Apple USB 3.0
USB 3.0 For Mac - Potential Options For Select Apple Models
10/12/10 18:22
The most important technological advance for personal computers in the year(s) ahead will be USB 3.0 peripherals and accessories. The most immediate value will be from SuperSpeed backup drives. Modern hard drives have been severely bottlenecked by Firewire and USB 2.0 as convenient external drive connections. eSATA has been a help, but as many users know, eSATA (if Apple even decided to include such ports) can be fussy and it's usually easier to just use USB 2.0. USB3 SuperSpeed promises to help us all back up large amounts of data in just minutes -- instead of an hour or more.
Unfortunately, some of these technologies won't be available to most Mac users until Apple builds USB3 ports into new models, releases SuperSpeed drivers for OSX Leopard - or some 3rd-party develops drivers for 3rd-party hardware. One of the disadvantages of Mac‘s architecture being tightly controlled and locked down by one company is fewer choices. The decision Apple makes when deciding which new technologies are important is one thing. Now tied at the hip with Intel for some aspects of logic board design and bridge chips, both Intel and Apple are lagging on USB3 support.
Let’s review at some of the upcoming serial bus technologies, why they matter, and how Mac users – especially buyers of Apple’s latest iMacs – are largely locked out of them due to the lack of desktop expansion options common with PCs. Several new models of PC motherboards with built-in USB 3.0 SuperSpeed ports are already on the market. Combined with Windows 7 which includes drivers for USB3, at least some PC users are enjoying USB3's benefits - today.
USB 3.0 is potentially 10x faster than USB 2.0 which really lifts the bottleneck off of common external storage. This could be a big help for who use Time Machine to back up their Mac frequently.
There is another great benefit to USB 3.0 also – and that is the extra electrical power it supplies to devices, which makes it such a better choice for external storage over all other methods. With USB 3.0, the amount of Milliamps of power available will nearly double from 500mAh to 900mAh.
We'll be able to connect more power-hungry devices such as portable external drives without needing a separate power connector or a USB Y-cable. Handheld devices like an iPod, iPad or iPhone can recharge in half the time. And with the high bandwidth of SuperSpeed USB3 - data sync operations will occur in a fraction of the time.
If your notebook – Mac or otherwise has an ExpressCard port, you will likely be able to add an ExpressCard adapter to enjoy USB 3.0 down the road once OSX USB 3 drivers are available for the ExpressCard slot found in select 15" and 17" MacBook Pro models.
The problem is, there are a lot of very popular MacBooks without an ExpressCard slot out there. (For example a 2009 13" Unibody MacBook) – and iMac users are sadly completely out of luck, as that machine has no PCI Express card expansion option at all. There is hope for Macintosh Pro tower owners who have multiple PCI-e slots available to add a USB 3.0 expansion card. We just need the drivers...
Unfortunately, some of these technologies won't be available to most Mac users until Apple builds USB3 ports into new models, releases SuperSpeed drivers for OSX Leopard - or some 3rd-party develops drivers for 3rd-party hardware. One of the disadvantages of Mac‘s architecture being tightly controlled and locked down by one company is fewer choices. The decision Apple makes when deciding which new technologies are important is one thing. Now tied at the hip with Intel for some aspects of logic board design and bridge chips, both Intel and Apple are lagging on USB3 support.
Let’s review at some of the upcoming serial bus technologies, why they matter, and how Mac users – especially buyers of Apple’s latest iMacs – are largely locked out of them due to the lack of desktop expansion options common with PCs. Several new models of PC motherboards with built-in USB 3.0 SuperSpeed ports are already on the market. Combined with Windows 7 which includes drivers for USB3, at least some PC users are enjoying USB3's benefits - today.
USB 3.0 is potentially 10x faster than USB 2.0 which really lifts the bottleneck off of common external storage. This could be a big help for who use Time Machine to back up their Mac frequently.
There is another great benefit to USB 3.0 also – and that is the extra electrical power it supplies to devices, which makes it such a better choice for external storage over all other methods. With USB 3.0, the amount of Milliamps of power available will nearly double from 500mAh to 900mAh.
We'll be able to connect more power-hungry devices such as portable external drives without needing a separate power connector or a USB Y-cable. Handheld devices like an iPod, iPad or iPhone can recharge in half the time. And with the high bandwidth of SuperSpeed USB3 - data sync operations will occur in a fraction of the time.
If your notebook – Mac or otherwise has an ExpressCard port, you will likely be able to add an ExpressCard adapter to enjoy USB 3.0 down the road once OSX USB 3 drivers are available for the ExpressCard slot found in select 15" and 17" MacBook Pro models.
The problem is, there are a lot of very popular MacBooks without an ExpressCard slot out there. (For example a 2009 13" Unibody MacBook) – and iMac users are sadly completely out of luck, as that machine has no PCI Express card expansion option at all. There is hope for Macintosh Pro tower owners who have multiple PCI-e slots available to add a USB 3.0 expansion card. We just need the drivers...
SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Accessories For Mac OSX
10/09/10 07:02
Welcome to www.mac-compatible-usb3.com - This next-generation Universal Serial Bus interface specification is poised to take Apple Macintosh computer performance to the next level in the years ahead. USB3 SuperSpeed is potentially up to 10x faster in data transfer speeds than USB 2.0 - while maintaining backward compatibility with USB 2.0 devices and speeds when needed.
While Microsoft has added native driver support for USB 3.0 in Windows 7 - we're still waiting for Apple to announce driver support in OSX Leopard - And to introduce new Macs with built-in USB3 ports. The software needs to come first - and it's a shame USB 3.0 SuperSpeed drivers haven't been incorporated into Snow Leopard. That would at least allow Macintosh Pro tower owners to add a PCI-e SuperSpeed expansion card - or allow the use of USB 3 ExpressCards in select models of MacBook Pro which have an Express Card slot.
While Microsoft has added native driver support for USB 3.0 in Windows 7 - we're still waiting for Apple to announce driver support in OSX Leopard - And to introduce new Macs with built-in USB3 ports. The software needs to come first - and it's a shame USB 3.0 SuperSpeed drivers haven't been incorporated into Snow Leopard. That would at least allow Macintosh Pro tower owners to add a PCI-e SuperSpeed expansion card - or allow the use of USB 3 ExpressCards in select models of MacBook Pro which have an Express Card slot.
solutions today.
Explore these other currently shipping USB 3.0 accessories for selectt MacBook Pro and Macintosh Pro tower computers:
