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Availability of Apple's 15-inch MacBook Pros constrained ahead of redesigned models - Page 2

post #41 of 172
4/10/12 at 9:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by AppleGreen View Post

SJ was known for eliminating low volume products. My sense is that Tim Cook likes to go after all market segments as long as they are reasonably significant in size and importance to Apple. I doubt they will kill the Mac Pro. They have not yet killed the iPod Classic which many have predicted Apple would. Just my 2cents.

They haven't killed the iPod classic yet - but we all know it's coming as soon as they push out a 128GB iPod touch.

Apple is only interested in what's best for Apple. If the Mac Pro doesn't sell well anymore they will ditch it even if it means leaving customers high and dry. They've done it before and will do it again.
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post #42 of 172
4/10/12 at 9:48am
Speak for yourself. If I didn't want an optical drive, I would just buy a Mac Air. I use the optical drive weekly.

Quote:
Originally Posted by AppleZilla View Post

Skinny 17 Pro, please. I rarely, and I mean rarely use the optical drive in my 17-Inch MBP.

Kill the optical. Kill the platter-based drive.

Gimme.*

* Insert 'Shut Up And Take My Money' Fry here.
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post #43 of 172
4/10/12 at 9:52am
Can't see the point rolling out the new MBP model by model over a few months. If everyone knows a new design 13" OR 17" is in the pipeline sales of the existing models will drop off a cliff. Better to go with a full launch and make a splash about the Mac for a change.
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post #44 of 172
4/10/12 at 10:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by backtomac View Post

Eliminating the Mac Pro would also be somewhat of a blow to OS X server as the Mac Pro was also configured as server model. That would leave the Mac Mini as the only dedicated hardware to run OS X server.

The Mini is powerful enough as a server:

http://www.macminiserver.com/can-a-m...traffic-sites/
http://www.apple.com/macmini/server/

"For the ultimate in performance, choose dual 256GB solid-state drives. This configuration performs up to 60 percent faster in file server tests than a quad-core Xserve with internal SAS drives."

According to Mac Mini Colo, Apple calls the Mini their most popular server system:

http://www.macminicolo.net/faq.html

13 Watts idle and uses up 1/30th the space of the Pro.

None of this should come as a shock to anyone. Personal computers have been around for just 30 years and we've seen them go from giant boxes that could only run basic software to pocket devices that are hundreds of times faster.

We can't hold onto old form factors as if they are the only way or even the best way to build computers. Sure people complain when there's a shift just like people did moving to the sealed-in batteries on the laptops but now we have longer-lasting laptops than ever before and no bulging battery compartments.

When the new MBPs arrive, people will lament the missing optical drive, FW800 and ethernet ports, some might even dislike the entry model having integrated graphics but the mourning will quickly pass.
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post #45 of 172
4/10/12 at 10:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by drblank View Post

I think Apple is going to produce the MacPro line since there are a lot of professionals in the audio and video production that have been clamoring for it and they won't abandon them since that is a big enough market for them to continue. They also have users buying the MacPro for low cost server applications. I personally think that they might actually change the form factor, which they should have done years ago. I think they should have made it a rack mounted unit as optional or standard where they just simply make it to be used sideways.

I REALLY hope you are correct. I am one of those people.
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post #46 of 172
4/10/12 at 10:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marvin View Post

The Mini is powerful enough as a server:

http://www.macminiserver.com/can-a-m...traffic-sites/
http://www.apple.com/macmini/server/

"For the ultimate in performance, choose dual 256GB solid-state drives. This configuration performs up to 60 percent faster in file server tests than a quad-core Xserve with internal SAS drives."

According to Mac Mini Colo, Apple calls the Mini their most popular server system:

http://www.macminicolo.net/faq.html

13 Watts idle and uses up 1/30th the space of the Pro.

None of this should come as a shock to anyone. Personal computers have been around for just 30 years and we've seen them go from giant boxes that could only run basic software to pocket devices that are hundreds of times faster.

We can't hold onto old form factors as if they are the only way or even the best way to build computers. Sure people complain when there's a shift just like people did moving to the sealed-in batteries on the laptops but now we have longer-lasting laptops than ever before and no bulging battery compartments.

When the new MBPs arrive, people will lament the missing optical drive, FW800 and ethernet ports, some might even dislike the entry model having integrated graphics but the mourning will quickly pass.

i dont think you know what youre talking about. for AV professionals many of those higs are necessities for which there are no easy replacements.
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post #47 of 172
4/10/12 at 10:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shaun, UK View Post

They haven't killed the iPod classic yet - but we all know it's coming as soon as they push out a 128GB iPod touch.

Apple is only interested in what's best for Apple. If the Mac Pro doesn't sell well anymore they will ditch it even if it means leaving customers high and dry. They've done it before and will do it again.

Yes and no. Apple makes decision based on sales, for sure. They are not interested in spending much time and effort on a loosing proposition. As Apple gets bigger what represents a loosing proposition becomes somewhat unclear... BUT, its not JUST the money / sales. There is something about keeping an important user base happy. I don't know this for a fact but I imagine Apple has an interest in seeing as many Macs as possible in places where people who may influence other people work. Musicians, graphic artists, film makers are important as they keep the notion that Mac's are for creatives, alive. I think the general population, creative or not, likes the idea that creatives use the same gear as they do. I think there is a halo effect that I am not sure Apple wants to loose.

I am just guessing, but I think the MP is going to stick around for a while.

Having said that - a top specced iMac is no slouch and will be sufficient for a lot of heavy lifting out there.
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post #48 of 172
4/10/12 at 10:43am
So what kind of time frame are we expecting for the new machines? (I have't read the article or the forum posts yet so if this has been answered then please ignore.)

"Blank! BLANK! You're not looking at the big picture!"

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"Blank! BLANK! You're not looking at the big picture!"

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post #49 of 172
4/10/12 at 11:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by loveandcapture View Post

EVERY recording studio and production lab I've been in has many Mac Pro towers integrated.

And if you add up all those sales together, in the aggregate, they amount to enough for Apple to, Well, to ignore them completely, because they don't add up to much of anything for a company the size of Apple.
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post #50 of 172
4/10/12 at 11:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob55 View Post

I have. Windows is not an option. That leaves me with either A) building a hackintosh, B) waiting for the new iMac or C) waiting for Apple to officially kill or refresh the Mac Pro. So the problem for me is the "not knowing". I can't pull the trigger on a new iMac until I know for certain what Apple will do with the Mac Pro.

Have you considered Linux?
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post #51 of 172
4/10/12 at 11:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ascii View Post

If nothing else, Apple cares about iOS development, and some developers will want a proper workstation.

Tell me what iOS development tasks cannot be done on an iMac.
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post #52 of 172
4/10/12 at 11:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by paxman View Post

Musicians, graphic artists, film makers are important as they keep the notion that Mac's are for creatives, alive. I think the general population, creative or not, likes the idea that creatives use the same gear as they do.



The general population neither knows nor cares what sort of machines are used by "creatives".

Indeed, they don't even know anything of the production process. All they know is Britney Spears and Tom Cruise. The real fanatics know the manufacturer of those people's clothes.

But knowing the brand names of the machines that are used to record their performances? I doubt it.

If it were otherwise, Marshall and Ampeg would be consumer brands, but they ain't.
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post #53 of 172
4/10/12 at 11:18am
My biggest hope is for the 13" to really earn that pro moniker with discreet graphics and a quad core CPU like its older siblings. Without the optical drive they have a lot more space for thermal dissipation and extra battery capacity to make up for the higher power draw.

Between Ivy Bridge, new chassis design, and retina displays, it seems one thing or another is going to be a letdown like always in the face of all the rumors and hyperbole. My bet is on the first two, and retina-ish displays will come later.
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post #54 of 172
4/10/12 at 11:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tipoo View Post

My biggest hope is for the 13" to really earn that pro moniker with discreet graphics and a quad core CPU like its older siblings. Without the optical drive they have a lot more space for thermal dissipation and extra battery capacity to make up for the higher power draw.

Between Ivy Bridge, new chassis design, and retina displays, it seems one thing or another is going to be a letdown like always in the face of all the rumors and hyperbole. My bet is on the first two, and retina-ish displays will come later.

If Apple does keep the 13" MB Pro around, I honestly don't think it will get a discreet GPU. If anything, the biggest things differentiating the 13" MB Pro and the 13" MB Air is that the Pro machine will have a quad-core processor and be expandable to 8GB of RAM.
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post #55 of 172
4/10/12 at 11:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tru_canuk View Post

If Apple does keep the 13" MB Pro around, I honestly don't think it will get a discreet GPU. If anything, the biggest things differentiating the 13" MB Pro and the 13" MB Air is that the Pro machine will have a quad-core processor and be expandable to 8GB of RAM.

Well, I guess I would still be happy with that, Ivy Bridge graphics are around 40-60% better (than the HD300 in Sandy) anyway. The quad would be more important for most people.
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post #56 of 172
4/10/12 at 11:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by paxman View Post

Yes and no. Apple makes decision based on sales, for sure. They are not interested in spending much time and effort on a loosing proposition. As Apple gets bigger what represents a loosing proposition becomes somewhat unclear... BUT, its not JUST the money / sales. There is something about keeping an important user base happy. I don't know this for a fact but I imagine Apple has an interest in seeing as many Macs as possible in places where people who may influence other people work. Musicians, graphic artists, film makers are important as they keep the notion that Mac's are for creatives, alive. I think the general population, creative or not, likes the idea that creatives use the same gear as they do. I think there is a halo effect that I am not sure Apple wants to loose.

I am just guessing, but I think the MP is going to stick around for a while.

Having said that - a top specced iMac is no slouch and will be sufficient for a lot of heavy lifting out there.

As a pro user myself I hope you're right but I honestly don't think that this kind of sentiment even comes into Apple's equation. It's all about the numbers. If the MP doesn't sell in sufficient numbers they will axe it. Ok they'll probably spin some crap about how you don't need one anymore coz the MBP or iMac have pro-like specs these days. Apple is a machine these days.

They killed Xserve leaving a lot of people high and dry. Many of those companies would have to go back to Windows Server and retrain their staff.
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post #57 of 172
4/10/12 at 11:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marvin View Post

The Mini is powerful enough as a server:
.

Marvin I know this well. I have a Mac Mini server myself.

I have an older model that has a core 2 cpu and it works well for my needs but they are modest. I don't know how a MM server would work for someone who has more demanding needs.

The lack of other options doesn't seem reassuring to me and I'm am relying on Apple to continue OSx server and a line of servers to run it.
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post #58 of 172
4/10/12 at 11:47am
I want a 15" Pro/Air with 8gb of RAm and at least a quad i7. 500gb+ would be nice as well... ( Need to be able to run Windows as a VM)

Keeping my fingers crossed.....
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post #59 of 172
4/10/12 at 11:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marvin View Post

The Mini is powerful enough as a server:

http://www.macminiserver.com/can-a-m...traffic-sites/
http://www.apple.com/macmini/server/

"For the ultimate in performance, choose dual 256GB solid-state drives. This configuration performs up to 60 percent faster in file server tests than a quad-core Xserve with internal SAS drives."

According to Mac Mini Colo, Apple calls the Mini their most popular server system:

http://www.macminicolo.net/faq.html

13 Watts idle and uses up 1/30th the space of the Pro.

None of this should come as a shock to anyone. Personal computers have been around for just 30 years and we've seen them go from giant boxes that could only run basic software to pocket devices that are hundreds of times faster.

We can't hold onto old form factors as if they are the only way or even the best way to build computers. Sure people complain when there's a shift just like people did moving to the sealed-in batteries on the laptops but now we have longer-lasting laptops than ever before and no bulging battery compartments.

When the new MBPs arrive, people will lament the missing optical drive, FW800 and ethernet ports, some might even dislike the entry model having integrated graphics but the mourning will quickly pass.

I wonder if a quad-cluster of MacMinis 2.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 with 8 GB memory each and Dual 256 GB solid state drives. The cost is certainly lower than a comparable (in most regards) MacPro and the computing power is greater as well. Furthermore, with the flexibility of a server rather than a dedicated workstation, a workgroup could likely be as productive without the high costs of providing everyone a dedicated MacPro workstation.


How did this become a discussion of the MacPro? I thought only MacBook Pro was mentioned in the article.

Anyway, I am happily waiting for:

15" Retina Display MacBook Pro
quad-core Intel Ivy Bridge core-i7 3770T (2.5 GHz)
8 GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM memory
512GB solid state drive
AMD Radeon 7000 series (28 nm process) (4k resolution capable)
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post #60 of 172
4/10/12 at 11:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sranger View Post

I want a 15" Pro/Air with 8gb of RAm and at least a quad i7. 500gb+ would be nice as well... ( Need to be able to run Windows as a VM)

It will no doubt have i5 Ivy Bridge chips as a baseline. Those will usually be toe to toe with the current i7's, and the new i7's will be faster still (Intel really needs a better naming scheme). 8GB stock at the same price? I would bet dollars to donuts it won't happen, look how reluctant Apple has been moving from 2 to 4 across all its lines. 500GB could happen.
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post #61 of 172
4/10/12 at 11:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by backtomac View Post

The lack of other options doesn't seem reassuring to me and I'm am relying on Apple to continue OSx server and a line of servers to run it.

There are even fewer people who need OS X Server than need a Mac Pro. OS X Server is essentially a set of management tools for people who don't know anything about UNIX. Technically speaking, any Mac can be configured as a server if you know your way around the command line. However, if you do know your way around the command line and you need a UNIX server you would probably not choose OS X anyway. Apple should kill OS X Server. It is by far the most useless product they sell since they don't make any rack mounted hardware.

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post #62 of 172
4/10/12 at 12:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shaun, UK View Post

As a pro user myself I hope you're right but I honestly don't think that this kind of sentiment even comes into Apple's equation. It's all about the numbers. If the MP doesn't sell in sufficient numbers they will axe it. Ok they'll probably spin some crap about how you don't need one anymore coz the MBP or iMac have pro-like specs these days. Apple is a machine these days.

They killed Xserve leaving a lot of people high and dry. Many of those companies would have to go back to Windows Server and retrain their staff.

True, and I am not saying Apple isn't sharply focussed on the bottom line, but the x-serve would never have create much in the way of halo effect. I really don't think people know or care much about what goes on in post production houses or graphics studios, but there is a reason people are under the impression creatives use Macs. Also the more creatives are exposed to Macs the more Macs will filter out through their work. Just about every TV or magazine ad that features a computer features a Mac (easily recognized even when disguised). I don't think its a 'sentiment' as much as it is an area I think Apple would like to stay in, in spite of it not being a huge money spinner.
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post #63 of 172
4/10/12 at 12:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mstone View Post

There are even fewer people who need OS X Server than need a Mac Pro. OS X Server is essentially a set of management tools for people who don't know anything about UNIX. Technically speaking, any Mac can be configured as a server if you know your way around the command line. However, if you do know your way around the command line and you need a UNIX server you would probably not choose OS X anyway. Apple should kill OS X Server. It is by far the most useless product they sell since they don't make any rack mounted hardware.

There are small businesses that rely on OSX server. I am one of them.

Yes they may be few in numbers but they support a larger group of Mac clients.
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post #64 of 172
4/10/12 at 12:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tru_canuk View Post

If Apple does keep the 13" MB Pro around, I honestly don't think it will get a discreet GPU. If anything, the biggest things differentiating the 13" MB Pro and the 13" MB Air is that the Pro machine will have a quad-core processor and be expandable to 8GB of RAM.

Would there be any market for a high end 13 inch laptop?

With a super CPU, huge amounts of RAM and hot shit video?

Or is it really true that nobody gets a 13 inch unless they are cheap?
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post #65 of 172
4/10/12 at 12:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MacBook Pro View Post

Anyway, I am happily waiting for:

15" Retina Display MacBook Pro
quad-core Intel Ivy Bridge core-i7 3770T (2.5 GHz)
8 GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM memory
512GB solid state drive
AMD Radeon 7000 series (28 nm process) (4k resolution capable)

That would be a nice machine.

How much would you expect it to cost?
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post #66 of 172
4/10/12 at 12:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by backtomac View Post

Yes they may be few in numbers but they support a larger group of Mac clients.


I guess you are using iCal Server so that you can schedule meetings among the staff members. What other services do you use that are Mac specific?

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post #67 of 172
4/10/12 at 12:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mstone View Post

I guess you are using iCal Server so that you can schedule meetings among the staff members. What other services do you use that are Mac specific?

I use a dental billing and electronic medical record software that are both client/server packages.
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post #68 of 172
4/10/12 at 12:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by backtomac View Post

I use a dental billing and electronic medical record software that are both client/server packages.

Interesting. Does it integrate with your digital x-rays?

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post #69 of 172
4/10/12 at 12:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by I am a Zither Zather Zuzz View Post

All they know is Britney Spears and Tom Cruise.

Really? Those are the two you use to make a reference to popular culture?

I'm 55 years old and even I know that is a hopelessly out of date example.
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post #70 of 172
4/10/12 at 12:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mstone View Post

Interesting. Does it integrate with your digital x-rays?

No. I don't have a digital x-ray machine yet. Many don't integrate well with Mac systems.

I am a specialist and get many x-rays sent to me electronically as jpeg files. These I just attach to the EHR. When I get imaging sent to me in another format I can usually, but not always, open it and view it using Osirix. Usually this imaging comes to me on DVDs.

While others are hoping that the new iMacs come sans the optical drive, I hope they keep it. Its no a huge deal if they don't, I'll just buy an external drive. But I like having less clutter in my treatment rooms and an external drive works against this.
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post #71 of 172
4/10/12 at 12:59pm
It's either Samsung Series 9 (Hackintosh) or MBA 15".
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post #72 of 172
4/10/12 at 1:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob55 View Post

I have. Windows is not an option. That leaves me with either A) building a hackintosh, B) waiting for the new iMac or C) waiting for Apple to officially kill or refresh the Mac Pro. So the problem for me is the "not knowing". I can't pull the trigger on a new iMac until I know for certain what Apple will do with the Mac Pro.

Agreed. Uncertainty is a business risk...particularly when a lack of data "freezes" you from makinga quality (well informed) near term decision.


Quote:
Originally Posted by I am a Zither Zather Zuzz View Post

Tell me what iOS development tasks cannot be done on an iMac.

Probably all of it, but that misses the point. The point is that the responsiveness of the hardware has an impact on the developer's productivity...and studies have shown that the negative effect of poor responsiveness has a progressively nonlinear impact.


Quote:
Originally Posted by I am a Zither Zather Zuzz View Post

Would there be any market for a high end 13 inch laptop?

With a super CPU, huge amounts of RAM and hot shit video?

Or is it really true that nobody gets a 13 inch unless they are cheap?

I'd likely buy one to finally replace my loaded 12" G4 PowerBook, but you're probably right that the majority of buyers are probably more cost-sensitive.

-hh
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post #73 of 172
4/10/12 at 1:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by backtomac View Post

No. I don't have a digital x-ray machine yet. Many don't integrate well with Mac systems.

I am a specialist and get many x-rays sent to me electronically as jpeg files. These I just attach to the EHR. When I get imaging sent to me in another format I can usually, but not always, open it and view it using Osirix. Usually this imaging comes to me on DVDs.

While others are hoping that the new iMacs come sans the optical drive, I hope they keep it. Its no a huge deal if they don't, I'll just buy an external drive. But I like having less clutter in my treatment rooms and an external drive works against this.

FYI

There is an excellent picture archiving and communication system (PACS) server solution for Mac that integrates exceedingly well with OSiriX which is free as well. Let me know if you need any assistance (gratis) when you are selecting a digital solution as this is my field of expertise (digital radiography and PACS rather than dental although I have assisted dental and veterinary clinics).

Macs are extremely popular amongst physicians, dentists, optometrists and other healthcare professionals who often use OS X Server. Additionally, there is a thriving small business market for OS X Server.
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post #74 of 172
4/10/12 at 1:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by echosonic View Post

i dont think you know what youre talking about. for AV professionals many of those higs are necessities for which there are no easy replacements.

You mean the ports? They will still exist on the Thunderbolt display and 3rd party docking solutions.

Quote:
Originally Posted by SolipsismX

So what kind of time frame are we expecting for the new machines?

The chips arrive April 29th so likely the first week in May.

Quote:
Originally Posted by tipoo

My biggest hope is for the 13" to really earn that pro moniker with discreet graphics and a quad core CPU like its older siblings. Without the optical drive they have a lot more space for thermal dissipation and extra battery capacity to make up for the higher power draw.

If you put the new 13" MBP and 13" Air side by side, they wouldn't differ significantly enough to justify selling both. I don't believe they will put a quad-core i7 inside a 13" Air chassis alongside a dedicated GPU.

It seems far more likely to me they'd drop the 13" MBP and replace it with a 13" Ivy Bridge Air starting with 256GB SSD, dual-core Ivy Bridge with HD 4000 GPU. They'd probably move away from ULV chips.

Quote:
Originally Posted by backtomac

I don't know how a MM server would work for someone who has more demanding needs.

They'd probably just buy more than one.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mstone

Apple should kill OS X Server.

I'd say just integrate the features into OS X. Then when someone turns on the web server, they get the benefits of OS X Server.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Macbook Pro

ow did this become a discussion of the MacPro? I thought only MacBook Pro was mentioned in the article.

It was something about the MBP being the expected upgrade path for some Mac Pro owners after its discontinuation. They'll have to migrate to something so the MBP and iMac are the obvious candidates.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Macbook Pro

Anyway, I am happily waiting for:

15" Retina Display MacBook Pro
quad-core Intel Ivy Bridge core-i7 3770T (2.5 GHz)
8 GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM memory
512GB solid state drive
AMD Radeon 7000 series (28 nm process) (4k resolution capable)

The i7 3770T is a desktop CPU. It will be the QM mobile chips they use in the MBP:

2.3GHz 3610QM - 45W
2.1GHz 3612QM - 35W
2.3GHz 3615QM - 45W
2.6GHz 3720QM - 45W
2.7GHz 3820QM - 45W

The 3612QM might go in a 13" model with IGP.
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post #75 of 172
4/10/12 at 1:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MacBook Pro View Post

FYI

There is an excellent picture archiving and communication system (PACS) server solution for Mac that integrates exceedingly well with OSiriX which is free as well. .

What is it? Generally if the image is a JPEG file I attach it directly to the EHR file. But I would be interested in knowing the options available.

I agree that Macs are gaining in popularity amongst US health care professionals. My billing software is MacPractice and I am under the impression that they have seen a steady and consistent increase in their business over the past few years that has corresponded with the general increase in Mac popularity over the last few years. I also use SpringCharts EHR and I have been told by representatives there that 20% of their user base are Macs. I would hate to see Apple abandon OSX server as this would jeopardize the future of these apps on the Mac platform.
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post #76 of 172
4/10/12 at 1:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ascii View Post

..
And I don't think the Mac Pro tower will be discontinued. If nothing else, Apple cares about iOS development, and some developers will want a proper workstation.

Quote:
Originally Posted by NasserAE View Post

What's wrong with the iMac as a developers workstation?

All these years I've been using an iMac for iOS development and I never got the memo.

Makes sense to get a MacPro for iOS dev work since an iMac doesn't have anywhere near the horsepower necessary to run an iOS ARM app in emulation right?? </sarcasm>

I think a Mac Pro station would come in handy not for iOS directly, but for those graphics-intensive iOS apps where you want to render the images on a fast system like a MacPro using photoshop. I can see that easily. For iOS/Xcode work though, any Mac is sufficient imho.
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post #77 of 172
4/10/12 at 1:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ascii View Post

There's nothing wrong with it per se. But iOS development is very iterative: often you make a small change, fire up the simulator, test it out, make another small change, etc. Perhaps more so than other development (such as server side) due to the desire to get the GUI perfect in iOS apps.

If that cycle can be sped up by just a few seconds each time it could make a big difference to how many times the developer tweaks a particular feature before getting fed up and deciding it's "good enough." Multiply that by a thousand developers making a thousand apps and the overall quality of iOS software could be effected by having the best available dev box a few seconds slower than it could have been.

This makes the very wrong assumption that people who are developers are only coding on Mac Pros. Which is not the case. iMacs, laptops and Minis are regularly used as it is. Removing the Pro would only increase time for those who replace the Pro w/something less efficient. As the Pro already makes up much less of the market than any other Apple system...
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post #78 of 172
4/10/12 at 1:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by backtomac View Post

What is it? Generally if the image is a JPEG file I attach it directly to the EHR file. But I would be interested in knowing the options available.

I agree that Macs are gaining in popularity amongst US health care professionals. My billing software is MacPractice and I am under the impression that they have seen a steady and consistent increase in their business over the past few years that has corresponded with the general increase in Mac popularity over the last few years. I also use SpringCharts EHR and I have been told by representatives there that 20% of their user base are Macs. I would hate to see Apple abandon OSX server as this would jeopardize the future of these apps on the Mac platform.

I'm in the 3D medical imaging business and education field as well. Kind of interesting to see this discussion here even though it's way off topic. I'm a specialist in digital x-ray and going off on a tangent so... I think I'll give this OSiriX a try since it is open source. Our software currently is all Windows based and ties into TDO which is a comprehensive software platform for dental practices.

Even if Apple did abandon the Server, can't you just install those packages on any Mac and simply enable all the file sharing configurations necessary? The new Lion Server is just some add on management tools to the regular Lion version.

Life is too short to drink bad coffee.

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Life is too short to drink bad coffee.

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post #79 of 172
4/10/12 at 2:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mstone View Post

I'm in the 3D medical imaging business and education field as well. Kind of interesting to see this discussion here even though it's way off topic. I'm a specialist in digital x-ray and going off on a tangent so... I think I'll give this OSiriX a try since it is open source. Our software currently is all Windows based and ties into TDO which is a comprehensive software platform for dental practices.

Osirix is excellent. I have radiologist friends at the hospital that have Macs at home and feel that Osirix is as good as the Windows PACS software they use at the hospital. Its free so you ought to give it a test drive. I bet you'll be impressed by it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mstone View Post

Even if Apple did abandon the Server, can't you just install those packages on any Mac and simply enable all the file sharing configurations necessary?

I don't know. I suspect that those vendors might just write a server version in Windows or Linux that the Mac clients could access the files to. This has a real downside for me as I currently do most of the administration of my computers. Adding another platform just makes that more difficult. OSX server once set up (I did not do this, I had an outside consultant do this for me) is easy to administer. I also would loose some of the advantages of OSX. Example; I have an automator script that helps me backup my data. Moving to another platform means having to replace that workflow with a Linux or Windows solution. I'm sure that they exist but I would have to discover it and it may not be free like automator is on OSX.

I'm a real fan of OSX server for small business. I think its under-appreciated.
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post #80 of 172
4/10/12 at 2:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marvin View Post


The chips arrive April 29th so likely the first week in May.

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Sooo.. a new, very different form factor for MacBook Pro and no 'special' announcement? Just shows up in the store one day? Seems odd. Would Apple have a special event one month before WWDC?
Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster by your side, kid.
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Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster by your side, kid.
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