Intel’s Light Peak Optical Standard Actually Originated At Apple

Engadget has it on very good authority that there’s a legitimate reason for the odd appearance of a Hackintosh at IDF last week: Apple was actually the catalyst for Light Peak and is working closely with Intel on the project.

Turns out, according to some evidence (documents, conversations) Engadget got a hold of, that Apple actually brought the concept of an optical, one-size-fits-all standard to Intel. Apple apparently had some very specific requirements, which might be why Intel demonstrated Light Peak on a souped-up Hackintosh. There are some roadmaps from 2007 that suggest Apple may roll out Light Peak-equipped hardware early 2010, but more interestingly, Light Peak may be just right for the one gadget everyone wants to see: The infamous Apple Tablet.

A high-speed, one-size-fits-all port would be perfect for a razor-thin tablet, which has minimal space for an array of display, data and connectivity ports. This would be a ballsy move for Apple: USB 3.0 is just about ready to pop, and Apple could effectively skip over that standard for Light Peak. The tablet speculation is just that, speculation, but we wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out to be true: Consolidation of ports is great for super thin gadgets, which after all is one of Apple’s current trademarks.

This isn’t the first time Apple’s had a heavy influence on emerging standards—check out our piece on the subject for a little history. [Engadget]