Intel's Optical Tech May Arrive Next Year

[exfileme]

Intel's Light Peak technology--slated to debut in Q1 2010--could combine current connectors such as USB, HDMI, and Ethernet using fiber optics.

Intel's Optical Tech May Arrive Next Year : Read more

 

[wildwell]

Awesome! What about cost?

And, when can we get these speeds w/o ANY cables?

 

[doomtomb]

Bring it on

 

[08nwsula]

I'm surprised Sony is using standard connections and not trying to create some new technology that would surely suck.

 

[tayb]

Hm. I understand why they wanted to go with USB but I think it will get pretty confusing for customers. We'll have USB 2.0, USB 3.0, and Intel Light Peak that all look the exact same.

 

[Gin Fushicho]

This looks cool , but it also means I have to buy a bunch of new shit... again.

 

[icepick314]

[citation][nom]vorless[/nom]I dont want to spend $1,000 dollars a foot for wire.(My guess.)[/citation]

they aren't Monster brand cables...

 

[notzaar]

I don't see how this could replace USB, it seems kind of expensive and USB works just fine. Could be useful for network cables and A/V signals.

 

[Guest]

@Zingam
Just keep your usb devices for that.

 

[XD_dued]

Maybe they'll one day replace pci express 😵

 

[peterkidd]

zingham:
7000 disconnects and reconnects isn't that much!!! for monitors it's OK
For USB devices like mice and other peripherals on laptops the number would be top low.

It would take you 6 years to reach that number if you disconnected and reconnected 3 times a day. Nineteen years if you only disconnected and reconnected once.

 

[phatboe]

What I don't understand is why can't they use standard ethernet cables (RJ-45) as a kind of universal standard for connecting devices like monitors, mice, printers and other peripherals. I don't know much about the standard but it RJ-45 cables have plenty of bandwidth, low latency, and are already being mass produced and has seen wide spread adoption over the years. All that would need to happen is for some standards body to create some kind of Universal protocol over RJ-45.

 

[Platypus]

I think someone posted about this the last time these cables were discussed in an article, but these could be a great way to get an external graphics card solution for laptops.

 

[Kelavarus]

At least 7,000? Unacceptable.

I demand OVER 9000!!!

 

[Supertrek32]

New cables are great, but they aren't the bottleneck, so just changing the cable doesn't solve anything. Using current ethernet cables, you can transfer approx 128MB/s. (Mainstream) hard drives are just now scraping this transfer rate, and only for short periods of time.

It's nice to know we've got room to improve, but if this is targeting mainstream consumers it's ahead of its time. Why would I pay more money for a cable if I can't notice any difference?

 

[zak_mckraken]

@phatboe : Power. USB cables carry up to 5v (500mA). That's why cables are usually 6 to 15 feet long (the maximum without losing signal being around 30 feet). Cat-5 cables aren't powered but can carry a 100mhz signal up to 328 feets. Different need, different cables.

 

[Supertrek32]

PS, that 128MB/s is based solely off gigabit network speeds. Wish I'd remembered to write that... also wish there was an edit button...

 

[notzaar]

[citation][nom]XD_dued[/nom]Maybe they'll one day replace pci express 😵[/citation]
External video cards huh? Might not be such a bad idea, at the rate they're growing in size.

 

[Honis]

I can't wait to see what the guy at Best Buy tells me to get me to buy the Monster Cables version.

"The gold plated optical fiber helps reflect the light in the cable so that the signal is a higher strength."

 

[virtualban]

Future vision: close to fully optical computers like the ones in the movie 'virtuosity', or the computers Superman's native people were using.

 

[virtualban]

That's it, I'm gonna patent the above idea! Yes, I know movies have already shown that, but those were movies, science fiction (call superman science, ha ha), I have a true idea about this at work. I am just sorry big evil corporations will rob me of my ideas before I have implemented anything. But I'll wait a few years and sue them all!

 

[mowston]

So do these cables transfer power over the cable? If not, then how will my mouse, keyboard, etc be powered? That is one of the useful things about USB.

 

[acecombat]

What's the bet they will release USB to LightPeak adaptors for those less PC literate that think it will work better?

 

[buwish]

It seems to be a bit ahead of its time. However, I hope that it does become widely adopted, as I'll take 10GB/s any day.

 

[ckthecerealkiller]

[citation][nom]vorless[/nom]I dont want to spend $1,000 dollars a foot for wire.(My guess.)[/citation]
Standard fiber optic cable is currently less than a dollar a foot. It's very comparable to standard crossover cable.