I don't agree. The retina MacBook is a really high-end piece of hardware, I only know scientists, film-makers and photographers who own one....
High end in design only. Most consumers looking for a mobile workstation (speed and portability) are picking up HP Elitebooks and Dells, maybe a Sager or something else.
The rMBP is definitely nice, but a workstation it is not. I think the book better serves users that have an Air but want a bigger screen, and media pros that don't need a workhorse machine to go.
Agree Except for *Expansion slots...* for those is far enough Thunderbolt and USB3.
To support 4K only needs a competitive video card, actually all top range Quadro cards support 4K Video, the problem maybe the interface, 4K video is only supported bu HDMI 1.4 and DisplayPort 1.2.
The biggest problem is you need more than just a video card to support 4K, and most big iron production machines need more than just the paltry 3 open slots a MacPro offers.
In the end . . . . . as I've said before many times . . . . . the idea that a user will buy a crippled pro workstation/MacMini Pro and then plug a whole bunch of PCI boxes and RAID boxes into it and call it a workstation doesn't fit Apple's motif, and is the WORST idea ever conceived for production houses.
Apple will KILL the MacPro
-- or --
Give users the ONLY option available for an updated workstation which is:
Making it faster, more upgradeable, and a whole lot more cost effective.
They all secretly agree when they switch to FCX behind their curtains to meet strickt deadlines.
Seriously, FCX are gaining momentum.
And, Apple has been sucsesfull in the past due to innovation and tight bonds to the creative industries. If they lose this bond, they'll lose their edge...
Total lie.
FCPX isn't and never will gain much momentum in the pro video market. NO post house will ever be able to use that software until Apple does a serious overhaul of the code.
Not being able to do collaborative projects, not being able to plug into a storage array like an Avid ISIS or Facilis Terablock, not being able to play to air directly from timeline to a PTA server, etc. etc. etc. means no broadcast house will pick it up for serious work.
Avids are still producing (trust me it's like 70% but I can't find a link) most of the content you see on a screen. Premier a FAR second and Final Cut is slowly loosing ground to Adobe. Adobe is trying to put Avid features into their editor and fill the gaps left behind by Apple (round tripping was TERRIBLE on FCP7, a dream in Premiere).
All that to say this:
Why would a cutter, who spends $10,000 for a workstation to cut on, care whether they cut on a Mac or a PC when the software is cross platform?
They won't, and that's why Apple will kill the MacPro. Cutters have gone to the excellent options on the other side. 7x HDD bays (two of which are 2.5") 2x double wide 16x PCI lanes, 4 additional (or more) PCI lanes for render cards, capture cards, eSATA, super speed SSD, fibre channel for Avid ISIS and Facilis systems, etc.
Please trust me. Saying FCPX is anything more than a great NLE for an indie filmmaker/freelancer/solo operation means there's a lot you're missing.