Plus, doncha think Apple will change the name of 'DVD Player' to something more like 'Optical Media Player' or 'Disk Player'? You betcha they will. O.~*
I think they can keep the name 'DVD Player' because 'DVD' is an acronym for 'Digital Video Disk'.
Of course the iMac does and will cannibalize some MacPro sales but I doubt it's a trend. Certainly many MacPros are bought for their multiple drive bays, huge memory capabilities, compatibility with about any size and type of monitor, and their ease of servicing and modification. None of those are features of the iMac.
Of course the iMac does and will cannibalize some MacPro sales but I doubt it's a trend. Certainly many MacPros are bought for their multiple drive bays, huge memory capabilities, compatibility with about any size and type of monitor, and their ease of servicing and modification. None of those are features of the iMac.
Sadly this all is accurate but we can hope that Apple will relieve us of some of the artificial limitations in future iMacs. For example I'd like to see them move beyond the 4GB memory limitation for one.
Serviceability is also a significant limitation of the iMac, one thing the could do here that would work wonders is to hinge the front panel. Another concept that might work well would be drop in modules. Anything that leads to easier access to the commonly serviced or upgraded parts would be a big help.
Right now my greatest fear is that Apple will do nothing in reguards to these issues. It is a shame really as it opens the platform to more knowledgable users. By that I mean users that would not be bothered by handling general servicing. It is not impossible to address the all in ones most significant short comings l, they just need to put a little pressure on Apples designers.
I have reason to believe that the Mac Pro will be using the LGA-1366 Nehalem EP Core i7 chips. Every indication from Intel shows that these chips are intended to be workstation class or high end enthusiast chips while mainstream chips using the LGA-1056 socket will be used for midrange and lower end systems such as the iMac and mini, or whatever replaces the mini. Now these Core i5 (the unofficial name for them) won't be out until the middle of the year, but meanwhile the iMac and mini (or it's replacement) will be well serviced by the newer LGA-775 Core 2s.
What this means for Apple is that they will still be able to deliver a high end system with great performance, lower their prices, and still keep the margins they want.
There is going to be a high end Nehalem for servers that will be able to connect 4 chips (16 cores or more) but they do require a higher density socket (1500 or so pins). From what I understand you will be able to put 2 LGA-1366 sockets on the motherboard, each connecting to it's own Nehalem EP processor and they will connect to each other via the QPI (point to point) bus and to the X58 chipset via a second QPI bus. I guess the Nehalem EP processor differs from the currently released Nehalem processor in the fact that it has two QPI connections.
I think in January we see a very minor update, nothing to write home about. A new 9 series Nvidia, maybe 500gb, 4gb or 3ghz as default. Just enough to wet some potential buyer's appetite.
The redesign will come in April/May with the removal of FW400 - no doubt. We could see RAID on board which would make sense, but don't hold your breath.
I think in January we see a very minor update, nothing to write home about. A new 9 series Nvidia, maybe 500gb, 4gb or 3ghz as default. Just enough to wet some potential buyer's appetite.
The redesign will come in April/May with the removal of FW400 - no doubt. We could see RAID on board which would make sense, but don't hold your breath.
I can't see any update that does NOT include a i7 CPU, there really isn't that much of a point to it.
I'd rather they kept the case, but did more stuff like RAID via silicon. My guess is most who would spring for so much money are far less impressed by case designs, that is for the iMacs, not the "Pro" machines.
Comments
Plus, doncha think Apple will change the name of 'DVD Player' to something more like 'Optical Media Player' or 'Disk Player'? You betcha they will. O.~*
I think they can keep the name 'DVD Player' because 'DVD' is an acronym for 'Digital Video Disk'.
(Im not sure there is big a market for a $3000 graphics card though)
Of course the iMac does and will cannibalize some MacPro sales but I doubt it's a trend. Certainly many MacPros are bought for their multiple drive bays, huge memory capabilities, compatibility with about any size and type of monitor, and their ease of servicing and modification. None of those are features of the iMac.
Sadly this all is accurate but we can hope that Apple will relieve us of some of the artificial limitations in future iMacs. For example I'd like to see them move beyond the 4GB memory limitation for one.
Serviceability is also a significant limitation of the iMac, one thing the could do here that would work wonders is to hinge the front panel. Another concept that might work well would be drop in modules. Anything that leads to easier access to the commonly serviced or upgraded parts would be a big help.
Right now my greatest fear is that Apple will do nothing in reguards to these issues. It is a shame really as it opens the platform to more knowledgable users. By that I mean users that would not be bothered by handling general servicing. It is not impossible to address the all in ones most significant short comings l, they just need to put a little pressure on Apples designers.
Dave
What this means for Apple is that they will still be able to deliver a high end system with great performance, lower their prices, and still keep the margins they want.
There is going to be a high end Nehalem for servers that will be able to connect 4 chips (16 cores or more) but they do require a higher density socket (1500 or so pins). From what I understand you will be able to put 2 LGA-1366 sockets on the motherboard, each connecting to it's own Nehalem EP processor and they will connect to each other via the QPI (point to point) bus and to the X58 chipset via a second QPI bus. I guess the Nehalem EP processor differs from the currently released Nehalem processor in the fact that it has two QPI connections.
At least that is what I'm hoping for.
Here is a nice PDF that shows some of the possibilities.
The redesign will come in April/May with the removal of FW400 - no doubt. We could see RAID on board which would make sense, but don't hold your breath.
I think in January we see a very minor update, nothing to write home about. A new 9 series Nvidia, maybe 500gb, 4gb or 3ghz as default. Just enough to wet some potential buyer's appetite.
The redesign will come in April/May with the removal of FW400 - no doubt. We could see RAID on board which would make sense, but don't hold your breath.
I can't see any update that does NOT include a i7 CPU, there really isn't that much of a point to it.
I'd rather they kept the case, but did more stuff like RAID via silicon. My guess is most who would spring for so much money are far less impressed by case designs, that is for the iMacs, not the "Pro" machines.
I think they can keep the name 'DVD Player' because 'DVD' is an acronym for 'Digital Video Disk'.
Actually, it's 'Digital Versatile Disk'.