okok... dont tell any one but what i have heard is that :
1) Touch screens will be coming to a mac near you, maybe its all ready in and just needs to be activated...hmmmmm
2) of course if you have #1, a tablet will be fallowing....
3) because of the cross lisencing time with M$, Apple has the rights to windows APIs, and they will be inplemented in the OS throu a translation layer (kind of like clasic) to avoid Virus infecting OSX
4) New iPod video, think of it as an iPhone, without the phone feature, but still wifi and internet ready for accesing the iTMS
5) not only new look for the displays but larger displays maybe a 42 or 50 inch with multitouch and video camera. one model may include the cpu inside...
6) TV recording on the Mac Mini and front row improvements.
now not all will be done this year, but .... who knows... and be ready when the cat comes home ... it may just surprise you.
Where are you from? How do you know this? are you talking through your ass?
I understand that no one other than Apple, and perhaps not even then, knows how long our investment my be good for, but we're wondering if we'll get five or six years of use out of a new workstation.
Our main workstation is a single-processor 733MHz G4 with 1.25 GHz of memory. Of course, we're running OS X 10.4.8 and have an extra internal hard drive and two external hard drives. Our main killer is Photoshop CS2, especially in 16-bit mode while running iTunes.
The raw files with which we begin editing in Photoshop are from the Canon 20D, which creates 8.2-megapixel files.
My wife and I plan to purchase a new workstation (we're waiting for the next Mac Pro update) with the fastest-available processors, five (or more) gigabytes of memory, and a dual-terabyte-drive striped RAID. We also plan to purchase the 30" HD Cinema Display.
Will our approximate US$6.5K investment last for five or six years? We ordered our current workstation in January 2001 and it was delivered March 6, 2001. We're fairly satisfied with our current investment.
We understand that most of you don't wait this long before updating, but we also maintain a PowerBook G4 and photographic printers, so we're trying to get the most bang for our techno-buck.
Thank you for entertaining our question.
Sincerely,
Jaddie & Becky
I second what RobM said above and would add that my plans for my Mac Pro are to get the bare minimum to meet my specs from Apple and then buy my additional RAM and HDs from OWC. It is much cheaper that way than to have Apple outfit it all for you.
I also plan to wait on the monitor. I think that we're going to see some major improvements from Apple this year or early next year.
But I have a couple of older Formac 20-inch monitors that I can use.
We've been working on dual G4s (1, 1.2, and 1.42 ghz cpus) for quite some time now as well as a single 2.0 G5 iMac. We mostly do work for print and the web ? in an educational setting ? but have expanded into video. Because our budget is modest, we only have a few machines available to us and can't upgrade with frequency, so we must make every computer purchase count.
Although Apple's switch to Intel has exceeded everyone's expectations (including mine), our organization hasn't yet taken advantage of the switch. Like you, when we do move to a Mac Pro, it will need to last for six or seven years, particularly if we decide to get into HD/HDV. The current machines look lovely, but the prospect of upcoming machines is always enticing.
Our basic thumbnail has been simple: can the machine on hand handle the jobs that we throw at it and do so in a reasonably timely way? Since 2001, our answer has been emphatically YES. The best part about the Apple experience (relative to working on a Windows machine) is that the headaches are minimal and the computing experience is not only pleasurable but exciting. We cannot say the same thing about the PCs that sit across the room in our "platform-agnostic" setting.
Not that they have to have anything to do with each other, but...
PhotoShop World is April 4 - 6, so I would bet that CS3 would be out by then (March seems to be the consensus betting around the web).
If that other site sited above is correct about a Feb 20th announcement and March 24 Leopard release, that would put CS3 as coming out about the same time.
Could this really just be coincidence?
Here's hoping for March coming in like a lion and going out like a Leopard.
Oh and if you're going to get all snotty Mr. "best graphics options available to them at all times" using the "right tools for the right job" what graphics card do you have in your Alienware and what apps do you run on it? I dunno why you'd complain about the lack of SLI if you're running a FireGL rather than complain about the lack of a FireGL card...especially since the Xeon 5150s beat the Opteron 2200s in Maya benchmarks...
Vinea
but the chip sets used in the Opteron 2200s based board beat intels one by alot in many ways and why does the mac pro not have build in hardware raid? some opteron boards have it.
I understand that no one other than Apple, and perhaps not even then, knows how long our investment my be good for, but we're wondering if we'll get five or six years of use out of a new workstation.
Our main workstation is a single-processor 733MHz G4 with 1.25 GHz of memory. Of course, we're running OS X 10.4.8 and have an extra internal hard drive and two external hard drives. Our main killer is Photoshop CS2, especially in 16-bit mode while running iTunes.
The raw files with which we begin editing in Photoshop are from the Canon 20D, which creates 8.2-megapixel files.
My wife and I plan to purchase a new workstation (we're waiting for the next Mac Pro update) with the fastest-available processors, five (or more) gigabytes of memory, and a dual-terabyte-drive striped RAID. We also plan to purchase the 30" HD Cinema Display.
Will our approximate US$6.5K investment last for five or six years? We ordered our current workstation in January 2001 and it was delivered March 6, 2001. We're fairly satisfied with our current investment.
We understand that most of you don't wait this long before updating, but we also maintain a PowerBook G4 and photographic printers, so we're trying to get the most bang for our techno-buck.
Thank you for entertaining our question.
Sincerely,
Jaddie & Becky
If you're just working in photoshop, why do you need a MacPro? If the mini were updated to core 2 processors, wouldn't that give acceptable performance and allow you to upgrade sooner, say every 3years instead of 6? It would also probably be cheaper. That might make more sense as Intel chips come out fast and furious.
but the chip sets used in the Opteron 2200s based board beat intels one by alot in many ways and why does the mac pro not have build in hardware raid? some opteron boards have it.
Yes, no HW/RAID was silly given the drive bay design. One hopes for the next rev...
If you're just working in photoshop, why do you need a MacPro? If the mini were updated to core 2 processors, wouldn't that give acceptable performance and allow you to upgrade sooner, say every 3years instead of 6? It would also probably be cheaper. That might make more sense as Intel chips come out fast and furious.
If you doing it for a living acceptable performance is the best performance there is. A professional working in PS would need the RAM, and chances are the extra drive options.
If you're just working in photoshop, why do you need a MacPro? If the mini were updated to core 2 processors, wouldn't that give acceptable performance and allow you to upgrade sooner, say every 3years instead of 6? It would also probably be cheaper. That might make more sense as Intel chips come out fast and furious.
Well the mini looks to be on the short end for revs being untouched for quite some time now.
But the key issue is RAM. 5+ GB is the reason the Mac Pro will outdo any other mac for photoshop and large files. Will it last six years? IMHO yes. But at roughly the same level as your G4 will perform today (works...just slooow).
Intel finally doesn't suck and this gen of processors has some legs.
You are far better getting the base $2499 Mac Pro (with whatever CPU at the time) and upgrading to 5GB ram for another $959 from Crucial and refreshing a couple years early with the savings rather than getting the best CPU etc. Put whatever other money you desire into a hardware raid card and an external enclosure. Or a NAS if that wont be too slow.
The 30" is nice but old. Needs a refresh. For me dual 24" would have worked as well but for you perhaps a single large screen is better. Buying today the Dell 3007WFP-HC 30" is a much better deal. Color accuracy should be just as good as the ACD but I haven't compared side by side...my Dell 30" WFP isn't HC and doesn't have the W-CCFL backlight. For you probably worth the price delta of $1699 vs $1370 of the older display and it does better than the $1999 ACD.
If you're just working in photoshop, why do you need a MacPro? If the mini were updated to core 2 processors, wouldn't that give acceptable performance and allow you to upgrade sooner, say every 3years instead of 6? It would also probably be cheaper. That might make more sense as Intel chips come out fast and furious.
Dear backtomac
Well, I'm seeking the best possible digital photography and design experience. I want the 30" HD Cinema Display (or a larger model if one becomes available soon).
I want 5GB or more DRAM and at least one fast striped array.
I've never considered a mini as a contender, but I'm guessing that DRAM expansion would be relatively minimal and an array would have to be done externally via FireWire.
What RAID card and external enclosure would you buy?
In the past I've recommend LaCie drives (enclosures) for my clients, but I've always bought whatever was cheap. Now, I wouldn't buy another cheap enclosure because I find the cheap enclosures to come with el-crappo power supplies. Now I'd spend the extra money for the LaCie stuff because I've never witnessed a client's LaCie enclosure giving problems.
I have a Lacie Firewire drive for my Mac that has never let me down. As for RAID there are really cool looking RAID devices for mini's that look like G5 mini's, and all kinds of other stuff. (I found them with Google) My last SATA external I bought the enclosure for $16, and bought a 300GB, maxtor, or WesternDigital drive for cheap, and put it together myself. I think my total out of pocket was just under $100. I use the SATA drive with my DVR, and I have about 50 to 70 hours of shows on it, and I'm only using about 19%. Some of them are in HD. It's on 24/7 and still tip top.
http://www.cooldrives.com/ <- Any site like this is usually what I start with. When I find the one I like I search again for that particular one, and get the best price. I do the same with drives.
What RAID card and external enclosure would you buy?
In the past I've recommend LaCie drives (enclosures) for my clients, but I've always bought whatever was cheap. Now, I wouldn't buy another cheap enclosure because I find the cheap enclosures to come with el-crappo power supplies. Now I'd spend the extra money for the LaCie stuff because I've never witnessed a client's LaCie enclosure giving problems.
Thanks for your input!
Sincerely,
Jaddie
Heh, haven't had to build a RAID box for a long time (and then all I did was order one). I would look for
a) something that tells you when a drive is going flakey easily and early
b) something where recovering from a bad drive is more or less fool proof for you to do because a second failure during recovery is bad ju-ju.
c) since this is business critical don't buy a cheap enclosure. Something with decent heat management.
d) obviously OSX drivers
Eh, not a guru on external SATA enclosures and RAID boxes. I do remember thinking that if I were building one at home I'd go the RAID 1+0 route for anything I cared about and couldn't back up reasonably to something else. Not like I'm going to backup to tape (and then look for offsite storage on any regular basis) for personal or even consulting work.
Of course I'd be spending 2TB worth of disk for 1TB worth of space...
Comments
okok... dont tell any one but what i have heard is that :
1) Touch screens will be coming to a mac near you, maybe its all ready in and just needs to be activated...hmmmmm
2) of course if you have #1, a tablet will be fallowing....
3) because of the cross lisencing time with M$, Apple has the rights to windows APIs, and they will be inplemented in the OS throu a translation layer (kind of like clasic) to avoid Virus infecting OSX
4) New iPod video, think of it as an iPhone, without the phone feature, but still wifi and internet ready for accesing the iTMS
5) not only new look for the displays but larger displays maybe a 42 or 50 inch with multitouch and video camera. one model may include the cpu inside...
6) TV recording on the Mac Mini and front row improvements.
now not all will be done this year, but .... who knows... and be ready when the cat comes home ... it may just surprise you.
Where are you from? How do you know this? are you talking through your ass?
Dear Friends
I understand that no one other than Apple, and perhaps not even then, knows how long our investment my be good for, but we're wondering if we'll get five or six years of use out of a new workstation.
Our main workstation is a single-processor 733MHz G4 with 1.25 GHz of memory. Of course, we're running OS X 10.4.8 and have an extra internal hard drive and two external hard drives. Our main killer is Photoshop CS2, especially in 16-bit mode while running iTunes.
The raw files with which we begin editing in Photoshop are from the Canon 20D, which creates 8.2-megapixel files.
My wife and I plan to purchase a new workstation (we're waiting for the next Mac Pro update) with the fastest-available processors, five (or more) gigabytes of memory, and a dual-terabyte-drive striped RAID. We also plan to purchase the 30" HD Cinema Display.
Will our approximate US$6.5K investment last for five or six years? We ordered our current workstation in January 2001 and it was delivered March 6, 2001. We're fairly satisfied with our current investment.
We understand that most of you don't wait this long before updating, but we also maintain a PowerBook G4 and photographic printers, so we're trying to get the most bang for our techno-buck.
Thank you for entertaining our question.
Sincerely,
Jaddie & Becky
I second what RobM said above and would add that my plans for my Mac Pro are to get the bare minimum to meet my specs from Apple and then buy my additional RAM and HDs from OWC. It is much cheaper that way than to have Apple outfit it all for you.
I also plan to wait on the monitor. I think that we're going to see some major improvements from Apple this year or early next year.
But I have a couple of older Formac 20-inch monitors that I can use.
I second what RobM said above ...
And I will "third" RobM's remarks.
We've been working on dual G4s (1, 1.2, and 1.42 ghz cpus) for quite some time now as well as a single 2.0 G5 iMac. We mostly do work for print and the web ? in an educational setting ? but have expanded into video. Because our budget is modest, we only have a few machines available to us and can't upgrade with frequency, so we must make every computer purchase count.
Although Apple's switch to Intel has exceeded everyone's expectations (including mine), our organization hasn't yet taken advantage of the switch. Like you, when we do move to a Mac Pro, it will need to last for six or seven years, particularly if we decide to get into HD/HDV. The current machines look lovely, but the prospect of upcoming machines is always enticing.
Our basic thumbnail has been simple: can the machine on hand handle the jobs that we throw at it and do so in a reasonably timely way? Since 2001, our answer has been emphatically YES. The best part about the Apple experience (relative to working on a Windows machine) is that the headaches are minimal and the computing experience is not only pleasurable but exciting. We cannot say the same thing about the PCs that sit across the room in our "platform-agnostic" setting.
Not that they have to have anything to do with each other, but...
PhotoShop World is April 4 - 6, so I would bet that CS3 would be out by then (March seems to be the consensus betting around the web).
If that other site sited above is correct about a Feb 20th announcement and March 24 Leopard release, that would put CS3 as coming out about the same time.
Could this really just be coincidence?
Here's hoping for March coming in like a lion and going out like a Leopard.
No...
Maybe is Spring He Said..
But..
Quarters are often like this:
Jan-Mar - Winter
April-Jun - Spring
Jul-Sept - Summer
Oct-Dec - Fall
Oh and if you're going to get all snotty Mr. "best graphics options available to them at all times" using the "right tools for the right job" what graphics card do you have in your Alienware and what apps do you run on it? I dunno why you'd complain about the lack of SLI if you're running a FireGL rather than complain about the lack of a FireGL card...especially since the Xeon 5150s beat the Opteron 2200s in Maya benchmarks...
Vinea
but the chip sets used in the Opteron 2200s based board beat intels one by alot in many ways and why does the mac pro not have build in hardware raid? some opteron boards have it.
Dear Friends
I understand that no one other than Apple, and perhaps not even then, knows how long our investment my be good for, but we're wondering if we'll get five or six years of use out of a new workstation.
Our main workstation is a single-processor 733MHz G4 with 1.25 GHz of memory. Of course, we're running OS X 10.4.8 and have an extra internal hard drive and two external hard drives. Our main killer is Photoshop CS2, especially in 16-bit mode while running iTunes.
The raw files with which we begin editing in Photoshop are from the Canon 20D, which creates 8.2-megapixel files.
My wife and I plan to purchase a new workstation (we're waiting for the next Mac Pro update) with the fastest-available processors, five (or more) gigabytes of memory, and a dual-terabyte-drive striped RAID. We also plan to purchase the 30" HD Cinema Display.
Will our approximate US$6.5K investment last for five or six years? We ordered our current workstation in January 2001 and it was delivered March 6, 2001. We're fairly satisfied with our current investment.
We understand that most of you don't wait this long before updating, but we also maintain a PowerBook G4 and photographic printers, so we're trying to get the most bang for our techno-buck.
Thank you for entertaining our question.
Sincerely,
Jaddie & Becky
If you're just working in photoshop, why do you need a MacPro? If the mini were updated to core 2 processors, wouldn't that give acceptable performance and allow you to upgrade sooner, say every 3years instead of 6? It would also probably be cheaper. That might make more sense as Intel chips come out fast and furious.
but the chip sets used in the Opteron 2200s based board beat intels one by alot in many ways and why does the mac pro not have build in hardware raid? some opteron boards have it.
Yes, no HW/RAID was silly given the drive bay design. One hopes for the next rev...
Vinea
If you're just working in photoshop, why do you need a MacPro? If the mini were updated to core 2 processors, wouldn't that give acceptable performance and allow you to upgrade sooner, say every 3years instead of 6? It would also probably be cheaper. That might make more sense as Intel chips come out fast and furious.
If you doing it for a living acceptable performance is the best performance there is. A professional working in PS would need the RAM, and chances are the extra drive options.
If you're just working in photoshop, why do you need a MacPro? If the mini were updated to core 2 processors, wouldn't that give acceptable performance and allow you to upgrade sooner, say every 3years instead of 6? It would also probably be cheaper. That might make more sense as Intel chips come out fast and furious.
Well the mini looks to be on the short end for revs being untouched for quite some time now.
But the key issue is RAM. 5+ GB is the reason the Mac Pro will outdo any other mac for photoshop and large files. Will it last six years? IMHO yes. But at roughly the same level as your G4 will perform today (works...just slooow).
Intel finally doesn't suck and this gen of processors has some legs.
You are far better getting the base $2499 Mac Pro (with whatever CPU at the time) and upgrading to 5GB ram for another $959 from Crucial and refreshing a couple years early with the savings rather than getting the best CPU etc. Put whatever other money you desire into a hardware raid card and an external enclosure. Or a NAS if that wont be too slow.
The 30" is nice but old. Needs a refresh. For me dual 24" would have worked as well but for you perhaps a single large screen is better. Buying today the Dell 3007WFP-HC 30" is a much better deal. Color accuracy should be just as good as the ACD but I haven't compared side by side...my Dell 30" WFP isn't HC and doesn't have the W-CCFL backlight. For you probably worth the price delta of $1699 vs $1370 of the older display and it does better than the $1999 ACD.
Shame the Cintiq is still so expensive.
Vinea
If you're just working in photoshop, why do you need a MacPro? If the mini were updated to core 2 processors, wouldn't that give acceptable performance and allow you to upgrade sooner, say every 3years instead of 6? It would also probably be cheaper. That might make more sense as Intel chips come out fast and furious.
Dear backtomac
Well, I'm seeking the best possible digital photography and design experience. I want the 30" HD Cinema Display (or a larger model if one becomes available soon).
I want 5GB or more DRAM and at least one fast striped array.
I've never considered a mini as a contender, but I'm guessing that DRAM expansion would be relatively minimal and an array would have to be done externally via FireWire.
Sincerely,
Jaddie
What RAID card and external enclosure would you buy?
In the past I've recommend LaCie drives (enclosures) for my clients, but I've always bought whatever was cheap. Now, I wouldn't buy another cheap enclosure because I find the cheap enclosures to come with el-crappo power supplies. Now I'd spend the extra money for the LaCie stuff because I've never witnessed a client's LaCie enclosure giving problems.
Thanks for your input!
Sincerely,
Jaddie
http://www.cooldrives.com/firen.html <- These are Firewire, and FW RAID enclosures.
http://www.cooldrives.com/ <- Any site like this is usually what I start with. When I find the one I like I search again for that particular one, and get the best price. I do the same with drives.
Dear Vinea & onlooker
What RAID card and external enclosure would you buy?
In the past I've recommend LaCie drives (enclosures) for my clients, but I've always bought whatever was cheap. Now, I wouldn't buy another cheap enclosure because I find the cheap enclosures to come with el-crappo power supplies. Now I'd spend the extra money for the LaCie stuff because I've never witnessed a client's LaCie enclosure giving problems.
Thanks for your input!
Sincerely,
Jaddie
Heh, haven't had to build a RAID box for a long time (and then all I did was order one). I would look for
a) something that tells you when a drive is going flakey easily and early
b) something where recovering from a bad drive is more or less fool proof for you to do because a second failure during recovery is bad ju-ju.
c) since this is business critical don't buy a cheap enclosure.
d) obviously OSX drivers
Eh, not a guru on external SATA enclosures and RAID boxes. I do remember thinking that if I were building one at home I'd go the RAID 1+0 route for anything I cared about and couldn't back up reasonably to something else. Not like I'm going to backup to tape (and then look for offsite storage on any regular basis) for personal or even consulting work.
Of course I'd be spending 2TB worth of disk for 1TB worth of space...
Vinea
http://macprojournal.com/partitions.html
Might be good enough for you although I don't know what performance hit you get.
Vinea