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Intel Shows Off First Light Peak Laptop
Barence writes "Intel has provided the first hands-on demonstration of a laptop running its Light Peak technology — an optical interconnect that can transfer data at 10Gbit/sec in both directions — at the company's inaugural European research showcase here in Brussels. Intel has fitted Light Peak into a regular USB cable, with optical fibres running alongside the electrical cabling. Intel provided a visual demonstration of how data is passed through the cable by shining a torch into one end of the cable, with two little dots of light visible to the naked eye at the other end. The demonstration laptop was sending two separate HD video streams to a nearby television screen without any visible lag. The laptop includes a 12mm square chip that converts the optical light into electrical data that the computer understands."
Maybe you should learn English: modern English. In English up until the mid-1900s, a "torch" was a stick that you set on fire for light.
Sometime in the 20th century, someone invented a handheld device that had a lightbulb and batteries, and could project light. In America, since the word "torch" was already well-known to mean a burning stick, they simply invented a new word for the device: "flashlight".
But for some stupid reason, the Brits decided to repurpose the word "torch" to include this new device, instead of just using the simple new word that was coined.
When the computer was invented, a new word was coined for that too. Why aren't the Brits trying to call it an "abacus" instead?
When the telephone was invented, a new word was coined for that too. Why aren't the Brits trying to call it a "smoke signal" or "megaphone" instead?
When the cellphone was invented, a new word was coined for that too. Why aren't the Brits trying to call it a "telephone" or "smoke signal" or "megaphone" instead?
When the automobile was invented, a new word was coined for that too. Why aren't the Brits trying to call it a "horse" instead?
When the submarine was invented, a new word was coined for that too. Why aren't the Brits trying to call it a "fish" or a "turtle" instead?
In America, we apparently don't have any problems learning new words for new technologies and devices, and still remembering the old ones, unlike the British. Ask just about any American what a torch is, and he'll tell you it's a burning stick that primitive people used, or that people might fashion if they're stuck in the wild at night without a flashlight handy. But if you're with a Brit and you're stuck in the wild at night with no light source handy, if you ask him to make a torch, he'll just be confused, and wonder where he's going to find a lightbulb and batteries out in the woods.
And people say Americans aren't well educated...
+5 Insightful? Not a proud day for Slashdot, apparently.