With Apple being on the forefront of technology and this being demonstrated by the addition ot the Thunderbolt port to the latest MacBook Pro computers. Especially since this is kind of early in as much as there are not devices in the wild yet, to connect into the port. Well that is not strictly true because seeing as the port is based on the MiniDislay port technology you can connect external displays to that port already.

Thunderbolt Monitor

You can’t do much else though because the model that is out now has the Mini Display Port cable going in and the only sockets going out are USB 2.0. Obviously Apple will have to upgrade those 27 in Monitors some time soon to fit in with the Thunderbolt technology which is the new thing going forward.

Apple Thunderbolt Cinema Display

As it stands now with the Apple Display, if you have one already and later on you want to get a drive perhaps or a RAID solution, you will have to put the current model at the end of the chain. Any other devices will have to be put in between the computer and the monitor. That is fine, no problem, except you will have to make sure that you don’t get any other devices that are single socket for Thunderbolt. If you do you wont be able to have them both connected at the same time. Update – The new 27 in Thunderbolt Cinema display is a docking thunderbolt solution. Plug in your display and  you have Firewire and USB all going to and from the computer via the Apple Thunderbolt Cable.

As Apple says on the Apple Web site “Connect via Mini DisplayPort.

The LED Cinema Display / Thunderbolt monitor attaches to your Mac using the industry-standard Mini DisplayPort connector. Other display connectors have you lining up pins or fumbling with screws. The Mini DisplayPort connector is easy in, easy out.”

Maybe it will not be too big a change to the insides of the 27in Cinema Display to be fully compliant with the Thunderbolt technology. There are always changes being may and and the product line rolling forward with not too much looking back over the shoulder at backwards compatibility. Shouldn’t be too long before we are looking back to 2011 and wondering what all the fuss was about, after Thunderbolt taking a lead in the role of data moving at high speeds with our computers. Apple Thunderbolt display.