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    R2 - Who else thought the Left USB was a Thunderbolt I/O port?

    Discussion in 'Alienware M11x' started by DeeVu, Mar 8, 2011.

  1. DeeVu

    DeeVu That Compsci/Psych Major

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    Haha so I got my R2 about 1 week after the announced Intel Thunderbolt port and the left USB on the R2 has a lightning bolt. For a split second I thought it was a miracle. Then a realized its dell... too good to be true. Is that symbol there just to emphasize that the powershare ability is for that port? It was not there on my R1 so I was just curious.
     
    DeeVu, Mar 8, 2011
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  2. ajslay

    ajslay Overclocker, PC Builder

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    i have it on my r1 also, its a power usb. you can charge things from that usb when the laptop is off or in sleep mode
     
    ajslay, Mar 8, 2011
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  3. DeeVu

    DeeVu That Compsci/Psych Major

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    Yeah I know. I was just wondering if that's what the symbol specifically stood for.
     
    DeeVu, Mar 8, 2011
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  4. ajslay

    ajslay Overclocker, PC Builder

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    yup thats what it stands for lol =) although it would be amazing to have thunderbolt
     
    ajslay, Mar 8, 2011
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  5. AlienTroll

    AlienTroll Notebook Evangelist

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    Yeap, theres a Lightning Bolt on the USB slot, meaning power share. So when I go to work, and my mobile runs out of battery, I put my M11X R1 on full battery life, and I plug in my USB charger for my cell phone and the M11X R1 acts like a portable battery. Finally Dell has got their head out of the toilet and are making pretty handy things.
     
    AlienTroll, Mar 8, 2011
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  6. ajslay

    ajslay Overclocker, PC Builder

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    yep exactly i use this feature all the time, very useful.
     
    ajslay, Mar 8, 2011
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  7. kent1146

    kent1146 Notebook Prophet

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    Alienware got it right. Lighting bolt symbol next to a USB port to indicate that USB port has some special feature/characteristic about it related to power or electricity.

    Intel screwed the pooch on Thunderbolt. They used a confusing symbol that has nothing to do with the functionality of Thunderbolt. They chose a confusing name. They chose a confusing cable / interface. The concept of LightPeak, as a connectivity technology operating over fiber optic cables, made sense from a naming perspective. Thunderbolt sucks.

    I blame Steve Jobs.
     
    kent1146, Mar 9, 2011
    #7