Intel Shows Off First Light Peak Laptop

Barence writes "Intel has provided the first hands-on demonstration of a laptop running its Light Peak technology — an optical interconnect that can transfer data at 10Gbit/sec in both directions — at the company's inaugural European research showcase here in Brussels. Intel has fitted Light Peak into a regular USB cable, with optical fibres running alongside the electrical cabling. Intel provided a visual demonstration of how data is passed through the cable by shining a torch into one end of the cable, with two little dots of light visible to the naked eye at the other end. The demonstration laptop was sending two separate HD video streams to a nearby television screen without any visible lag. The laptop includes a 12mm square chip that converts the optical light into electrical data that the computer understands."

Torch into one end with two little dots of light

[Anonymous Coward]

Intel provided a visual demonstration of how data is passed through the cable, by shining a torch into one end of the cable, with two little dots of light visible to the naked eye at the other end.

The second little dot was a floating-point error.

Optical light?

[jo_ham]

As opposed to... mechanical light?

There's my new patented method for data transfer. Measuring the impact of photons on a force transducer.

Re:Server technology?

[travisb828]

Someone will develop something that will take advantage of that ridiculous speed, and then someone will develop something that can take advantage of data being transfered at ludicrous speed. Then one day, in the future, computers will go to plaid.

Re:Horrible USB Connector

[clone53421]

Instead, we're stuck with this symmetric-appearing but actually asymmetric USB connector that I try to plug in backwards half the time.

Who actually manages to plug it in correctly on the 2nd try? It usually takes me at least 3.

Re:What do the British call real torches?

[Anonymous Coward]

Syphilis.

Re:What do the British call real torches?

[Locke2005]

Because 1) It emits light, and 2) it flashes! Er, wait a minute... how about because it was the device of choice for use by nocturnal flashers, unlike torches, lanterns, and candles which had the unfortunate side effect of causing serious burns to precisely that area of the anatomy that the flasher most wanted to illuminate?

Re:Optical light?

[Anonymous Coward]

This is why it was such an annoyance that the US version of Harry Potter was not only renamed "sorcerer's stone" (wtf, Americans won't know what a philosopher's stone is?), but references like "torch" being changed to "flashlight" just... dilute it.

It's no wonder people have trouble with terms they don't hear often.

Reminds me of an interview with Neil Gaiman I read. Apparently his American publisher just did a simple find and replace to remove Britishisms from one of his books. The result was that the proofs came back with phrases like "...he said apartmently."

Re:Horrible USB Connector

[Anonymous Coward]

Do not look into USB-shaped plug with remaining eye.
Even if you can't figure out its orientation.