Lightpeak May Replace USB 3.0 in 2011

Electronista
PCWorld


Quote:




Intel, which announced Light Peak last year, hopes it will be broadly used by devices ranging from PCs to consumer electronics and other gadgets, said Kevin Kahn, an Intel senior fellow, in a speech at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in Beijing.
Intel will make the technology available late this year and expects partners to start shipping devices with it next year, Kahn said.

"We view this as a logical future successor to USB 3.0," Kahn said.
"In some sense we'd...
like to build the last cable you'll ever need."




^^This quote is why I want Lightpeak ASAP!


Quote:




A laptop with Light Peak built in was on show during Kahn's speech.
A long, thin Light Peak cable, which linked the laptop to a docking station and a monitor, was used simultaneously to transmit Blu-ray video, a feed from a high-definition camera and a duplication of the laptop's display onto the other screen.
Light Peak can currently transfer data at a speed of 10G bps (bits per second), or fast enough to send a full Blu-Ray movie in less than half a minute, according to Intel.
But the technology could be scaled up to 10 times that speed in the next decade, Intel says.

The Light Peak cable plugged into the laptop through a USB 3.0 port with components added to receive the optical signal.
When asked if that would be the standard port used for Light Peak, Kahn said USB 3.0 is a likely place to start because it is common, but that "you could take the size way, way down." That could reduce the amount of space needed for a Light Peak port, a crucial consideration for small devices like handheld computers.

The laptop in the demo could still accept normal USB 3.0 devices in its USB port.





Quote:




Intel's upcoming Light Peak standard could take over from USB 3.0, company senior fellow Kevin Kahn said today at the Intel Developer Forum in Beijing.
The 10Gbps peripheral standard was technically built to link up other standards but was seen by Kahn as possibly replacing 5Gbps USB 3.0 altogether in the next few years.
He went so far as to treat Light Peak as a finality that may replace any other standard in the future.

"We view this as a logical future successor to USB 3.0," Kahn told those gathered at the event.
"In some sense[s] we'd...
like to build the last cable you'll ever need."

The Intel fellow also made clear the release plans and noted that Light Peak would only become available to component makers in late 2010.
Actual shipping PCs should be ready earlier in 2011.

Light Peak is considered complementary to USB 3.0 at present, and for now would primarily reduce the number of connections inside a computer or, in some cases, on the outside.
Some rumors have maintained that it's actually an Apple-inspired standard and would be used to simplify connections while making possible next-generation iPhones, iPods and other devices that could sync in a fraction of the time it takes on 480Mbps USB 2.0.




In time for 22nm Ivy Bridge.