Thunderbolt

In the wake of the announcement by Sonnet for its Thunderbolt-based Echo ExpressCard adapter that will allow any compatible ExpressCard to work on a Thunderbolt Mac, peripheral developer Magma has announced a Thunderbolt-based expansion chassis for full-size PCI Express cards that will accommodate anything from audio cards, modems, and connectivity peripherals to video cards for additional displays.

According to a press release, the Magma "ExpressBox 3T" will hold up to three PCI Express cards side-by-side to offer any Thunderbolt-equipped Mac the option to add more functionality, even if the Mac does not have any built-in expansion ports, which … Read more

The four-tuner Tivo Premiere Elite makes its debut, Netflix cracks down on people who stream more than one video at the same time, and Yahoo's board fires CEO Carol Bartz after less than three years on the job.

Links from Wednesday's episode of Loaded:

Intel will put its large spotlight on Ultrabook laptops and Windows 8, among other technologies, at its annual developer conference next week.

In a keynote on September 14, Mooly Eden, general manager of the PC client group at Intel, will describe the "transformation of the PC" being driven by Ultrabooks at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF), according to an overview of the forum CNET received from Intel today. IDF begins next Tuesday.

Ultrabooks are very light, very thin Windows laptops that compete with the MacBook Air. The core hardware includes Intel second-generation "Sandy Bridge" processors and … Read more

The Department of Justice doesn't want to see AT&T end up with T-Mobile, but would it stop Sprint Nextel from making such an acquisition? What about MetroPCS or Leap Wireless?

Earlier this week, the DOJ stunned many people in the wireless industry when it filed suit against AT&T to stop its $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA. The agency said that allowing AT&T to buy T-Mobile would likely result in higher prices and a loss of innovation in the wireless market.

The news has sparked speculation about what will happen to T-Mobile if … Read more

Some of the frustrations that Mac users have had with Apple's hardware developments over the years have been when Apple has limited various connectivity options. For instance, when Apple removed FireWire ports from some of its portable systems, users were concerned about options for Target Disk mode (commonly used for troubleshooting), or even connecting numerous FireWire devices to the systems. More recently, Apple has juggled between including an ExpressCard slot and an SD card reader on newer laptop systems.

As systems get smaller and thinner, the ability for Apple to accommodate various ports will undoubtedly decrease. As it stands, … Read more

Apple is heavily rumored to be working on an HDTV with TV subscriptions, Facebook Deals is dead, and Samsung postpones releasing the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia due to patent litigation.

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded:

Ultrabooks are coming. The first wave of superslim laptops are expected to hit in force by the holiday season. Earlier this week, I spoke with Greg Welch, director of Intel's Ultrabook group, to get a better idea of what an Ultrabook is.

Though Intel won't make Ultrabooks, it will supply the core components, so it is intimately involved in the platform. And, as Welch, describes it, the Ultrabook is "an initiative to advance the state of the art of the notebook experience across several years."

Question: Can you talk about some of the new technologies Intel … Read more

The MacBook Air is Apple's new mainstream MacBook, and though the latest version is undoubtedly the best, there are still aspects of this slim laptop that could do with accessories. The Air achieves an excellent balance of design, performance, and battery life, but it still leaves out some features that many people consider essential to their laptop experience.

Consider these accessories a way of mending the missing pieces and providing true MacBook Air road warriors with all the tools needed for a worry-free Air-based lifestyle.

Click through for our picks. Did we miss any? Are there even better examples … Read more

If you're looking for a storage device that only a few deserving computers can handle, Promise Technology's Thunderbolt-enabled Pegasus R6 external hard drive is for you. It's a storage device like no other.

And it was hard to review it. For one thing, as it's the first storage device with Thunderbolt, we needed to think of a new set of tests for it while still comparing it with existing storage devices in a way that makes sense. However, the hardest part was not the logistics but how to rate the drive.

As Thunderbolt currently offers 10Gbps … Read more