There's nothing new about ExpressCard/54. It's just ExpressCard/34's bigger and far less popular brother.
Just seeing those L-shaped cards makes most customers run and hide.
Thunderbolt and USB3 have about the same feel for speed when it comes to most simple consumer stuff. But that's all USB3 has to offer. TB still has three other lanes free for those who are crazy enough to attach 3 screens, video/audio interface and a number of harddisks simultaneously to this one connector.
The RME FF400 works perfectly with a TB-FW adapter and a FW800 to FW400 cable on my Mac. You'll need an external PSU for the interface, since TB only provides minimal power.
PC's with TB are slowly appearing:
- Acer's US$1,399 Aspire S5 ultrabook
- Lenovo's ThinkPad Edge S430 US$1,156
- Lenovo's ThinkPad W540 Mobile Workstation
http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops...540/#techspecs
- HP's Z420, Z620 and Z820 (desktop), ZBook 15 and 17 and SpectreXT TouchSmart 15t-4000
- ASUS G46VW, G750, G55VW-DH71 and G75VX-DS72
- Even purpose-built AV laptops like this DVC one:
http://www.dvc.uk.com/acatalog/Thunderbolt-Laptop.html
- Even "gaming" motherboards: Asus G55VW, fi and gaming laptops:
http://www.originpc.com/gaming/laptops/eon17-slx/
- Sony VAIO Z (with a NON-STANDARD Sony plug, of course!)
And is there a native Windows Thunderbolt driver from Microsoft yet, or is everyone still relying on the Intel driver?