With the new Macbook Pro now released, it’s got this new thing called Thunderbolt, but what is it?

Engadget offer an interesting look into the technology having had a breakdown from Intel:

Simply put, Thunderbolt’s a familiar-looking port, a brand-new chip, and a cord, which allows devices to pipe two data streams simultaneously — in both directions — over a single cable at up to 10 gigabits per second to start, primarily using PCI Express x4 for data and DisplayPort for video.

Apparently it’s backward compatible depending on the type of cable used and can transfer a full-length HD movie in less than 30 seconds.

thunderbolt

Here’s Intel’s scope:

The vision for Thunderbolt technology (formerly codenamed “Light Peak”) is to move media faster, simplify connections between devices, and foster new and exciting ways to build and use PCs. Combining high-speed data and HD video connections together onto a single cable is instrumental to achieving that vision.

So it sounds a promising technology – so much so that Apple have bought into it. So what do you think? Is it going to take off? Or is it just another firewire? Leave us a comment or further discuss in the forums.