Thunderbolt making the jump to PCs

Intel's lighting-speed communications protocol, Thunderbolt™, is making its way to the PC market, as the chipmaker reveals that the new input/output technology will appear on Windows-based computers as early as 2012.

Intel® says Thunderbolt will improve PC performance and introduce new levels of simplicity and flexibility. The I/O protocol allows storage, media devices and displays to all be connected to a computer through a single copper cable capable of transferring data at 10 gigabytes per second.

Thunderbolt was developed by Intel under the code name Light Peak and first appeared on Mac® computers in February 2011. Now, the technology is being rolled out for Windows-based desktop and laptop computers, including the upcoming Ultrabook™.

Intel vice president and PC Client Group general manager Mooly Eden revealed the new technology at the Intel Developers Forum in San Francisco. He demonstrated the power of the technology by simultaneously streaming four uncompressed videos on one Windows® PC at speeds of 700 megabytes per second.

It is unclear whether Thunderbolt will make a similar transition to Windows-based tablets. If so, this may be a major selling point, as Microsoft® has revealed its upcoming Windows 8 will run on both PCs and tablet computers.