The history of Apple computer peripheral interfaces is long and varied. And the reason for all these different device interfaces over the years is simple: They provided the right technology for the right job - at the time.

It may make good headlines to say "Apple and Intel Declare War On The USB Standard With ThunderBolt!" but the reality is this isn't a war, interfaces coexist and compliment each other, and much like FireWire that preceeded ThunderBolt -- USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 SuperSpeed will dominate the marketplace - in spite of some of the technical advantages and benefits that ThunderBolt provides.

Its best to think of ThunderBolt benefitting specific highly data-intensive devices and computing needs -- and USB3 delivering more affordable, more than 'good enough' backward compatible high-speed benefits to the rest of the computing masses. Both have a promising future for both the Mac and Windows PC platforms. (Especially when USB3 to ThunderBolt adapters become available and deliver the best of BOTH worlds.)

Many computer gadgets and gizmos DON'T EVEN NEED - OR CAN EVEN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF - THE BANDWIDTH of USB 3.0 SuperSpeed - let alone ThunderBolt's 10Gbps pipeline. Given that so many technologies like a single hard drive or SSD can't even max out either's pipeline, there's plenty of elbow-room on either of these busses for a vastly improved user experience. And ultimately, that matters more than tech specs.

Tags: thunderbolt port