Apple throws out the rulebook for its unique next-gen Mac Pro

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  • Reply 21 of 1320
    512ke512ke Posts: 782member
    This design evokes the Cube, which also looked very cool in its day. Hopefully this super cylinder will be affordably priced. It looks cool. Sure, you can't expand certain aspects, but that has an easy solution: when its capabilities feel outdated in a few years, you can simply buy a new one. Nothing Apple makes is designed to stay current and updatable for more than two years anyway. Heck, nothing that any company makes in this day and age lasts very long. Look at the iPhone 4S. It's brand new today but it won't even run iOS 7. So you'll buy a new phone just as you'll buy a new computer, every 2 years. Win win for Apple. And also for you it's a win as long as you are happy with what you buy and you don't want to change its internals.

    This is no longer the era of "user upgradable" anything. Not iPhones. Not iMacs. Not Mac Pros.
  • Reply 22 of 1320
    analogjackanalogjack Posts: 1,073member


    With the new mac pro and redesigned ios it feels like Apple are dragging the entire computer industry along by the vacuum they create as they speed into the future.

  • Reply 23 of 1320
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Count the days to a round DELL ....
  • Reply 24 of 1320
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    analogjack wrote: »
    With the new mac pro and redesigned ios it feels like Apple are dragging the entire computer industry along by the vacuum they create as they speed into the future.

    Are you calling the new Mac Pro a vacuum cleaner ... ? :D
  • Reply 25 of 1320
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    Originally Posted by AnalogJack View Post

    With the new mac pro and redesigned ios it feels like Apple are dragging the entire computer industry along by the vacuum they create as they speed into the future.


     


    Going on 37 years now, yeah. Oh, sure, occasionally someone being dragged will manage to stand up long enough to offer Apple a new, slightly more supportive pair of sneakers, but after they get 'em laced up it's back to the ol' ball and chain.


     




    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post

    Are you calling the new Mac Pro a vacuum cleaner ... ? image


     



    I'll bet you one thing, though: the new model won't sound as much like one as all of the old ones.

  • Reply 26 of 1320
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by 512ke View Post



    This design evokes the Cube, which also looked very cool in its day. Hopefully this super cylinder will be affordably priced. It looks cool. Sure, you can't expand certain aspects, but that has an easy solution: when its capabilities feel outdated in a few years, you can simply buy a new one. Nothing Apple makes is designed to stay current and updatable for more than two years anyway. Heck, nothing that any company makes in this day and age lasts very long. Look at the iPhone 4S. It's brand new today but it won't even run iOS 7. So you'll buy a new phone just as you'll buy a new computer, every 2 years. Win win for Apple. And also for you it's a win as long as you are happy with what you buy and you don't want to change its internals.



    This is no longer the era of "user upgradable" anything. Not iPhones. Not iMacs. Not Mac Pros.


    The cube was a consumer product.  The Mac Pro is not.  Also, tech has change completely since the cube days.  Double the horsepower of an old high-end Mac Pro in 1/8th the volume?  That's a big deal.



    As far as iOS 7 not running on an iPhone 4s, state your proof?  I just looked it up and could not find anything about that.  I found a handful of items not working (fully) on an original iPhone 4, but not the 4s.



    Where's your proof?

  • Reply 27 of 1320
    This is just such a futuristic marvel that has the potential to change the way Pros work.

    Of course, most of them are retarded and unable to evolve, it's a shame they will be left behind. Same thing with keyboards and mouses, diskette and cd rom, you name it.

    Best post! :) bingo!
  • Reply 28 of 1320
    blackbookblackbook Posts: 1,361member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by 512ke View Post



    Look at the iPhone 4S. It's brand new today but it won't even run iOS 7.


     


    Small error, but iOS 7 is compatible with the 4 and 4S...

  • Reply 29 of 1320
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    Originally Posted by 512ke View Post

    Look at the iPhone 4S. It's brand new today but it won't even run iOS 7.


     


    Absolute lies. Even the iPhone 4 runs iOS 7. Even the iPad 2 runs iOS 7. 


     



     


    Don't just SAY things.


     


    Interestingly, the 4th-gen iPod touch won't run it, even though it too has an A4. Apple discontinued it "just in time", it seems…


    Interestingly, the FIRST GEN IPAD CAN'T RUN IOS 6, EVEN THOUGH IT'S THE SAME HARDWARE AS THE IPHONE 4 with half the RAM.

  • Reply 30 of 1320
    darkvader wrote: »
    The level of stupid at Apple these days is overwhelming.

    That has to be the worst possible design for a pro machine that I could imagine.  Pros don't want cutesy cylinders, they want EXPANSION.  Things like slots, lots of RAM slots, lots of PCI Express slots, and multiple hard drive bays, at least 4 of them.  Pros still need optical drives.  Pros want to be able to upgrade their graphics cards.  Pros want multiple processors.

    Think about what they could have done with this in the existing case:  Dual 12 core processors.  Up to 128GB RAM.  2 solid state drives AND 4 hard drives.  And two Blu-Ray drives.  And 4 PCI Express slots.

    And the design is terrible too.  This thing looks like a black aluminum can.  Oh, wait, that's what it is.

    Ugh!
  • Reply 31 of 1320


    I love how (predictably) the comments on this thing are split between people who love it and think it's perfect, and people who hate it and think it's a disaster. 


     


    The reality is that it's probably going to land somewhere in between.


     


    My personal preference would have been a more standard PC-Style box with easy upgradeability.  But I can that this appears to be a marvel of packaging, etc.  I can respect that.


     


    I also expect Apple to release some sort of RAID-capable external harddrive enclosure that will connect via Thunderbolt 2 to this thing -- perhaps an enclosure that somehow aesthetically complements the Mac Pro's body.  Regardless of silly arguments about optical drives, etc., it is undisputed that pros who use Macs for editing and creating large amounts of HD media absolutely NEED access to high-capacity disk-based harddrives.  Apple knows this, and that's why I predict a separate multi-harddrive enclosure.


     


    I agree that pros who need optical drives can just buy an external one.  Nobody is going to lose sleep over that.


     


    The biggest issue I see is the lack of video card expandability.  For certain professionals, this MAY be a deal breaker.  That said, the pace of Video card improvement over the last 5 or so years has slowed considerably to the point this may not be an issue.  My overriding thought, however, is that this thing will not have the lastingness of the older Mac Pros.  There are still many Mac Pros in service that were originally purchased 6+ years ago.  They've had some ram added, and perhaps a faster video card added, but they still hum along.


     


    I don't see this thing have the same lasting power.  That said, perhaps this was part of Apple's intent -- sell a new Mac Pro to a company every 5 years instead of every 8 years.  Who knows.


     


    But the one thing that bugs me is simply that I don't see any real benefit to the cylinder shape (other than some cooling perks).  With the Macbook Air, for example, there is a huge benefit to having a super lightweight, super thing laptop.  Therefore, purchasers of the device (myself included) are far more willing to overlook the lack of upgradeability and other features.  However, with the Mac Pro, I have never heard anyone clamoring for a smaller footprint, or for less expandability. 


     


    I guess what I am getting at is taht this new design doesn't seem to push any technological boundaries or efficiencies in exchange for it's decreased functionality.  I think it will do just fine, but at the same time it will alienate a few Mac Pro users here and there.


     


    Me personally?  I prefer windows-based PCs for my work that I can build myself and upgrade accordingly.  For all my media and home computing needs, I love Apple.  And I think this new Mac Pro is only solidifying Apple as a consumer-focused company.  But hopefully time will determine that I am wrong.

  • Reply 32 of 1320
    rkevwillrkevwill Posts: 224member
    I hope some of the supposed experts replying here, understand the expandability of thunderbolt ports. Including, external PCI enclosures, with any PCI device you want to throw in there.
  • Reply 33 of 1320

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by rkevwill View Post



    I hope some of the supposed experts replying here, understand the expandability of thunderbolt ports. Including, external PCI enclosures, with any PCI device you want to throw in there.


     


    I think everyone in here understands that (or they do now).


     


    But I guess the bigger question that I was raising was simply, "what's the point?"


     


    I have never heard a professional say the Mac Pro was too large.  What is great about a small cylinder shape that it outweights the annoyance of having a gazillion external drives and cables?


     


    Maybe if this thing was a true revolution in performance I might be more inclined to say, "yeah, it's worth it."  But it's going to use standard, off the shelf Haswell processors that can be found on any other workstation computer.  It was like the designers said "hehe, yeah, a small cylinder looks really cool!!"  And then when someone from engineering said, "but most professional users don't really care about the shape of the machine," the designers just said, "well let them add external drives!!!"


     


    Again, it's probably going to be a great machine.  It's much easier to see the utility when Apple reduces the size of Macbooks, ipads, etc.  I just don't see what the huge advantage is of making this thing so tiny that it lacks built-in features that many pros need and rely on.

  • Reply 34 of 1320
    Apparently Apple threw out the rule book into the same trash can they designed the new Mac Pro after.

    [IMG]http://forums.appleinsider.com/content/type/61/id/26462/width/200/height/400[/IMG]
  • Reply 35 of 1320
    darkvader wrote: »
    The level of stupid at Apple these days is overwhelming.

    That has to be the worst possible design for a pro machine that I could imagine.  Pros don't want cutesy cylinders, they want EXPANSION.  Things like slots, lots of RAM slots, lots of PCI Express slots, and multiple hard drive bays, at least 4 of them.  Pros still need optical drives.  Pros want to be able to upgrade their graphics cards.  Pros want multiple processors.

    Think about what they could have done with this in the existing case:  Dual 12 core processors.  Up to 128GB RAM.  2 solid state drives AND 4 hard drives.  And two Blu-Ray drives.  And 4 PCI Express slots.

    And the design is terrible too.  This thing looks like a black aluminum can.  Oh, wait, that's what it is.
    Take a hike troll
  • Reply 36 of 1320
    kpluckkpluck Posts: 500member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SchnellFowVay View Post


    My personal preference would have been a more standard PC-Style box with easy upgradeability.  But I can that this appears to be a marvel of packaging, etc.  I can respect that.



     


    I am going to go out on a limb and suggest professionals looking for a workstation don't have "marvel of packaging" high on their list of wanted features. The design of this machine was not done to meet the needs of professionals. It was done for Apple's need to minimize upgradeability to keep people buying new machines every few years.


     


    Don't get me wrong, I think the design is cool and I think they will probably sell a lot of them. Lets face it, there are a lot of professional Apple users that will buy whatever Apple throws at them and learn to deal with any limitations it may have. From a business standpoint, I think it is an amazing design. But from a professional user standpoint, it is horrible.


     


    I am rather curious how long Apple can keep this kind of thing going and how long Apple users will keep accepting it? Maybe indefinitely I suppose. Time will tell.


     


    -kpluck

  • Reply 37 of 1320
    appexappex Posts: 687member
    Apple should make a Mac Pro mini. Quiet and cheaper.
  • Reply 38 of 1320
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by v5v View Post


    Four of us huddled around a monitor drooling over this thing on Apple's web site. One asks, "I wonder how much it costs?" Three others mumble in unison, "Who cares?"



     


    It looks like an advanced rocket system. Fantastic.

  • Reply 39 of 1320
    mike fixmike fix Posts: 270member


    I hope we see a new Mac Pro design at next years WWDC.  Dual CPUs, 8 ram slots, proper hard drive bays, card slots, and an option for an optical drive.  

  • Reply 40 of 1320
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Commodification View Post



    Apparently Apple threw out the rule book into the same trash can they designed the new Mac Pro after.





     


    If you don't like it, you have the choice not to order it. Personally, I think it looks fantastic and is specced up the yin yang.

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