VESA Releases DockPort Standard To Compete With Thunderbolt

[dee.]

If it was that big of an issue the MIDI/Gamepad port would have stuck around instead of going USB,

MIDI ports did stick around. In professional audio equipment...

In any case, I gave you examples of things where latency does matter. Does it matter to most consumers? Probably not, but that wasn't the issue here.

I can't really comment on this other than that I expect that things like the Samsung Galaxy Note, and MS Surface tablet to cannibalize the graphics tablet industry in the long run anyway

LOL, I can tell you there's exactly 0% chance of that happening. Professional graphics tablets are something completely different than the rudimentary drawing features on stylus-driven tablets. It's like comparing caveman-style wallpaintings that are made by rubbing piles of shit on the wall to professional oil painting colours and paintbrushes.

[Luke_Wolf]

MIDI ports did stick around. In professional audio equipment...

So in other words a specialized connector is still needed there and so it stuck around, and if latency is that much of an issue you want to jack straight into the soundcard anyway (which MIDI did last I saw it) which make thunderbolt irrelevant.

In any case, I gave you examples of things where latency does matter. Does it matter to most consumers? Probably not, but that wasn't the issue here.

The issue was not "does latency matter", the issue was "for what devices is the latency of USB inadequate that thunderbolt would solve?"

LOL, I can tell you there's exactly 0% chance of that happening. Professional graphics tablets are something completely different than the rudimentary drawing features on stylus-driven tablets. It's like comparing caveman-style wallpaintings that are made by rubbing piles of shit on the wall to professional oil painting colours and paintbrushes.

eh, I'm a programmer and a gamer not an artist so I don't know where that's all at but my understanding was that resistive screen technologies were catching up to where the more sensitive touchpad tech is.

[tuubi]

eh, I'm a programmer and a gamer not an artist so I don't know where that's all at but my understanding was that resistive screen technologies were catching up to where the more sensitive touchpad tech is.

Touch sensitivity is not even relevant. For example our new 22" Wacom Cintiq graphics tablet/monitor doesn't even have touch support. It would have been an optional (and expensive) extra our artist deemed unnecessary. Graphics tablets are certainly not touchpads.

There are essential features like accurate and configurable stylus pressure and tilt tracking that will likely never be supported by generic tablet screens due to being frankly unneeded for anything outside digital art. And again I'll have to remind you that today's mobile devices simply aren't powerful enough for serious graphics work (yet).

EDIT: More to the topic, USB seems to be just fine for Wacom's needs. I guess it would be nice if there was only one cable instead of one USB and one DVI. Would reduce desktop clutter at least.

[dee.]

The issue was not "does latency matter", the issue was "for what devices is the latency of USB inadequate that thunderbolt would solve?"

Well, you said that "latency is not an issue" for anything using USB... but it definitely can be, and it varies between implementation. Not all USB ports are equal, either - sometimes, even USB ports in the same computer behave differently, one port can have higher latency than another...

eh, I'm a programmer and a gamer not an artist so I don't know where that's all at but my understanding was that resistive screen technologies were catching up to where the more sensitive touchpad tech is.

Neither resistive nor capacitive screen technologies are even relevant for graphics tablets (other than as a side feature). The main stylus input works over RF transmission and uses triangulation to determine the position, tilt angle and movements of the stylus. Pressure is sensed with a mechanical sensor in the stylus, not by the screen.

And here's the thing: those Surface, Galaxy Note tablets you mentioned - even they use the same technology for stylus input. In fact, they all use chips made by Wacom, the same company that produces the best professional-grade tablets. However, the functionality is nowhere near that of their professional graphics tablets - the functionality of Galaxy/Surface is about equal (or a bit less) than the lowest-grade hobbyist entry-level tablets offered by Wacom, the ones that you can get for around $50.

I'd gladly use something like Galaxy Note for sketching and other lightweight stuff while on the move, but for any serious work, the actual graphics tablets are in an entirely different league. It's not even a contest.