14 DAY TRIAL // Among the so-called promises on the IT market, Intel's Light Peak is one of the more ambitious ones, being a technology described as much faster than what today's USB interface allows.
Back when the USB 3.0 standard was completed, it practically marveled most of those looking upon it, thanks to its high speeds compared to other technologies.
In fact, compared to USB 2.0, it has a theoretical maximum throughput that is 10 times faster, that being 5 Gbps (4.8 Gbps to be exact).
However, Intel has been, for quite some time, working on its own technology, named Light Peak, which is described as much faster than even that.
Previous reports and updates on it implied multiple things, such as the potential of enabling one connection standard on all devices.
Still, the Santa Clara, California-based giant didn't seem to manage to stick to its plans to use optic fiber, deciding to make its first implementation with copper wires.
Nevertheless, even so, the maximum speed achievable is still set to be twice as high as USB 3.0, meaning 10 Gbps.
Not only that, but Intel claims that Light Peak is scalable, to the point where, eventually, it will work at over 100 Gbps.
Up till recently, one couldn't really guess when the outfit would decide to finally release the standard, but this question may have been answered at last.
According to a report by CNET, the release will be made this Thursday, with Apple as the first to adopt it, in its MacBook laptops.
It is unclear how long it will take for Light Peak to make good on its name and adopt fiber optics, since they are quite expensive.
Either way, this will no doubt depend on if the new technology gains traction and, if so, how quick PC makers are to make good on it.