They even canned the Macbook. We now have the Air instead with the iPad taking care of any low end laptop wannabees.
Lemon Bon Bon.
Just as Tim Cook simplified things by calling the new iPad 'the new iPad' instead of calling it the iPad 3, I predict a single line-up of notebooks from Apple all called 'the new MacBook'. Models will be distinguished by screen size and processor power.
11"
13"
15"
and possibly a 17"
Top of the line models in each size category will be MacBook pro equivalents. All will get hi res screens.
For the 11", I expect a standard hard disk size of 128 GB SSD with 256 GB offered as an option.
For the 13", i expect a standard 256 GB SSD with 500 GB offered as an option.
For the 15" and 17" I expect a standard 500 GB SSD with 1 TB offered as an option.
It may be that hybrid SSD-HDD drives are offered as an option. But I see these as a step backwards that exists only because SSD prices remain high. I expect Apple will do everything possible to drive wider use of SSDs in laptops.
It may give us SSDs at near cost price to kill off spinning platters for good.
Whatever, the new MacBook range should be a huge leap forward.
It may give us SSDs at near cost price to kill off spinning platters for good.
<snip>
Ahhhhh...NO! Apple never sells anything "at near cost price". If you should have learned anything about Apple, Inc., it is that margins are what it is about. Not service, not cutting edge technology, but margins. If some of the other stuff is necessary to keep sales up, so be it, but it is all about margins.
Why do you think the aftermarket installation of SSDs is thriving? Apple charges much too much for their SSDs (and RAM for that matter, although its pricing is down from obscene to merely outrageous these days).
I'd like to see a 'Big Mac' Mini. Double whopper. If you stacked two Minis one on top of the other...you'd have 8 cores. Using Thunderbolt as the bridge to use one of the chips as co-processor? Room for two HDs etc. (Ivy bridge will run super cool.) People are using them as servers.
Lemon Bon Bon.
Hey there Lemon Bon Bon~! I'm still out here reading waiting and watching... Trying to take it all in... Yes I started out wanting a Mac Pro but as time has went on I have pretty much ruled it out first of all it would be overkill for me and second it does seem like a step in the other direction of where the industry is going... The power of the iMac and Mac Mini is amazing and in a much smaller package plus a much smaller price tag. Like you I dont care for laptops I have had a stack of them and didnt like any of them. I have an iPad2 that will do all that I need to do away from the house in a much more convenient package. But back to the subject; I am swaying between the iMac and the Mac Mini and being this late in the game unless a rediculously low sale comes around I'll probably wait and get the new model. What I am wondering about was about your comment above; I was thinking about this the other day, while I am not as tech savy as many here I cant see why stacking a couple Mac Mini's somehow linking them together for double everything wouldn't work? I'm sure there is something I dont understand but it is a great thought. a pair of new Ivy bridge Mac Mini's linked together would form one awesome "BigMacMini" Is it doable
What you say makes sense, but it's only your opinion from your point of view. Laptops are non-starters for all kinds of professionals for instance.
I would say there are more dilettantes' with laptops who are kind of "pretending to be professionals" than there are with desktops. What the MacBook Air's and the iPad revolution has taught us us is that large numbers of folks who tote laptops around all day don't actually need them at all and really only need access to email and some documents. The majority of the "real" pros and the "real" creators, still use desktops IMO.
When it comes down to getting inside your machine for upgrades, the average user just needs to throw in a stick of RAM it's true, but the average user isn't a "pro" user. Pro users often need serious graphics and hard drive space for starters. An iMac just doesn't do it. Also, most Mac Pros have a heat envelope that's right on the line. The fancy graphics cards we use in them die frequently from heat death and have to be replaced every couple of years usually. The Mac Pro itself lasts approximately ten to twelve years, far longer than any other so one also has to upgrade the hard disks at least two or three times during it's life.
There is a definite need for all the upgrade possibilities and capabilities of the Mac Pro. Any alternative or replacement would have to be similarly configurable.
I understand portability, but what I don't get is data entry. Are you entering data or merely using the iPad to call up data and/or for "show and tell" demos? Thanks.
Hey there Lemon Bon Bon~! I'm still out here reading waiting and watching... Trying to take it all in... Yes I started out wanting a Mac Pro but as time has went on I have pretty much ruled it out first of all it would be overkill for me and second it does seem like a step in the other direction of where the industry is going... The power of the iMac and Mac Mini is amazing and in a much smaller package plus a much smaller price tag. Like you I dont care for laptops I have had a stack of them and didnt like any of them. I have an iPad2 that will do all that I need to do away from the house in a much more convenient package. But back to the subject; I am swaying between the iMac and the Mac Mini and being this late in the game unless a rediculously low sale comes around I'll probably wait and get the new model. What I am wondering about was about your comment above; I was thinking about this the other day, while I am not as tech savy as many here I cant see why stacking a couple Mac Mini's somehow linking them together for double everything wouldn't work? I'm sure there is something I dont understand but it is a great thought. a pair of new Ivy bridge Mac Mini's linked together would form one awesome "BigMacMini" Is it doable
XGrid is a free download. It requires 3 Macs to work, last I heard.
I have seen some people doing that and some who have an integrated keyboard/case to put the iPad in. It just seemed as though you wind up with a package that is about the same as a MacBook Air, although you do have the option to not carry the keyboard when you don't think you will need it.
The Apple Bluetooth keyboard is nice enough, but the batteries in it make it a bit thick.
I have seen some people doing that and some who have an integrated keyboard/case to put the iPad in. It just seemed as though you wind up with a package that is about the same as a MacBook Air, although you do have the option to not carry the keyboard when you don't think you will need it.
The Apple Bluetooth keyboard is nice enough, but the batteries in it make it a bit thick.
Thanks.
A MacBook Air connected to a ThunderBolt display is about the same as an iMac.
Hey there Lemon Bon Bon~! I'm still out here reading waiting and watching... Trying to take it all in... Yes I started out wanting a Mac Pro but as time has went on I have pretty much ruled it out first of all it would be overkill for me and second it does seem like a step in the other direction of where the industry is going... The power of the iMac and Mac Mini is amazing and in a much smaller package plus a much smaller price tag. Like you I dont care for laptops I have had a stack of them and didnt like any of them. I have an iPad2 that will do all that I need to do away from the house in a much more convenient package. But back to the subject; I am swaying between the iMac and the Mac Mini and being this late in the game unless a rediculously low sale comes around I'll probably wait and get the new model. What I am wondering about was about your comment above; I was thinking about this the other day, while I am not as tech savy as many here I cant see why stacking a couple Mac Mini's somehow linking them together for double everything wouldn't work? I'm sure there is something I dont understand but it is a great thought. a pair of new Ivy bridge Mac Mini's linked together would form one awesome "BigMacMini" Is it doable
Hmm. I have heard of artists keeping their old rigs along with their newer ones and over time they have a mini render farm. I've read interviews where they talk about doing it. Many hands light work on all that.
I think you need additional 'node' render licenses with some 3D software. And there's how you link the machines up to enable each machine to do it's share of the render and then put back it back together.
I've never done it myself, so I can't give an accurate technical description.
At the very least. If you had 4 entry Mac Minis, you have 8 cores there. But it's the linking them together. Thunderbolt can either carry compute data or it can't?
Somebody more technical than me could outline/explain how to create a small render farm process eg for a 3D artist. It is of some interest to me. I'd like the notion of having a top end iMac as my base machine and adding a couple of i7 Minis over time to help with the 3D render workload.
That's one example.
X-Grid was oft talked about excitedly several years back. One poster mentioned it needs at least 3 Macs to work...
*thinks. Anybody remember that Tau Ceti space search thing where compute resources can be given via the host machines. Heck, even remote machine/virus have been known to steel computer cycles from a PC machine?
I'm sure someone knows more about this stuff than me. Distributed computing does interest me.
It's not a mainstream idea yet...but maybe that's where someone like Apple could come in.
Sure, the iOS cross pollination eco system going into Mountain Lion is nice but I'd like some other substantial and interesting ideas for better performance like the above to be looked into with OSX.
Hmm. I have heard of artists keeping their old rigs along with their newer ones and over time they have a mini render farm. I've read interviews where they talk about doing it. Many hands light work on all that.
I think you need additional 'node' render licenses with some 3D software. And there's how you link the machines up to enable each machine to do it's share of the render and then put back it back together.
I've never done it myself, so I can't give an accurate technical description.
At the very least. If you had 4 entry Mac Minis, you have 8 cores there. But it's the linking them together. Thunderbolt can either carry compute data or it can't?
Somebody more technical than me could outline/explain how to create a small render farm process eg for a 3D artist. It is of some interest to me. I'd like the notion of having a top end iMac as my base machine and adding a couple of i7 Minis over time to help with the 3D render workload.
That's one example.
X-Grid was oft talked about excitedly several years back. One poster mentioned it needs at least 3 Macs to work...
*thinks. Anybody remember that Tau Ceti space search thing where compute resources can be given via the host machines. Heck, even remote machine/virus have been known to steel computer cycles from a PC machine?
I'm sure someone knows more about this stuff than me. Distributed computing does interest me.
It's not a mainstream idea yet...but maybe that's where someone like Apple could come in.
Sure, the iOS cross pollination eco system going into Mountain Lion is nice but I'd like some other substantial and interesting ideas for better performance like the above to be looked into with OSX.
Lemon Bon Bon.
You use Ethernet or Wi-Fi. I think the bigger implications that a lot of folks seem not to acknowledge is iOS devices eventually making use of Xgrid. Why not render video faster if you have a few mobile devices or Apple TVs on the home network, or logged into iCloud for that matter...
Fact: Apple makes serious computers for serious science.
In addition to making iPods, Apple develops the technology to tackle the most demanding computational and visualization problems facing scientists today. In the MacBook Pro notebook, Mac Pro scientific workstation, and Xserve server, you’ll find the high-performance 64-bit computing, advanced graphics, and scalable memory and storage capacity needed to handle your big data requirements.
An interesting quote. Heh, heh...should allay the fears of Pro users... *(Plants tongue in cheek.)
You use Ethernet or Wi-Fi. I think the bigger implications that a lot of folks seem not to acknowledge is iOS devices eventually making use of Xgrid. Why not render video faster if you have a few mobile devices or Apple TVs on the home network, or logged into iCloud for that matter...
So you could use Apple's wireless tech' to parcel up info using X-Grid installed on 3 wireless machines?
Quote:
Clients and agents automatically discover the controller using Bonjour, OS X?s built-in service discovery protocol. System administrators can specify controllers manually and limit the use of the cluster based on LDAP- and Kerberos-based authentication and credentials.
Hmm. I have heard of artists keeping their old rigs along with their newer ones and over time they have a mini render farm. I've read interviews where they talk about doing it. Many hands light work on all that.
I think you need additional 'node' render licenses with some 3D software. And there's how you link the machines up to enable each machine to do it's share of the render and then put back it back together.
I've never done it myself, so I can't give an accurate technical description.
At the very least. If you had 4 entry Mac Minis, you have 8 cores there. But it's the linking them together. Thunderbolt can either carry compute data or it can't?
Somebody more technical than me could outline/explain how to create a small render farm process eg for a 3D artist. It is of some interest to me. I'd like the notion of having a top end iMac as my base machine and adding a couple of i7 Minis over time to help with the 3D render workload.
That's one example.
X-Grid was oft talked about excitedly several years back. One poster mentioned it needs at least 3 Macs to work...
*thinks. Anybody remember that Tau Ceti space search thing where compute resources can be given via the host machines. Heck, even remote machine/virus have been known to steel computer cycles from a PC machine?
I'm sure someone knows more about this stuff than me. Distributed computing does interest me.
It's not a mainstream idea yet...but maybe that's where someone like Apple could come in.
Sure, the iOS cross pollination eco system going into Mountain Lion is nice but I'd like some other substantial and interesting ideas for better performance like the above to be looked into with OSX.
Lemon Bon Bon.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lemon Bon Bon.
An interesting quote. Heh, heh...should allay the fears of Pro users... *(Plants tongue in cheek.)
Lemon Bon Bon.
iOS devices will exceed the power of Macs in a relatively short amount of time. With the amount of iPads being sold, distributed computing will allow us to handle some very intensive rendering and computation. This could also extend to iCloud, where users could opt-in to allow other people's devices to assist in tasks as well. This of course comes into play after battery life and bandwidth issues have been addressed.
Hmm. I have heard of artists keeping their old rigs along with their newer ones and over time they have a mini render farm. I've read interviews where they talk about doing it. Many hands light work on all that.
I think you need additional 'node' render licenses with some 3D software. And there's how you link the machines up to enable each machine to do it's share of the render and then put back it back together.
I've never done it myself, so I can't give an accurate technical description.
At the very least. If you had 4 entry Mac Minis, you have 8 cores there. But it's the linking them together. Thunderbolt can either carry compute data or it can't?
Somebody more technical than me could outline/explain how to create a small render farm process eg for a 3D artist. It is of some interest to me. I'd like the notion of having a top end iMac as my base machine and adding a couple of i7 Minis over time to help with the 3D render workload.
That's one example.
X-Grid was oft talked about excitedly several years back. One poster mentioned it needs at least 3 Macs to work...
*thinks. Anybody remember that Tau Ceti space search thing where compute resources can be given via the host machines. Heck, even remote machine/virus have been known to steel computer cycles from a PC machine?
I'm sure someone knows more about this stuff than me. Distributed computing does interest me.
It's not a mainstream idea yet...but maybe that's where someone like Apple could come in.
Sure, the iOS cross pollination eco system going into Mountain Lion is nice but I'd like some other substantial and interesting ideas for better performance like the above to be looked into with OSX.
Lemon Bon Bon.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slang4Art
iOS devices will exceed the power of Macs in a relatively short amount of time. With the amount of iPads being sold, distributed computing will allow us to handle some very intensive rendering and computation. This could also extend to iCloud, where users could opt-in to allow other people's devices to assist in tasks as well. This of course comes into play after battery life and bandwidth issues have been addressed.
Thanks for all this great food for thought! I've got a lot more to consider now. I suppose it seems it is possible but then I dont know how many problems I may run into with the Workload / workflow and if it would all be worth the effort at this time... I have a lot of research and studying to do on this. Thanks again for all the help and resources!
Apple could bundle Final Cut X with top end iMacs to keep some of the Pro's happy.
Except that it wouldn't be enough people to matter. When it comes to creative professionals, performance is what it boils down to at the end of the day. If your computer is choking on renders, you get a new computer. If you're already using the best machine in the lineup, you switch to another hardware platform.
What matters is the ability to complete the necessary tasks in a reasonable timeframe delivering the results clients demand.
If you have a drop-dead day and time to deliver a project, and a client comes back with a note at the 11th hour, you need to be able to implement that change in as little time as possible. Your career literally depends on it. No one cares about any excuses you may have. You have a problem, and you're expected to fix it within the time allotted. If you fail, you are not hired again. Friends of the client no longer consider hiring you. End of story.
A $299 freebee doesn't really counteract any of this.
?Multiple authorized resellers this week are reflecting stock outs of 15-inch MacBook Pros, suggesting that Apple is ramping down production of existing models before introducing redesigned offerings that will largely resemble the company?s increasingly popular line of ultra-slim MacBook Airs,? Neil Hughes reports for Apple Insider.
?Among those resellers reflecting backorder status on some of the current 15-inch MacBook Pros is J&R, which is now sold out of both the 2.2GHz model, which is listed as ?out of stock,? and the 2.4GHz variety, which is currently advertised as ?on order,?? Hughes reports. ?In addition, Best Buy has also stopped accepting online orders for the 2.4GHz model for home delivery.?
Comments
They even canned the Macbook. We now have the Air instead with the iPad taking care of any low end laptop wannabees.
Lemon Bon Bon.
Just as Tim Cook simplified things by calling the new iPad 'the new iPad' instead of calling it the iPad 3, I predict a single line-up of notebooks from Apple all called 'the new MacBook'. Models will be distinguished by screen size and processor power.
11"
13"
15"
and possibly a 17"
Top of the line models in each size category will be MacBook pro equivalents. All will get hi res screens.
For the 11", I expect a standard hard disk size of 128 GB SSD with 256 GB offered as an option.
For the 13", i expect a standard 256 GB SSD with 500 GB offered as an option.
For the 15" and 17" I expect a standard 500 GB SSD with 1 TB offered as an option.
It may be that hybrid SSD-HDD drives are offered as an option. But I see these as a step backwards that exists only because SSD prices remain high. I expect Apple will do everything possible to drive wider use of SSDs in laptops.
It may give us SSDs at near cost price to kill off spinning platters for good.
Whatever, the new MacBook range should be a huge leap forward.
<snip>
It may give us SSDs at near cost price to kill off spinning platters for good.
<snip>
Ahhhhh...NO! Apple never sells anything "at near cost price". If you should have learned anything about Apple, Inc., it is that margins are what it is about. Not service, not cutting edge technology, but margins. If some of the other stuff is necessary to keep sales up, so be it, but it is all about margins.
Why do you think the aftermarket installation of SSDs is thriving? Apple charges much too much for their SSDs (and RAM for that matter, although its pricing is down from obscene to merely outrageous these days).
I'd like to see a 'Big Mac' Mini. Double whopper. If you stacked two Minis one on top of the other...you'd have 8 cores. Using Thunderbolt as the bridge to use one of the chips as co-processor? Room for two HDs etc. (Ivy bridge will run super cool.) People are using them as servers.
Lemon Bon Bon.
Hey there Lemon Bon Bon~! I'm still out here reading waiting and watching... Trying to take it all in... Yes I started out wanting a Mac Pro but as time has went on I have pretty much ruled it out first of all it would be overkill for me and second it does seem like a step in the other direction of where the industry is going... The power of the iMac and Mac Mini is amazing and in a much smaller package plus a much smaller price tag. Like you I dont care for laptops I have had a stack of them and didnt like any of them. I have an iPad2 that will do all that I need to do away from the house in a much more convenient package. But back to the subject; I am swaying between the iMac and the Mac Mini and being this late in the game unless a rediculously low sale comes around I'll probably wait and get the new model. What I am wondering about was about your comment above; I was thinking about this the other day, while I am not as tech savy as many here I cant see why stacking a couple Mac Mini's somehow linking them together for double everything wouldn't work? I'm sure there is something I dont understand but it is a great thought. a pair of new Ivy bridge Mac Mini's linked together would form one awesome "BigMacMini" Is it doable
I kind of agree and kind of disagree.
What you say makes sense, but it's only your opinion from your point of view. Laptops are non-starters for all kinds of professionals for instance.
I would say there are more dilettantes' with laptops who are kind of "pretending to be professionals" than there are with desktops. What the MacBook Air's and the iPad revolution has taught us us is that large numbers of folks who tote laptops around all day don't actually need them at all and really only need access to email and some documents. The majority of the "real" pros and the "real" creators, still use desktops IMO.
When it comes down to getting inside your machine for upgrades, the average user just needs to throw in a stick of RAM it's true, but the average user isn't a "pro" user. Pro users often need serious graphics and hard drive space for starters. An iMac just doesn't do it. Also, most Mac Pros have a heat envelope that's right on the line. The fancy graphics cards we use in them die frequently from heat death and have to be replaced every couple of years usually. The Mac Pro itself lasts approximately ten to twelve years, far longer than any other so one also has to upgrade the hard disks at least two or three times during it's life.
There is a definite need for all the upgrade possibilities and capabilities of the Mac Pro. Any alternative or replacement would have to be similarly configurable.
ThunderBolt.
I understand portability, but what I don't get is data entry. Are you entering data or merely using the iPad to call up data and/or for "show and tell" demos? Thanks.
Bluetooth Keyboard.
Hey there Lemon Bon Bon~! I'm still out here reading waiting and watching... Trying to take it all in... Yes I started out wanting a Mac Pro but as time has went on I have pretty much ruled it out first of all it would be overkill for me and second it does seem like a step in the other direction of where the industry is going... The power of the iMac and Mac Mini is amazing and in a much smaller package plus a much smaller price tag. Like you I dont care for laptops I have had a stack of them and didnt like any of them. I have an iPad2 that will do all that I need to do away from the house in a much more convenient package. But back to the subject; I am swaying between the iMac and the Mac Mini and being this late in the game unless a rediculously low sale comes around I'll probably wait and get the new model. What I am wondering about was about your comment above; I was thinking about this the other day, while I am not as tech savy as many here I cant see why stacking a couple Mac Mini's somehow linking them together for double everything wouldn't work? I'm sure there is something I dont understand but it is a great thought. a pair of new Ivy bridge Mac Mini's linked together would form one awesome "BigMacMini" Is it doable
XGrid is a free download. It requires 3 Macs to work, last I heard.
Bluetooth Keyboard.
I have seen some people doing that and some who have an integrated keyboard/case to put the iPad in. It just seemed as though you wind up with a package that is about the same as a MacBook Air, although you do have the option to not carry the keyboard when you don't think you will need it.
The Apple Bluetooth keyboard is nice enough, but the batteries in it make it a bit thick.
Thanks.
I have seen some people doing that and some who have an integrated keyboard/case to put the iPad in. It just seemed as though you wind up with a package that is about the same as a MacBook Air, although you do have the option to not carry the keyboard when you don't think you will need it.
The Apple Bluetooth keyboard is nice enough, but the batteries in it make it a bit thick.
Thanks.
A MacBook Air connected to a ThunderBolt display is about the same as an iMac.
Hey there Lemon Bon Bon~! I'm still out here reading waiting and watching... Trying to take it all in... Yes I started out wanting a Mac Pro but as time has went on I have pretty much ruled it out first of all it would be overkill for me and second it does seem like a step in the other direction of where the industry is going... The power of the iMac and Mac Mini is amazing and in a much smaller package plus a much smaller price tag. Like you I dont care for laptops I have had a stack of them and didnt like any of them. I have an iPad2 that will do all that I need to do away from the house in a much more convenient package. But back to the subject; I am swaying between the iMac and the Mac Mini and being this late in the game unless a rediculously low sale comes around I'll probably wait and get the new model. What I am wondering about was about your comment above; I was thinking about this the other day, while I am not as tech savy as many here I cant see why stacking a couple Mac Mini's somehow linking them together for double everything wouldn't work? I'm sure there is something I dont understand but it is a great thought. a pair of new Ivy bridge Mac Mini's linked together would form one awesome "BigMacMini" Is it doable
Hmm. I have heard of artists keeping their old rigs along with their newer ones and over time they have a mini render farm. I've read interviews where they talk about doing it. Many hands light work on all that.
I think you need additional 'node' render licenses with some 3D software. And there's how you link the machines up to enable each machine to do it's share of the render and then put back it back together.
I've never done it myself, so I can't give an accurate technical description.
At the very least. If you had 4 entry Mac Minis, you have 8 cores there. But it's the linking them together. Thunderbolt can either carry compute data or it can't?
Somebody more technical than me could outline/explain how to create a small render farm process eg for a 3D artist. It is of some interest to me. I'd like the notion of having a top end iMac as my base machine and adding a couple of i7 Minis over time to help with the 3D render workload.
That's one example.
X-Grid was oft talked about excitedly several years back. One poster mentioned it needs at least 3 Macs to work...
*thinks. Anybody remember that Tau Ceti space search thing where compute resources can be given via the host machines. Heck, even remote machine/virus have been known to steel computer cycles from a PC machine?
I'm sure someone knows more about this stuff than me. Distributed computing does interest me.
It's not a mainstream idea yet...but maybe that's where someone like Apple could come in.
Sure, the iOS cross pollination eco system going into Mountain Lion is nice but I'd like some other substantial and interesting ideas for better performance like the above to be looked into with OSX.
Lemon Bon Bon.
Ok. I don't know what I'm talking about. :P
But Apple do...
Enjoy!
Lemon Bon Bon.
Lemon Bon Bon.
Another interesting link. One I'll read thoroughly later.
Lemon Bon Bon.
Hmm. I have heard of artists keeping their old rigs along with their newer ones and over time they have a mini render farm. I've read interviews where they talk about doing it. Many hands light work on all that.
I think you need additional 'node' render licenses with some 3D software. And there's how you link the machines up to enable each machine to do it's share of the render and then put back it back together.
I've never done it myself, so I can't give an accurate technical description.
At the very least. If you had 4 entry Mac Minis, you have 8 cores there. But it's the linking them together. Thunderbolt can either carry compute data or it can't?
Somebody more technical than me could outline/explain how to create a small render farm process eg for a 3D artist. It is of some interest to me. I'd like the notion of having a top end iMac as my base machine and adding a couple of i7 Minis over time to help with the 3D render workload.
That's one example.
X-Grid was oft talked about excitedly several years back. One poster mentioned it needs at least 3 Macs to work...
*thinks. Anybody remember that Tau Ceti space search thing where compute resources can be given via the host machines. Heck, even remote machine/virus have been known to steel computer cycles from a PC machine?
I'm sure someone knows more about this stuff than me. Distributed computing does interest me.
It's not a mainstream idea yet...but maybe that's where someone like Apple could come in.
Sure, the iOS cross pollination eco system going into Mountain Lion is nice but I'd like some other substantial and interesting ideas for better performance like the above to be looked into with OSX.
Lemon Bon Bon.
You use Ethernet or Wi-Fi. I think the bigger implications that a lot of folks seem not to acknowledge is iOS devices eventually making use of Xgrid. Why not render video faster if you have a few mobile devices or Apple TVs on the home network, or logged into iCloud for that matter...
Myth: Apple only makes iPods.
Fact: Apple makes serious computers for serious science.
In addition to making iPods, Apple develops the technology to tackle the most demanding computational and visualization problems facing scientists today. In the MacBook Pro notebook, Mac Pro scientific workstation, and Xserve server, you’ll find the high-performance 64-bit computing, advanced graphics, and scalable memory and storage capacity needed to handle your big data requirements.
An interesting quote. Heh, heh...should allay the fears of Pro users...
Lemon Bon Bon.
You use Ethernet or Wi-Fi. I think the bigger implications that a lot of folks seem not to acknowledge is iOS devices eventually making use of Xgrid. Why not render video faster if you have a few mobile devices or Apple TVs on the home network, or logged into iCloud for that matter...
So you could use Apple's wireless tech' to parcel up info using X-Grid installed on 3 wireless machines?
Clients and agents automatically discover the controller using Bonjour, OS X?s built-in service discovery protocol. System administrators can specify controllers manually and limit the use of the cluster based on LDAP- and Kerberos-based authentication and credentials.
*(From the link...)
http://www.apple.com/science/hardwar...computing.html
Lemon Bon Bon.
Hmm. I have heard of artists keeping their old rigs along with their newer ones and over time they have a mini render farm. I've read interviews where they talk about doing it. Many hands light work on all that.
I think you need additional 'node' render licenses with some 3D software. And there's how you link the machines up to enable each machine to do it's share of the render and then put back it back together.
I've never done it myself, so I can't give an accurate technical description.
At the very least. If you had 4 entry Mac Minis, you have 8 cores there. But it's the linking them together. Thunderbolt can either carry compute data or it can't?
Somebody more technical than me could outline/explain how to create a small render farm process eg for a 3D artist. It is of some interest to me. I'd like the notion of having a top end iMac as my base machine and adding a couple of i7 Minis over time to help with the 3D render workload.
That's one example.
X-Grid was oft talked about excitedly several years back. One poster mentioned it needs at least 3 Macs to work...
*thinks. Anybody remember that Tau Ceti space search thing where compute resources can be given via the host machines. Heck, even remote machine/virus have been known to steel computer cycles from a PC machine?
I'm sure someone knows more about this stuff than me. Distributed computing does interest me.
It's not a mainstream idea yet...but maybe that's where someone like Apple could come in.
Sure, the iOS cross pollination eco system going into Mountain Lion is nice but I'd like some other substantial and interesting ideas for better performance like the above to be looked into with OSX.
Lemon Bon Bon.
An interesting quote. Heh, heh...should allay the fears of Pro users...
Lemon Bon Bon.
iOS devices will exceed the power of Macs in a relatively short amount of time. With the amount of iPads being sold, distributed computing will allow us to handle some very intensive rendering and computation. This could also extend to iCloud, where users could opt-in to allow other people's devices to assist in tasks as well. This of course comes into play after battery life and bandwidth issues have been addressed.
Hmm. I have heard of artists keeping their old rigs along with their newer ones and over time they have a mini render farm. I've read interviews where they talk about doing it. Many hands light work on all that.
I think you need additional 'node' render licenses with some 3D software. And there's how you link the machines up to enable each machine to do it's share of the render and then put back it back together.
I've never done it myself, so I can't give an accurate technical description.
At the very least. If you had 4 entry Mac Minis, you have 8 cores there. But it's the linking them together. Thunderbolt can either carry compute data or it can't?
Somebody more technical than me could outline/explain how to create a small render farm process eg for a 3D artist. It is of some interest to me. I'd like the notion of having a top end iMac as my base machine and adding a couple of i7 Minis over time to help with the 3D render workload.
That's one example.
X-Grid was oft talked about excitedly several years back. One poster mentioned it needs at least 3 Macs to work...
*thinks. Anybody remember that Tau Ceti space search thing where compute resources can be given via the host machines. Heck, even remote machine/virus have been known to steel computer cycles from a PC machine?
I'm sure someone knows more about this stuff than me. Distributed computing does interest me.
It's not a mainstream idea yet...but maybe that's where someone like Apple could come in.
Sure, the iOS cross pollination eco system going into Mountain Lion is nice but I'd like some other substantial and interesting ideas for better performance like the above to be looked into with OSX.
Lemon Bon Bon.
iOS devices will exceed the power of Macs in a relatively short amount of time. With the amount of iPads being sold, distributed computing will allow us to handle some very intensive rendering and computation. This could also extend to iCloud, where users could opt-in to allow other people's devices to assist in tasks as well. This of course comes into play after battery life and bandwidth issues have been addressed.
Thanks for all this great food for thought! I've got a lot more to consider now. I suppose it seems it is possible but then I dont know how many problems I may run into with the Workload / workflow and if it would all be worth the effort at this time... I have a lot of research and studying to do on this. Thanks again for all the help and resources!
Apple could bundle Final Cut X with top end iMacs to keep some of the Pro's happy.
Except that it wouldn't be enough people to matter. When it comes to creative professionals, performance is what it boils down to at the end of the day. If your computer is choking on renders, you get a new computer. If you're already using the best machine in the lineup, you switch to another hardware platform.
What matters is the ability to complete the necessary tasks in a reasonable timeframe delivering the results clients demand.
If you have a drop-dead day and time to deliver a project, and a client comes back with a note at the 11th hour, you need to be able to implement that change in as little time as possible. Your career literally depends on it. No one cares about any excuses you may have. You have a problem, and you're expected to fix it within the time allotted. If you fail, you are not hired again. Friends of the client no longer consider hiring you. End of story.
A $299 freebee doesn't really counteract any of this.
?Among those resellers reflecting backorder status on some of the current 15-inch MacBook Pros is J&R, which is now sold out of both the 2.2GHz model, which is listed as ?out of stock,? and the 2.4GHz variety, which is currently advertised as ?on order,?? Hughes reports. ?In addition, Best Buy has also stopped accepting online orders for the 2.4GHz model for home delivery.?
Anyone for a May 1st event?