Rumor: Apple's new Mac Pro, Mac mini with Thunderbolt coming by August - Page 2

Mainly for the better GPU performance relative to Sandy Bridge. Of course if they go SB with an external GPU that would be even better.

That being said I do wonder what the hold up might be. Maybe this is all BS and the hardware will come with Lion.

Do you guys think we will see a Thunderbolt Thumb Drive, I would really like to have that. Possibly an iPhone cable supporting thunderbolt would be great too.

Adapter. Simple.


Adapter. Even more simple.


WAAAAAAAAAAAAAANT.


As much as we need it, we'll never have it. We have Wi-Fi sync now. Know what that means? When 802.11ac hits draft status around mid 2013, we'll start seeing it included in all Macs and iDevices, as well as whatever the AirPort family has evolved into. That'll be fast enough for any syncing, really, even though by then we'll have 100Gb Thunderbolt.

this make you any happier?

i would hope for that... i have a Lenovo laptop, which i bought solely because it has better GPU.... (instead of Macbook) and than i have a 8 year old Imac >.<

AMD= $500 Mac Mini + better graphics + equal, or not better than current CPU?

i wouldn't mind the i7's graphics (its okay, if you want to run light gaming) but the reality is that Mac Mini isn't a gaming machine....

What about the rumor that the revised Mac Pro will be slimmer, so it will fit easily in standard computer racks?

Waht do you think - will the new MacPros be able to start in 10.6 SnowLeopard?

I can't work with Lion because i need Rosetta and FRREHAND......



If is won't boot in 10.6 i'll have to buy a 2010 MacPro until the new ones are shipping.

Of course not.


Or a program updated in the last five years.

I use my new iMac with my old Cinema DIsplay, works beautifully.

@ Tallest Skill:
Are you sure the new MacPros only work with Lion?
Why you think this will be so?

Things I would like to see in a new Mac Pro are:
- Sandy Bridge (obviously)
- SATA III on the internal drive bays
- Some cleaner way to use 2.5" drives, other than an adaptor in a 3.5in bay
- An option for a weakling fanless video card, so you can combine it with SSDs only, for a very quiet box.

Yeah.... I'd like an answer to that as well. Who has said that any new Macs can't be downgraded to Snow Leopard?


Re: FreeHand and your slap-in-the-face reply:

There are many of us that standardized within companies and even industries and continue to use far superior software that was, in this case, illegally included in a buy-out by Adobe. THEY failed to upgrade it, OR make their favored Illustrator software, any better than it was before they bought the competition's better product.

IF Adobe updated FreeHand, their would be an estimated 10-15,000 upgrade sales practically over night. But as we all know too well, Adobe has become complacent with many of their products, and can't seem to properly engineer anything right theses days.

FYI: I'm personally responsible for 3.5+ million Freehand files for assorted packaging printers. We've been on Illustrator now since CS4, and currently CS5. Unfortunately, many older FH files won't open, and when they do they are mangled, until we open them in the last version of FH and do some trickery (mostly ungrouping objects).

While I have the luxury of having many machines at my disposal, at least of which one will stay on SL so that I can VPN or Screenshare to use FreeHand, well... not everybody does.

As far as I'm concerned, there's a lot to like about Lion and getting my clients and assorted freelancers to upgrade should not be a hassle. However, the lack of Rosetta will make it a bit tougher.

NOTE: as I understand it from another thread, it's not Apple's fault, because they were licensing Rosetta in the first place. IBM bought that company, and refuses to license Rosetta in the future. Can anyone confirm this?

Suggestion: Why don't you head over to Macworld and witness the dismay of the people that use an older version of Quicken for similar reasons , and try your trite comment out on them?

I am pretty sure Apple limits the minimum OS, for a machine, to the current version that was out when the machine was shipped out. This is why one cannot take their 10.6.0 retail DVD and install it on a Mac that shipped with 10.6.3; one has to buy a newer version or use the DVD that came with the computer.

Leave it alone. An all black server would be cool.
And focus on many new Virtual smart instruments fio logic too like richest and many, hundereds if styles.

Then they need to fix the CPU fiasco. No way a 2009 2.93 keeps up with some newer chips and come out with 8 core so 2 is=16 cores, 4=32, that would really dent PromTools TDM as native would be fine and make logic have a Pt skin so anyone that knows Pt the short cuts would work. They really do need to talk to
Intel and get faster chips. And last, for now, if they could build some type of arranger that could build a song out of a (example), piano melody, that would be revolutionary.

They COULD DO IT. Start by buying out Band In A Box and go from there.

Peace ALL!!!

Say WHAAAAT?

+1 to those who think the old FreeHand is still better than the newest Illustrator. FreeHand was just better software, period.

Is is okay to day dream.

Mr. Weintraub is not an idiot. He is reasonably well-connected and sometimes right. He is also making a living off that track record, which I understand makes some people envious.

Name-calling belittles you more than those you insult. May I suggest you try diplomacy, which will earn you some respect. Overall, your game is not strong and you could gain from a sabbatical, professor, to refine it. For example, you could refine your logical arguments (see thread on Apple and Samsung executives meeting).

Because not a single Mac that has ever been released can work with a version of the OS that was created before said Mac's release.


Apple over the last two decades.


I take it all back. I apologize. You're completely justified in continuing to use software that actually works.

We need a new Illustrator alternative in the vein of Pixlemator...

To back this up, consider that new HW needs new drivers and any new Macs would need the drivers that came with the restore disc/stick as the retail version likely won't contain them.

Now it's possible that the drivers KEXTs in the Lion for new Macs will work with SL, perhaps some even working very well, but this would be a hack, not something supported by Apple. You may even have to jump through hoops to get a retail version of SL installed on any new machines even if it does have acceptable drivers.

Here's my shot at Mac Mini predictions (I own a 2009 Mac Mini). I'm extrapolating from the 13" MacBook Pro, which is it's closest design cousin.

Certainty:
Sandy Bridge w/core i5 processors @ 2 cores.
Thunderbolt (1 port)
USB 2.0 (4 ports)
Firewire 800 (1 port)
Mini Displayport (EDIT: this is in the Thunderbolt port...sorry for being redundant)
Intel HD 3000 graphics (sorry, nothing better than this)
SDXC slot

Maybe:
4 gigs standard (up to 8 gigs offered, OWC will find that 16 gigs works too)
HDMI (fairly likely, people still use these machines as media centers, even with Front Row going away)
Core i7 @ 2 cores (like the 13" Macbook Pro)
Core i7 @ 4 cores (maybe a build to order...would make it a modern day SE/30)
No optical drive at all (A non-optical server version has been shipping of the Mini for 2 years)
SSD BTO option (especially if the optical drive goes)

Not gonna happen:
USB 3.0 (try next year with Ivy Bridge)
Blu-Ray (never)

Keep dreaming. Don't get on this guy's case, either. Your vision is the same as mine. I just have the sense to know it won't happen for YEARS.

I might agree, except that USB is too ubiquitous right now to drop (Apple still sells wired USB keyboards and third party printers for example). USB is not going anywhere for years. As far as using the Thunderbolt port to plugin break-out boxes for other legacy ports (like USB/Firewire), do any of these devices actually exist yet? I'm sure that they will soon, but they probably won't be priced cheaply when they first hit the market. I think we'd be lucky to see such a device for $100 right now. And as for Firewire, too many of us in the Mac community still depend on it every day. I have 5 external firewire drives + 1 Drobo @FW800 rocking my Mini right now. I cannot abandon Firewire for a while and I'm sure I'm not alone.

No, seriously. You're going to illegitimize the case for Thunderbolt if you keep acting like this. The Thunderbolt transition will be slow because all other ports are still needed. Please grasp this soon.

Drop all the other ports NOW? I doubt it would even make sense in a few years, there are just too many peripherals for firewire and USB out there. And I don't want to have to buy a TB to USB hub just for things like mice and keyboards. Or were you joking? Besides the fact that it will take a while for TB peripherals to even be available, the port is way too expensive for simple gear.

Adapters are so much more clunky. And do you really think usb/TB adapters are going to be dirt cheap?


The developer beta is 64 bit, but that's not available to the public yet, and there's some debate about whether it's all cocoa or some sort of hacked together hybrid code. It is supposed to be better performance, I'd like to know if the audio and video encoding code has been rewritten to use multiple cores - 64 bit is great but multicore will give an even bigger boost to encoding.



Flat out wrong, there are plenty of examples to the contrary. We simply don't know, sometimes machines can be switched over to earlier OS, sometimes not, sometimes it's possible with some degree of hacks (copying over system files, things like that). It mostly depends on how radical the hardware update is, if it's just a speed bump the older OS generally works fine. I'd bet you can put 10.5 on current MPs, they're essentially the same hardware as the 2009 models which came out with the earlier OS.



Are these adapters shipping? What do they cost?

That sounds Bad.
I thought in the past was a similar situation where G5s were updateted near an OS Transition and they also worken with the "old" OS.


The most PRO Users won't work with a complete new OS until it's Version .3 or something in this place.

So it would be bad if Apple ships new Mac Pros with a .0 Version of a new OS.



I think i will take the safe tour:
i will order a 6-core MacPro this Week.

A need Rosetta and 10.6 the next 2-3 years - and it would be bad if i'l buy a new Mac for 3-4.000 and it won't boot in SnowLeopard.

There was, and plenty of similar cases. Sometimes new hardware can use older OS, sometimes not. It really just depends on how radical the change is to the new hardware so in this case there's no way to know how it will be for the next MP update.

In the history of Apple products, there have been a few times they've broken with conventional wisdom and dropped a popular connectivity option. In 1984, the original Mac came with RS-422 ports featuring a DIN-8 configuration versus the more common RS-232 serial interface and it didn't come at all with the very popular parallel port interface. That limited Apple's ability to have Macs connect to anything for two years until the peripheral market caught up (and SCSI was added). You could get RS-232->RS-422 adapters since RS-422 was backwards compatible with the older standard and there wasn't any logic to it...just wiring design.

The original iMac in 1998 ditched RS-422, ADB (Apple Desktop Bus) ports and SCSI for USB 1.1. That was a real stretch for the market and a big gamble for Apple whom at the time was fighting its way out of a death spiral. But USB had been on the market for Windows for over a year previous and HP had a small line of USB printers at the ready. And the iMac proved to be such a big hit that peripheral makers started making candy colored hubs and devices for it. Finally, Windows support got better and that world slowly adopted too.

But today is not 1998. USB is about as ubitquitous as they come for standards. Thunderbolt is not making that go away now, if ever. Firewire will probably go away at some point but not until there are Thunderbolt->Firewire solutions that actually work at a decent price point. Too many of us still have Firewire external devices at home and they are still used in the professional markets, especially the video and music industries.

Steve Jobs is a visionary but he's also practical. I probably wouldn't care that much if my next Mac Mini didn't have an optical drive since I want to get an external Blu-Ray burner anyway. Boot media for Macs will now likely come on flash drives as already happen for Macbook Airs. But I depend too much on the ports on the back of the machine. Shrinking everything down to Thunderbolt is an interesting concept but not practical in the real world.

How does this jibe with Wikipedia saying Sandy Bridge Xeons will be released Q4 2011~Q1 2012?

The rumor's wrong, that's right. Either that or Apple is getting chips three months early.

I had been desperately awaiting the arrival of a refreshed mini for my HTPC setup, but I've found that my 2009 mini plays DVDs and Netflix at 1080p just fine. That's all I really use it for.

The only feature that will entice me to buy is Blu-Ray, and I don't see that happening.
:: shrugs ::

True that.

There is precedence for both scenarios.

Thunderbolt works at a lower level than USB and Firewire though, it's just an extension of the PCI bus on to an external port. If the Thunderbolt connector was only a USB one, you could run USB3 devices with mere software. And in fact the Thunderbolt connector was originally USB, but the USB Committee objected, so Apple changed to Mini-DP.

Even though a simple adapter with no logic is all that's required, this was nevertheless a fatal move imho, and in fact Sony had the good sense to ignore the Committee and go with a USB connector anyway on their Thunderbolt laptops.

There was a rumor a while back that Apple was going to release some kind of hub that connected to the Thunderbolt port and provided all the other kinds: USB3, Firewire, iPod.

Nobody wants adapters anywhere, ever, for anything.

Unsightly
Awkward
Added Expense
Unsightly
Loss of Fidelity
Unsightly
Footprint
UNSIGHTLY UGLY CRAP HANGING OUT THE BACK

I'm using a Mac Pro, latest model, and it's a screamer. Except for iTunes, with 300GB it is pretty slow. It sometimes needs to think about a change. Looks like it's hung, and all of a sudden it marches on. Music simply plays (ofcourse) but video can sometimes hang.

Yep, a new iTunes that would make use of all processors in a Mac Pro would be great. Something I expected a few years ago actually. Hopefully they'll get around to it when the introduce a new iPod lineup later this year. They took their time with FCP as well, so maybe after Lion is out the door they take care of some other legacy software.

Guess I'll stop using this wired Internet to Wi-Fi adapter, then.

OH WAIT THAT'S MY AIRPORT EXTREME.


If you have Parkinson's or other nervous system disorders that make it hard to plug things in.


This is your ONLY legitimate point.





Zero. How is this even in a list?


Just like your Thunderbolt cables. Your point?

Ever try plugging an HDMI cable into your iPad? Ever move your mini around in a tight entertainment center nook? The user must constantly consider the presence of an adapter to avoid getting it caught on something and breaking the connection. I have yet to see a perfectly designed minimalistic adapter that avoids this.


Because we're already paying for something that's just supposed to work.


Adding another medium, link, or connection to any signal invariably introduces not only a loss of fidelity but an added risk of signal failure. Given the lack of analog signals present in today's technology, you'll really only see the latter. So I might have written "Risk of signal failure" but it's the same thing. It's just one more link that can break, one more thing to depend on, one more risk.


Where do you keep your sleek, minimal mini? Is it tucked away neatly in an entertainment center for your HTPC? Every cable has a bend radius; adding a dongle might force your mini to sit further from the wall. Is it sitting neatly on the far corner of your desk? Using a dongle adds clutter to an othewise immaculate system.


A cable is a cable. They're all round and straight with varying thickness and a proprietary connector. After you plug them in, they can be neatly bundled and routed... unless you've got a big fat adapter in the way.

I'm surprised that everyone is assuming that the Mac Pros REQUIRE the use of Xeon processors. From everything I've read, Xeons are just not worth the price of admission. The minute performance gains over the standard desktop chips are better overcome with a quality SSD than with the price of the CPU. The biggest advantage is their multi-processor motherboard support. Apple still sells single-CPU towers. I think that Apple may introduce a single CPU desktop Mac Pro with the multi-processor Xeons to be updated later down the road when the CPUs become available.

They may even pass the CPU savings onto us... okay, that may just be wishful thinking there.

Wishful thinking is right LOL As is a 4 core Mini.

An up charge for a dual core i7 maybe, but Mini's will be lucky to see 4 cores at all.

It would be really nice to have graphic cards in the systems that are less than 2-2 1/2 years behind the competition. Pathetic, that I have to buy a second Video card for my mac pro 12 core that i can only use in windows, and wait for Apple to finally play catch up. >:-(