Since Intel has been dragging its heels on USB 3.0, some have suggested that the chip-giant is trying to make room for its own alternative - Light Peak. The next-gen technology has remained elusive, though, and no launch date has ever been pinned-down.
However, according to CNET, the interface could be making its debut in the first half of 2011. Citing an industry source close to the technology, the report suggests that Light Peak is 'on track' to appear in retail products during the first six-months of next year. In fact, the insider even suggests that a launch in the earlier part of the year is 'likely'.
There was also some suggestion - though it seemed to be mostly conjecture - that the first systems to support the new interface could come from Apple. Some of the earliest demonstrations of Light Peak were carried out using a machine running OSX and there have even been claims that the Cupertino-based company invented the technology before handing it off to Intel. This could also be seen to fit with recent comments from Steve Jobs suggesting that USB 3.0 wouldn't appear on Macs until - or perhaps unless - it was natively supported by Intel.
With widespread adoption of USB 3.0 still a way off, Intel could easily swoop in with Light Peak to take over the market. The interface will initially provide throughput of up to 10Gpbs in both directions - scalable to over 100Gbps in the future - and can support multiple different protocols at once. While it's thought that the technology will initially be used as an internal interconnect, Intel has also demonstrated it as a direct, high-bandwidth connection to peripherals and displays.
