The next generation of Mac Pros (not the one's about to be released) will be all inside the display. Apple has pre-production units that are baked into the display but have a cable that comes out going to a mini tower, that is used to host hard drives and additional graphics cards. At the time I saw the units they had a cable connection that looked like firewire sometimes but I couldn't identify this. I now know that cable to have been early prototypes of thunderbolt.
This solution solves everyone's problem in that you don't need the tower, unless you really need it. You can buy it after market when you are ready to upgrade, and you don't have to worry about the tower going out of date because it's connected by something like thunderbolt to the display/cpus.
I don't know . I saw some charts on a Mac fan website that showed that over the past two years, Macs as a proportion of sales for Apple have fallen very significantly, replaced obviously by billions of dollars of income from iPhones.
From a larger perspective, the migration of apps like iMovie to the new iPhone and the app store in general, combined with cloud computing, point to the end of the age of the PC. The new PC is probably going to evolve to something closer to the iPad and iPhone, Android, etc. type of devices. AVID demonstrated a remote editing over the web application at NAB this year. It isn't that Macs won't be around, but I think that we will continue to see the slow erosion of features, inputs and pro features on Macs because obviously the pros aren't where the big money is, it is the masses buying iPhones, iTunes and the App store that are driving Apple forward.
This trend is not limited to just Macs either. People who have been trumpeting that the age of the PC are coming to a rapid close say that it is all PCs, not just Macs. It is true when you think about it. Who needs computers anymore when you can communicate via phone, text, Twitter with your handheld device and you can consume media on your small little iPad type of device? Those two operations cover probably 95% of all PC users. Doesn't a Mac Pro tower with its massive size and weight, tethered to huge monitors begin to sound somewhat like an anachronism?
Not saying that PC/Macs are going away in the next year or two but the writing is plainly on the wall that the era of the PC is drawing to an end except for a small contingent of users who may find that the machines that they need may no longer be made.
Perhaps we will eventually become like Cuba with the classic American cars, we will all be nursing pristine antique G5s and Mac Pros because Apple stopped making them. A huge black market for parts, software and manuals will spring up on Ebay to keep them still humming? Shades of my days with the Amiga! That was another machine that users wanted to keep going more than the manufacturer(s) did.
I do see the ability to control and manipulate media will become more and more ingrained in consumer and prosumer products like the new iPhone. At some point, most everything that takes big iron and lots of third party software to accomplish will be able to be done by anyone with a small, portable and cheap device. Moore's Law still applies and doing almost everything in software will just keep on evolving. Remember ICE cards for your Mac and AE plug-ins? Seems like ancient history but it was only, what, ten years ago \ ?
Doesn't a Mac Pro tower with its massive size and weight, tethered to huge monitors begin to sound somewhat like an anachronism?
You go ahead and get unbanned () and then tell me when the iPhone can hold 12 terabytes. Until then, I'll stick with my real computer that can actually do work.
Although it hasn?t seen an update since last year, the Mac Pro isn?t dead? it?s just been getting a little beauty rest before it debuts next month post-Lion, boosting a new 16 core configuration capable of searing the melted physiognomy to even the most cynical benchtester?s skull.
9to5Mac has the skinny that internal Apple documents tip the new Mac Pro to hit in late July or early August, post-Lion, and ship with up to sixteen cores? probably a dual 8-core configuration.
The big question mark: what will the chips inside be? Intel does have 8-core Sandy Bridge processors of the Mac Pro?s server class in the pipeline, but they won?t be available until the fourth quarter of the year.
Apple could possibly get early access to these processors, but there?s another possibility: the Mac Pro won?t use Sandy Bridge processors at all, but (according to this rumor, a whole new, unique CPU, custom-made for Apple by Intel.
Given how far off the octo-core Sandy Bridge server processors and how close we are to the Mac Pro relaunch, I?d say that unique CPU rumor just got a bit more believable, wouldn?t you?
I say; just because I want to randomly speculate and throw some fuel on the fire; what if is not a dual 8-core configuration, but a QUAD 4-core configuration?!?! Thereby leaving an opening in the future for a beastly quad 8-core machine; 32 cores of fire-breathing goodness, crunching away on whatever data you can throw at it?!!!
I say; just because I want to randomly speculate and throw some fuel on the fire; what if is not a dual 8-core configuration, but a QUAD 4-core configuration?!?!
Notice absolutely no price set. The Westmere version of such a machine costs $3838 PER. CHIP.... when purchasing 1,000 of them.
Comments
This solution solves everyone's problem in that you don't need the tower, unless you really need it. You can buy it after market when you are ready to upgrade, and you don't have to worry about the tower going out of date because it's connected by something like thunderbolt to the display/cpus.
The next generation of Mac Pros (not the one's about to be released) will be all inside the display.
That's called the iMac. It has been around since '98. Check your sources.
This solution solves everyone's problem in that you don't need the tower, unless you really need it.
Which, for the pro market, is 100% of the time. You never need the useless display, which you can buy your own of.
From a larger perspective, the migration of apps like iMovie to the new iPhone and the app store in general, combined with cloud computing, point to the end of the age of the PC. The new PC is probably going to evolve to something closer to the iPad and iPhone, Android, etc. type of devices. AVID demonstrated a remote editing over the web application at NAB this year. It isn't that Macs won't be around, but I think that we will continue to see the slow erosion of features, inputs and pro features on Macs because obviously the pros aren't where the big money is, it is the masses buying iPhones, iTunes and the App store that are driving Apple forward.
This trend is not limited to just Macs either. People who have been trumpeting that the age of the PC are coming to a rapid close say that it is all PCs, not just Macs. It is true when you think about it. Who needs computers anymore when you can communicate via phone, text, Twitter with your handheld device and you can consume media on your small little iPad type of device? Those two operations cover probably 95% of all PC users. Doesn't a Mac Pro tower with its massive size and weight, tethered to huge monitors begin to sound somewhat like an anachronism?
Not saying that PC/Macs are going away in the next year or two but the writing is plainly on the wall that the era of the PC is drawing to an end except for a small contingent of users who may find that the machines that they need may no longer be made.
Perhaps we will eventually become like Cuba with the classic American cars, we will all be nursing pristine antique G5s and Mac Pros because Apple stopped making them. A huge black market for parts, software and manuals will spring up on Ebay to keep them still humming? Shades of my days with the Amiga! That was another machine that users wanted to keep going more than the manufacturer(s) did.
I do see the ability to control and manipulate media will become more and more ingrained in consumer and prosumer products like the new iPhone. At some point, most everything that takes big iron and lots of third party software to accomplish will be able to be done by anyone with a small, portable and cheap device. Moore's Law still applies and doing almost everything in software will just keep on evolving. Remember ICE cards for your Mac and AE plug-ins? Seems like ancient history but it was only, what, ten years ago
That's called the iMac. It has been around since '98. Check your sources.
Which, for the pro market, is 100% of the time. You never need the useless display, which you can buy your own of.
I think you missed the sarcasm in his post.
Doesn't a Mac Pro tower with its massive size and weight, tethered to huge monitors begin to sound somewhat like an anachronism?
You go ahead and get unbanned (
I think you missed the sarcasm in his post.
Probably because it wasn't there, yep.
Although it hasn?t seen an update since last year, the Mac Pro isn?t dead? it?s just been getting a little beauty rest before it debuts next month post-Lion, boosting a new 16 core configuration capable of searing the melted physiognomy to even the most cynical benchtester?s skull.
9to5Mac has the skinny that internal Apple documents tip the new Mac Pro to hit in late July or early August, post-Lion, and ship with up to sixteen cores? probably a dual 8-core configuration.
The big question mark: what will the chips inside be? Intel does have 8-core Sandy Bridge processors of the Mac Pro?s server class in the pipeline, but they won?t be available until the fourth quarter of the year.
Apple could possibly get early access to these processors, but there?s another possibility: the Mac Pro won?t use Sandy Bridge processors at all, but (according to this rumor, a whole new, unique CPU, custom-made for Apple by Intel.
Given how far off the octo-core Sandy Bridge server processors and how close we are to the Mac Pro relaunch, I?d say that unique CPU rumor just got a bit more believable, wouldn?t you?
I say; just because I want to randomly speculate and throw some fuel on the fire; what if is not a dual 8-core configuration, but a QUAD 4-core configuration?!?! Thereby leaving an opening in the future for a beastly quad 8-core machine; 32 cores of fire-breathing goodness, crunching away on whatever data you can throw at it?!!!
I say; just because I want to randomly speculate and throw some fuel on the fire; what if is not a dual 8-core configuration, but a QUAD 4-core configuration?!?!
Notice absolutely no price set. The Westmere version of such a machine costs $3838 PER. CHIP.... when purchasing 1,000 of them.
So long, bank account!
Notice absolutely no price set. The Westmere version of such a machine costs $3838 PER. CHIP.... when purchasing 1,000 of them.
So long, bank account!
LOL? A 20K baseline Mac Pro? Users storm One Infinite Loop and torch the place?
An Apple spokesperson rebuttals, "Fastest, Mac Pro, EVAR?!!!"