ETA For USB 3 On A Mac? Don't Hold Your Breath
03/05/10 14:27 Filed in: USB 3.0 Delays
With Intel Corp holding the linchpin to broad USB SuperSpeed adoption - And Apple Inc so tethered toIntel these days... It would seem Apple likely to be a follower - rather than a leader in USB 3.0 adoption. Both parties seem to be dragging their feet - while other 2nd tier PC motherboard manufacturers are leading the way for early adopters.
What's behind the foot-dragging? Read this article at RegHardware.co.uk for some background on Intel's USB 3 delays - until 2011.
At least for Windows 7 users -- some are enjoying USB SuperSpeed's benefits with a PC compatible PCI-e or ExpressCard and some of the available USB3 external drive/enclosures.
What's behind the foot-dragging? Read this article at RegHardware.co.uk for some background on Intel's USB 3 delays - until 2011.
At least for Windows 7 users -- some are enjoying USB SuperSpeed's benefits with a PC compatible PCI-e or ExpressCard and some of the available USB3 external drive/enclosures.
USB3 SuperSpeed External Drives And Enclosures
12/04/10 21:59 Filed in: USB 3 Hardware
The pieces for USB 3.0 are clearly falling into place. A company called Active Media launched the Aviator-2 series of portable SSD drives based on USB 3.0 connection in 64Gb and 120Gb capacities. The company also offers the standalone SuperSpeed enclosure (USD $35) for 2.5” SATA SSD disks - for do it yourselfers wanting to cobble up thier own external laptop USB3 backup drive.
Check out these 2.5" and 3.5" USB 3 SuperSpeed Drive Cases
at Amazon. Also, over at NewEgg.com there's already a good selection of enclosures like this BYTECC USB 3.0 drive case
available for early adopters on the Windows side - or for Mac users who want to get SuperSpeed ready when Apple gets around to delivering USB 3.0 kernel drivers in Snow Leopard...
Check out these 2.5" and 3.5" USB 3 SuperSpeed Drive Cases
at Amazon. Also, over at NewEgg.com there's already a good selection of enclosures like this BYTECC USB 3.0 drive caseSuper-Speed USB 3.0 SSD Flash Drives In 2010
12/04/10 21:28 Filed in: USB 3.0 Solid State Drives
Solid-State hard disk drives have had an interesting technology ramp. In 2009 in particular, SSD controller chips took a huge leap in performance thanks to larger cache, better design and improved SSD firmware. Some of the top performing SSD's such as from Intel and OCZ are now pushing the bandwidth capacities of the SATA II interface, and have easily outpaced USB 2.0 transfer rates for quite some time.
To give you an idea of the potentiall USB 3.0 SuperSpeed will bring to Apple computers and Windows PC's, read this excellent article at TweakTown that took Intel's current X25-M SATA II SSD and benchmarked it thru a variety of computer interfaces available. In a nutshell, the chart below shows USB 3 is going to rival thruput of a direct SATA II interface - with the convenience of an external USB plug.
Presuming the speeds of NAND flash memory chips and controllers used in SSD's can keep up with the promise of USB 3 and the 6Gbps SATA III interface hopes to deliver, expect the NEXT generation of SSD drives to be able to leverage the bandwidth of both. It's already looking like USB will allow us to backup to an external drive in one fifth the time it currently takes!
To give you an idea of the potentiall USB 3.0 SuperSpeed will bring to Apple computers and Windows PC's, read this excellent article at TweakTown that took Intel's current X25-M SATA II SSD and benchmarked it thru a variety of computer interfaces available. In a nutshell, the chart below shows USB 3 is going to rival thruput of a direct SATA II interface - with the convenience of an external USB plug.
Presuming the speeds of NAND flash memory chips and controllers used in SSD's can keep up with the promise of USB 3 and the 6Gbps SATA III interface hopes to deliver, expect the NEXT generation of SSD drives to be able to leverage the bandwidth of both. It's already looking like USB will allow us to backup to an external drive in one fifth the time it currently takes!
USB 3.0 Super-Speed SATA Drive Docking Station
17/02/10 10:05 Filed in: USB 3.0 Drive Enclosure
USB 3.0 SuperSpeed hard drive docking stations at starting to hit the market. If you're planning to buy a Serial ATA drive dock at all -- it may be smart to THINK FORWARD and factor USB 3.0 into your computing future. When USB3 does start to become standard on Apple Mac and Windows PC's -- you'll be ready.
SIG II USB3 Dock
2.5" & 3.5" SATA Slots
These are a great solution for transferring data, backing up, or drive cloning -- without the hassles of screws and latches involved with other conventional hard drive enclosures.
SIG II USB3 Dock
2.5" & 3.5" SATA Slots
These are a great solution for transferring data, backing up, or drive cloning -- without the hassles of screws and latches involved with other conventional hard drive enclosures.
USB 3.0 Super-Speed Hard Drive From WD
23/01/10 11:38 Filed in: USB 3.0 Hard Drive
Listed as IN-STOCK -- First out of the gate from Western Digital is the My Book 3.0 1TB USB 3.0 Desktop External Hard Drive
with PCIe Adapter Card WDBABP0010HCH-NESN
- for Windows PC's anyways. Where and when CERTIFIED & TESTED PCIe slot cards for Mac and proper driver support in OSX can be assured is further down the road. Still, we now have real USB3 products coming out of the pipeline in 2010 - for Windows users to take advantage of.
with PCIe Adapter Card WDBABP0010HCH-NESN
- for Windows PC's anyways. Where and when CERTIFIED & TESTED PCIe slot cards for Mac and proper driver support in OSX can be assured is further down the road. Still, we now have real USB3 products coming out of the pipeline in 2010 - for Windows users to take advantage of.PC World Looks At USB 3.0 SuperSpeed Horizon
04/10/09 10:18 Filed in: USB 3. Release Date
PC World takes a year-end look at the imminent release of USB 3.0 chipsets, host controllers and peripherals as we transition into 2010. Of note they address the performance leap that will allow the full potential of SSD Solid-State disk storage for backup drives, and how USB3 will allow RAW UNCOMPRESSED HD video streams from the next generation of USB 3.0 webcams now being developed.
USB 3.0 Benefits - In A Nutshell
15/09/09 13:15 Filed in: USB 3.0 Hardware
Some key aspects of SuperSpeed USB 3.0 protocol & its advantages are:
- Increased bandwidth up to ~5Gbps - 10X improvement over USB 2.0
- Bi-Directional data transfers for more efficient device communication
- Backwards compatible with USB 2.0 USB 1.1 specs
- Increased maximum bus current - Faster Charging, Fewer 'Insufficient Power' alerts
- Enhanced Bus Power Management - Better laptop battery life, cooler operation
- Streaming of bulk transfers for higher performance - Direct To Device communications
- Isochronous transfers with the provision for devices to enter low power link states between service intervals
- Exchange information such as their latency tolerance with the host so as to optimize the USB interface
A USB 3.0 SuperSpeed Mouse? Why They Make Sense
17/07/09 12:35 Filed in: USB 3 Hardware
You might think it crazy to develop a 4.8 Gigabit Per Second USB 3.0 mouse or keyboard with SuperSpeed USB3 cord on it. I mean really! Even USB 1.1 was fine for slow, low-speed peripherals like keyboards, trackpads and mice - heck, even USB computer speakers work fine on a slow USB 1.1 port!
So why would you even want - let alone need - a SuperSpeed interface on a pokey device? Here's why - and I don't think it's too far off... Imagine that mouse was also had a flash memory SSD Solid-State backup disk drive inside! Because even today you could easily fit 256GB of SSD memory chips inside the case of a full size mouse. Or a SSD inside a USB 3 keyboard would be just as doable. You wouldn't need that big slab of an external 3.5" hard drive cluttering up your desktop anymore!
So imagine that: An ultra-fast solid-state USB 3.0 Solid-State backup drive that also doubled as a mouse. Or a high-speed camera card-reader slot like some mice already have. Or a multi-function All In One USB 3.0 peripheral, all in the palm of your hand. It's only a matter of time...
So why would you even want - let alone need - a SuperSpeed interface on a pokey device? Here's why - and I don't think it's too far off... Imagine that mouse was also had a flash memory SSD Solid-State backup disk drive inside! Because even today you could easily fit 256GB of SSD memory chips inside the case of a full size mouse. Or a SSD inside a USB 3 keyboard would be just as doable. You wouldn't need that big slab of an external 3.5" hard drive cluttering up your desktop anymore!
So imagine that: An ultra-fast solid-state USB 3.0 Solid-State backup drive that also doubled as a mouse. Or a high-speed camera card-reader slot like some mice already have. Or a multi-function All In One USB 3.0 peripheral, all in the palm of your hand. It's only a matter of time...
MacBook Pro - Mac Towers Likely To Get USB 3.0 First?
17/07/09 11:51 Filed in: PCI-e USB 3 | ExpressCard USB 3
Given the easy upgrade potential to USB 3.0 via PCI-e slots in a Mac Pro desktop -- Or via a USB 3.0 ExpressCard in a MacBook Pro's Express card slot - I'd venture to say the early adopters and testers of the USB 3.0 specification on these Apple computer models will likely occur BEFORE Apple actually ships Macintosh systems with USB3 ports on the motherboard. But without USB3 SuperSpeed drivers in OSX Leopard from Apple...
Even then, here's predicting Apple will ship this new technology only PRO class Macs -- then once there's a true selection of cables, add-ons and USB SuperSpeed peripherals will this likely be rolled out to the MUCH larger market in consumer machines. We've seen this before when USB 2.0 arrived on high-end Macs first, again when the jump from 400 to FireWire 800 came to the Pro machines first.
In a way that's good: Apple can roll-out a new serial bus technology to a smaller customer base, let it go through some of the initial teething pains, slip-stream upgrade to improved Rev. B USB controller chipsets, make minor Firmware and OSX adjustments -- and then deliver a much more robust and stable USB3 solution to it's much larger MacBook, iMac and Mac mini customer later in the development cycle.
Learn About USB 3.0
16/07/09 10:13 Filed in: Mac USB3
Keeping up with technology change is HARD work. MacGizmoGuy learns like you do - amassing little tidbits of Apple computer related information, sifting through confusing new terminology and acronyms, comparing the benchmarks and speed numbers - and strives to translate what I've learned into something other people can UNDERSTAND. In SIMPLER terms. With an eye on what is MEANS to your techno-gadget life.
Here I'll talk about WHY USB standards needed to evolve - and WHAT benefits of USB 3.0 serial bus technology will bring to the average consumer - in the least geeky way possible. Stay tuned! A USB3 connector, cable, hub, peripheral, upgrade and add-on IS coming our way, ready or not.... Change is constant.
