Apple has updated its MacBook Pro line, upgrading processors and graphics and adding a high-speed Thunderbolt I/O port and a new FaceTime-enabled HD camera.
The biggest news is the inclusion of Thunderbolt (Light Peak) technology, which Intel developed with Apple. In practice, it’s a dual Thunderbolt/DisplayPort I/O port (marked by a lightning icon) that provides two bi-directional channels with data transfer speeds up to 10 Gbps.
Thunderbolt technology
- Dual-channel offering a whopping 10Gbps per port (to put that into perspective you can push a full-length HD movie through the connection in less than 30 seconds).
- The port is bi-directional, so it offers 10Gbps in both directions simultaneously.
- Dual-protocol support for PCI Express and DisplayPort.
- Fully compatible with existing DisplayPort devices.
- Daisy-chain up to six peripherals.
- Supplies 10W of power over bus to peripherals.
- Supports electrical (copper) or optical (fibre optic) cabling.
- Low latency.
- Supports HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface)/HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection)
- Apple is the first to offer Thunderbolt to its customers.







