Thunderbolt Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Daily Update for May 10, 2013

by Steven Sande (May 10th, 2013)

It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player ...

Apple issues stability fix firmware update v1.2 for Thunderbolt

by Steven Sande (May 10th, 2013)

Have a Mac equipped with Thunderbolt? Then head on over to your friendly neighborhood Mac App Store this morning, click on Updates and get yourself a nice firmware update. Firmware update v1.2 for Thunderbolt "provides stability fixes for Thunderbolt and Target Disk Mode" and requires a machine ...

Belkin's Thunderbolt dock delivers plug-and-play flexibility

by Michael Rose (May 9th, 2013)

It's dock o'clock, thank goodness, as Belkin's long incubation period of the Thunderbolt Express Dock closed out last month. The US$299 expansion peripheral is now shipping to customers; is it worth your attention? We've had a week to put it through its paces. The most direct product comparison ...

Belkin begins shipping Thunderbolt Express Dock

by Michael Grothaus (Apr 30th, 2013)

Mac power users will rejoice -- or be relieved -- that Belkin has announced it is officially shipping the Thunderbolt Express Dock. The dock allows users to expand to a wide range of ports via a single Thunderbolt connection on their Mac. The dock offers two Thunderbolt ports (one for input, the ...

Matrox DualHead2go adapter broadens your monitor horizons

by Michael Rose (Apr 9th, 2013)

If your widescreen ambitions can't be contained by a mere 1920x1080 HD screenscape, the fine folks at Matrox have a solution for you. The DualHead2Go Digital Mac Edition display adapter, priced around US$160, is built and marketed specifically for the Thunderbolt and DisplayPort-enabled Mac ...

G-Technology announces new family of Thunderbolt-equipped docks, drives

by Steven Sande (Apr 8th, 2013)

The National Association of Broadcasters conference going on right now appears to be the place to hear about new gear for your Mac or iOS device. Earlier today we heard about several new audio interfaces from Avid and now G-Technology is announcing new storage options. G-Technology has ...

Intel announces faster next-gen Thunderbolt

by John-Michael Bond (Apr 8th, 2013)

Engadget is reporting that Intel has introduced the next generation of the Thunderbolt interface at the NAB conference. The update promises data transfer rates of 20 Gbps in each direction on Thunderbolt's two channels, twice the speed of the current generation rated at 10 Gbps. The ...

Sonnet announces powerful Echo 15 Thunderbolt Dock

by Steven Sande (Apr 4th, 2013)

Slowly, but surely, Thunderbolt docks are starting to appear from peripheral manufacturers. The Matrox DS1 has shipped to much acclaim, although Belkin's promised Thunderbolt Express Dock has slipped past the promised Q1 ship date. Now Sonnet has announced that the Echo 15 Thunderbolt Dock ...

Matrox DS1 is a practical, powerful Thunderbolt dock

by Michael Rose (Mar 3rd, 2013)

During my perambulations on the Macworld/iWorld show floor in February, I chatted face-to-face with a Belkin representative who bravely asserted that the company's $299.99 Thunderbolt Express Dock would be shipping "this month." This would be the same Express Dock that was originally seen in an ...

Ars: "Thunderbolt should continue to spread in 2013"

by Steven Sande (Jan 15th, 2013)

Although it seems as Intel's Thunderbolt interconnect technology has been consigned to the realm of expensive ideas that just didn't make it, Ars Technica's Chris Foresman has posted a detailed update on the tech and says that "the groundwork laid in 2012 may slowly start to pay off in ...

Thunderbolt Display shortage could point to impending refresh

by Randy Nelson (Jan 14th, 2013)

Here's some potentially good news for those who've been hoping for a redesign of Apple's Thunderbolt Display - but not for folks who're trying to get their mitts on the current model. Apple Insider reports that retails including Amazon, J&R and MacMall are all out of stock of the 27-inch ...

Apple reduces Thunderbolt cable price, introduces new shorter option

by Mike Wehner (Jan 9th, 2013)

Apple may not have a presence at CES, but that's not stopping the company from introducing a new goodie in its online store. 9to5Mac reports that the Apple Thunderbolt Cable, which was previously only available in a length of 2 meters, is now available in a new 0.5-meter variation. The new cable ...

Corning's USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt cables smaller, lighter, longer

by Steven Sande (Jan 8th, 2013)

Corning, the same company that brought you the Gorilla Glass used on most smartphones, announced new optical Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 cables yesterday at CES. The cables make use of Corning's ClearCurve VSDN optical fiber technology to extend data transmission range while being smaller and ...

SuperSpeed USB 3.0 will match Thunderbolt performance in 2014

by Steven Sande (Jan 7th, 2013)

With the addition of USB 3.0 to Apple's line of Macs, the Thunderbolt interface -- which hasn't really taken off -- may be relegated to the dustbin of history soon. The USB 3.0 Promoter Group announced at CES today that by 2014, USB 3.0 data-transfer speeds will be doubled from today's 5 ...

Fiber optic Thunderbolt cables coming soon

by Michael Grothaus (Jan 2nd, 2013)

Sumitomo Electric Industries has announced that it's the first company to receive certification from Intel to produce optical Thunderbolt cables. Currently all Thunderbolt cables have metal components, which limit the maximum length of those cables to around 10 feet. Optical Thunderbolt cables ...