scanner and their mouse and their camera and their phone.
But you don’t.
Not if you told them they'll have to replace their printer and their backup drive and their scanner and their mouse and their camera and their phone.
But you don’t.
Huh? Explain, please. I no unnerstan.
Huh? Explain, please. I no unnerstan.
You can get an adapter from Thunderbolt to just about anything. Nothing but Thunderbolt ports on your machine, keep your old peripherals until it dies or you want a new one. Then it’d have a modern port (and, heck, daisy-chaining). I just remembered that now; daisy-chaining itself could kill USB.
You can get adaptors for the different USB ports as well, or just different cables, since they're cheap.
The USB-A end is pretty universal, even if the other end isn't.
You can get an adapter from Thunderbolt to just about anything.
The only TB-to-USB adaptor I can find is the Kanex that costs $80 and is the size of an outboard power supply. A quick search didn't even turn up a place to actually buy one (lots of places promising to get you one whoever they're available, but no one saying "in stock" or "now shipping").
Beyond that you're looking at a TB "dock" that costs >$200 and requires AC power.
I don't think we're at a point where TB is a viable replacement for USB ports on a computer. It would be nice if something like it were, but preferably something that doesn't involve active cables. $50 for a CABLE?! And the connectors are HOW big?! This is 2014. We can do better than that.