Along with the iPad mini being introduced on October 23rd, Apple also plans to upgrade the Mac Mini with USB 3.0 ports. Will there be processor and storage upgrades for the Mac Mini? There is no telling at the moment. I guess, we just have to wait until the October 23 announcement. Regardless, the USB 3.0 upgrade is good news for prospective Mac Mini buyers, like me.
Tag Archives: usb 3.0
Install Linux on USB
Now that I have a new motherboard that supports booting from a USB, installing and booting Linux on a USB should be a reality. This article details how-to install one using a software tool called UNetbootin, but you need a BIOS that’s able to boot from a USB. That’s where my new motherboard comes in the picture. You can also use the USB drive as a rescue drive for Linux. With USB 3.0, there is plenty of promise in the future. It will be so much faster compared to booting from a CD drive. Read the article.
Best Features of Linux 2.6.31
SVN writes about the best 5 features of Linux 2.6.31. The latest kernel has support for USB 3.0. It has improved desktop speed by a whopping 50%. I can’t wait to see this. There are also file system improvements with ext4 file system. I’m already running ext4. It also has graphics support for the Intel i915 and ATI Radeon graphics family. I have an old nVidia 5200. Finally, the last but not least, it supports Wireless-n or 802.11n. I can’t wait to see this on the latest Linux Ubuntu distribution. Karmic, are you close?
Linux First Driver for USB 3.0
I wrote a brief post about USB 3.0 back in September 2007. In less than two years, Linux becomes the first operating system to have a driver written for USB 3.0. Thanks to Sarah Sharp for her groundbreaking work. True to word, USB 3.0 transfer speed tops at 5 GBps. Expect USB 3.0 support to be included in future Linux kernels possibly by September 2009.
USB 3.0
Look for the USB 3.0 specifications to be finalized by end of summer of 2008. USB 3.0 products will most likely hit the shelves by the end of 2009. What’s the big hoopla about USB 3.0? Well, it’s supposed to be ten times the speed of USB 2.0. That’s 4.8Gbps.
USB 1.0 – 1.5Mbps
USB 1.1 – 12Mbps
USB 2.0 – 480Mbps
USB 3.0 – 4.8Gbps?
That is screaming fast!