PCI EXPRESS CABLE TO HIT 32Gbps BY 2013

Thought Thunderbolt (the data cable, not the phone) was the only superfast interconnect in town? Well, it is and will be for a little while yet, but the PCI Special Interest Group has just held its annual meeting and developer conference in California, where plans for a 32Gbps PCIe cable were revealed. Details are still fluid on precisely what such a connector would look like and do, but the expectation is that it'll be built out of copper wire, will be flatter and thinner than Thunderbolt's rotund construction, and will be able to channel power as well as data through to devices up to 10 feet (3m) away.

Targeting consumer applications, and extra skinny tablets and laptops in particular, this cabled variety of PCI Express will start off based on the 3.0 spec in 2013, but will then move on from there to PCI Express 4.0 and, potentially, optical data conveyance. Oh yes, PCIe 4.0 also got announced by the PCI SIG, though that's at least four years away at this point

NEW iMACS LOCK OWNERS INTO APPLE'S HARDWARE EVEN MORE

Letting Apple control most facets of your computing experience is just a fact of life for the Mac faithful, but the company may have gone too far for some with the most recent iMac refresh. Want to swap out that hard drive for a bigger one or replace a dead disk? You've got no option but to go straight to Apple thanks to a new proprietary cable and special firmware. The standard 4-pin SATA connector has been replaced with a 7-pin configuration that keeps you from hooking up just any old hard drive, and without that magical firmware the iMac won't even boot.

DAN HESSE SAYS ALL PHONES USING MICROUSB BY 2012

Sprint CEO Dan Hesse has just confirmed that by January 2012, all US phones will use microUSB chargers, which will theoretically make all chargers and syncing cables cross-compatible. Hesse said that even as the head of a major mobile carrier, he found the dozens of different charging and syncing cables annoying, characterizing them as a “pet peeve” of his.

Late last year, the European Union ordered cell phone companies to do something that was ostensibly very pro consumer. Annoyed by the way that every single phone manufacturer had their own proprietary charging and syncing cables, the EU ordered manufacturers to standardize their syncing and charging solutions: all phones should use microUSB to both transfer data and charge.

That would mean that if your friend has an iPhone and you have a Nokia, you should be able to charge your iPhone with his Nokia charger, and vice versa. The European Union wimped out at the last minute and agreed to allow cell phone makers to comply with the law by shipping their phones with microUSB adapters.

The system’s going to roll out exactly the same in the United States as it did in Europe. The best we can hope for is that most companies will standardize using standard microUSB… but there’s no way everyone will....Apple we are looking at you!!!!

LEAKED: STATE DEPARTMENT CABLES CONFIRM ACTA WAS DESIGNED TO PRESSURE DEVELOPING NATIONS

A series of leaked State Department cables confirm what many people said from the beginning about ACTA: that it was designed by US special interests as an "end run" around existing international intellectual property groups, since those groups had actually started listening to the concerns of many other nations about how overly strict intellectual property laws were stifling innovation, economic growth and were, at times, a threat to human safety. This point had been made by ACTA critics for quite some time, but now the leaked State Department cables effectively confirm it:

One of the core objectives is to circumvent international organizations in charge of "intellectual property", where maximalist countries such as the US and the EU have been facing growing opposition from developing countries. Not just WIPO and WTO, but also the OECD: Initially, the Japanese proposed to ask the OECD for some help in drafting the agreement, but US officials suggest a different process, stressing that that they have sufficient in-house expertise, and insist on avoiding any collaboration with international organizations

The full cable on this matter makes it clear that the US had a big plan and that plan involved bringing together only "like-minded" countries, and Japan was gleeful about this.

From there, the plans become even clearer. The idea is to first do all of this with those "like-minded" (i.e., protectionist) countries, and then use the agreement to try to pressure those developing nations and other nations concerned about the expansive problems of intellectual property law into "joining." In other words, stack the deck first with those who benefit most, and then use international pressure to force the agreement on those who aren't comfortable with the end result of such laws.

HYPERMAC TO STOP SELLING CHARGING CABLES

HyperMac will stop selling MacBook charging cables and car chargers on November 2nd, under potential legal threat from Apple.  Apple sued Sanho for patent infringement of their MagSafe cables, similar to MacHype's cables.  HyperMac sent the following email to its customers:

Dear Valued Customers,


As part of our ongoing comprehensive licensing negotiations with Apple regarding a wide array of technologies and issues, we have decided to cease the sale of the MacBook charging cables and car charger on November 2, 2010.


While we will continue to sell the same batteries together with the rest of our product line after November 2nd, they will not be able to charge MacBooks without the cables.


If you wish to get the world's ONLY external battery and car charger solution that works with ALL MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro (supports dual voltage) as well as the iPad, iPhone 3/3GS/4, iPod and all other USB devices, NOW is the time.


On November 2, 2010 00:00 U.S. Pacific Time, they will gone for good.


As we have very limited stocks, do order early to avoid disappointment. We will continue to sell until November 2nd and while stocks last.


We wish thank the many customers who have already gotten the HyperMac External MacBook Battery and those of you that gave us wonderful reviews.


HyperMac will continue to sell the charging batteries, but without the necessary cables this is a bit pointless. [Engadget]