dysamoria

Mike Wuerthele said:

dysamoria said:

Mike Wuerthele said:

Q: Would you have been happier if the Mac Pro was called the "Mac Workstation" or a return the the xServe name?

1. A new “xServe” would’ve been devoid of the media functions and user-facing design I want, so, it would be an irrelevant machine for me. If it were as compact as the prior Xserve, it also would’ve been irrelevant for heavy CPU+GPU workflows.

2. “Workstation” is maybe a clearer name, and would make better branding...

...but the naming issue is STILL bypassing the point: Apple has ditched an entire segment of the Mac Pro (Mac Workstation, whatever) market by making this product START at $6000. That can’t not reflect on this machine. Maybe it would diffuse the anger of previous Mac Pro buyers that are left out here, but it still leaves the issue in place: no workstation for people who used to be served by Apple with prior Mac Pro machines.

Having a prior article that talks about this issue (in a fairly mild tone, I’ve read it) does not justify another article being so protective of Apple over this machine and the widely held impression of its base model being priced wrongly.

While I respect your opinion and where you come from on this matter, I feel like you're having a different conversation than I am. I think our biggest difference is you think that Apple's abandonment of your market segment has to reflect on this machine. I disagree, as I feel that this machine at its low end is in no way comparable to the lower-end Mac Pro, G5, or G4 towers.

Have a nice weekend. I've got about a thousand people to talk to out here in meatspace before the week begins.

Mike Wuerthele said:

Q: Would you have been happier if the Mac Pro was called the "Mac Workstation" or a return the the xServe name?

StrangeDays said:

dysamoria said:

Mike Wuerthele said:

rain22 said:

It's overpriced. Let me explain...

100% of professionals are looking for a powerful computer that they can upgrade/expand over time. 
99.99% of professionals did not ask for this extremely expensive specific video editing computer. 
99.99% of professionals will not buy this extremely expensive specific video editing computer. 
Therefore - the Mac Pro is in every way overpriced for the professional market. 

Pointing to the .02% of professionals who might want this and making an argument in their support while ignoring pretty much the entire market... that's a stretch.

Nope.

It is overpriced for you, and that's fine. It is not overpriced when compared to equivalent Windows Workstation machines, which is what this article is all about.

This article is about missing the point in Apple’s PR favor. The upset isn’t about Apple selling a corporate-only monster workstation. The upset is that Apple have abandoned a significant percentage of their own customers by making a machine that is only affordable for big business.

You’re just creating distraction by finding similar Windows workstations to compare against (while making illogical commentary about wheels vs Windows licensing, and acting like those of us angry at Apple for this aren’t also angry at Microsoft for their insane pricing: creating straw man arguments!).

In doing that, you’re utterly ignoring the real issue: prosumers, hobbyists, small businesses, etc CAN BUY a NON-Apple machine that is scaled for their needs and their financial situation. Apple has NO SUCH PRODUCT, and has rebranded the “pro” labeling to excise their own customers (and to useless inconsistency, when seeing what else gets the “pro” word thrown on it). Apple has left people with NO OPTION but to either abandon Mac OS or build hackintoshes. THAT IS THE ISSUE.

Also, you’ve completely missed the point of the wheels vs OS license. The wheels are a $400 optional piece of added hardware, which outrages you. The license is a $300 mandatory add-on, which doesn’t outrage you,

StrangeDays said:

dysamoria said:

EsquireCats said:

Would you believe that any person goes to bed at night with concerns about the cost of the Mac Pro. Of course not, that is beyond silly.

The Mac Pro provides no guidance on future computer prices from Apple, or in anyway has an impact on the lives of ordinary people.

Then I guess I’m “beyond silly” and “not ordinary”, because yes, I’ve had concerns about this machine’s pricing all week! I’ve been trying to come up with some way, some justification for trying to buy Apple’s ONLY proper workstation offering. There’s just no way, but I can’t really move forward in my computer usage until I switch to something modern and NOT COMPACT.

I need a proper workstation. I’ve been waiting for a proper workstation for about ten years. I’ve been struggling to save for it all that time, so that I could have a proper Apple workstation, running Mac OS, instead of a disposable, compact, thermally-constrained all-in-one (or a box of PC/Windows voodoo).

So here we finally are: they announced it was available for sale on my birthday, which is already a time of year I hate. Yeah, I knew the price already, and I was already pissed, but this just felt like getting my face rubbed in it. And yeah, wise-asses, I know it’s not all about me, but I’m a human being with emotions like everyone else and Apple have pushed my damned buttons.

I don’t care what kind of justification you guys throw at this price point, it’s illogical fanatic’s apologetics. The complaint about cost would not be happening to this degree if Apple hadn’t dumped many of their own prior customers. The prosumers, hobbyists, small businesses, enthusiasts... anyone for whom a compact or all-in-one is the WRONG machine, and who still wants to run Mac OS on a legit Apple computer. Apple has ONE offering in this space and it STARTS at $6000!

The whole problem here is a self-inflicted PR injury on Apple’s part by leaving out an entire segment of the market that they used to serve. A large chunk of that market was dumped by Apple (I guess we’re irrelevant to their Wall Street aspirations). I’m not the only pissed-off person in that group, and we aren’t “a bunch of whiners”. This constant ad hominem BS slamming of people with legit critical commentary is utter fanatical nonsense and turns the media meme of “Apple cultists” into a reality.

I would have been able to buy a Mac Pro at the previous pricing (prior cheese-graters started at $2500, and the trash can at $3000); I’d have gone to $3500 for this one, but it’s utterly impossible for me to afford at $6000. This one is TWICE the cost of the last model, and NO, there’s no justification. Comparing it to prior insane pricing for Macs of the deep past does not make sense. Those were cases of technological pushes. Technology has moved on a lot since then. Not only is this technology much more a commodity, this machine isn’t even bleeding edge (as has been pointed out by several other commentators). This machine is not different enough from what is already on the market elsewhere (and what Apple used to offer) to demand this kind of pricing for the BASE MODEL.

And the way you guys dismissed the insane wheel pricing... If you’re not bothered by Microsoft’s insane pricing for Windows licenses, fine, but speak for yourself and don’t lay that nonsense on the rest of us!!!

I’m not a Pixar or an Adobe. Maybe I’m not ordinary either. I’m an artist struggling with poverty, while trying to find some way to advance myself in terms of my tools and my work (and maybe make a living off of something eventually). I want to buy ONE computer for MULTIPLE purposes, and I expect it to be capable of running full-tilt, for many years, without throttling or dying of thermal stresses (or both). I’m entirely WILLING TO SAVE AND SPEND a considerable amount of money for an Apple workstation, but Apple have boldly declared that my considerable expense isn’t considerable enough. Only corporations are worth Apple’s attention.

I’m now an abandoned segment of prior Apple customers and I don’t know WTF Apple expect us to do. Abandon Mac OS so we can have a proper workstation? Build Hackintoshes?? No thank you.

The mental gymnastics, excuses, ad hominem commentary, and sheer callous and blind arrogance on display here is utterly appalling. 

Just get an iMac 5K or Pro, and stop crying in your cups. Jesus. If you’re not making any money you don’t need a workstation, EOS. 

Mike Wuerthele said:

LKM said:

This article is kind of missing the point of much of the criticism of this machine.

When people said "I want a Mac Pro", some people meant a machine like this, but many meant "I want a 2000$-4000$ tower Mac that I can configure with a lot of flexibility for my specific needs, and upgrade in the future". Clearly, this is not that machine. That's fine for the people who wanted what this machine actually is, but it's not fine for the people who were probably the majority of people asking for a machine like this.

So saying "it's actually worth 6000$" is a meaningless response to the people who wanted a 2K-4K machine. Which they can get when they get a Windows machine, by the way. Which many of them will, because this is now the second time that Apple promised its pro customers that they understood their needs, and then built something that only works for a small minority of them.

This is addressed in the article.