One of the big selling points of the recently released new line of Macbook Pros, is this mysterious port known as Thunderbolt.

The question is, what is Thunderbolt, and what does it mean for end users.

Thunderbolt was designed by Intel to be a lightning fast way to transfer data from a laptop to a peripheral. Originally developed under the code name Light Peak, Thunderbolt, is a dual-protocol technology that fields the use of both PCIe and DisplayPort.

Below is the list of features from Intel’s website:

- Dual-chennel 10Gpbs per port
- Bi-directional
- Dual-protocol (PCIe and DisplayPort)
- Compatible with existing DisplayPort devices
- Daisy-chained devices
- Electrical or optical cables
- Low latency with highly accurate time synch
- Uses native protocol software drivers
- Power over cable for bus-powered devices

To achieve the high speeds, Thunderbolt transmits and receives simultaneously, so that it can make use of the full bandwidth for the connection. This allows transmission of large files in a fraction of time as compared to previous peripheral connections. Intel states that backups of a years worth of continuous MP3 playback in just over 10 minutes. That’s huge!

So, what does this mean for end users? Basically, it means all the benefits that you normally would get from a desktop versus a laptop fly out the window. Need expanded storage? No problem, slap on an external drive array and see practically no hit to performance. Been wishing for a docking station for your Mac? Here it is, with daisy-chaining, connect all the devices you need to one port on your latop.

It is yet to be seen if Thunderbolt will become as widely adopted as Intel hopes, but with data streams getting larger and USB being more and more behind the 8-ball, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a nice shift to Thunderbolt Technology.