This is the biggest problem Apple's facing in the Professional market right now. They've waited so long, kept so quiet, about any updates to the Pro line, most people assumed they've abandoned them, and have already moved on. Even if they were to release the most bad ass, awesome Mac Pro tomorrow, it'd be too late for them to sell in large numbers right at release, cuz all the people who wanted that new, bad ass, awesome Mac Pro have already dropped 5+ grand buying the other company's product.
not entirely convinced on that train of thought..
the current macpros are awesome computers.. they're plenty capable of doing any of the work possible with today's software.. i mean, what situation is someone sitting around going 'fk, i really need to do this but my computer can't handle it" (computer meaning the actual hardware.. not the software)..
people that really really need the power are getting in a means that no one should be expecting from a workstation (ie render farms etc).. but they can still drive it from a current macpro and be totally fine..
but if we're talking straight up working efficiency (actually putting in a days work on a computer as opposed to trying to figure out how fast it is), the major bottlenecks have nothing really to do with the computer itself (granted you have something modern and capable).. the major bottlenecks are in the software.. and/or how we interact with it..
some things are incredibly fast to accomplish on a computer.. but other things-- its a bit convoluted of a process to get an idea from our brains onto the computer and into something more tangible.. the mouse needs to die.. our hands are arguably the most well designed and versatile parts of our bodies.. one of the cooler designs on our whole planet even.. but when talking to our computers, we get a couple of fingers worth of stale movement and a little wrist action.. then have a flat panel beaming back at us.. that's basically it..
(well, typing is different.. we are capable of using all our fingers.. but it's an ok example of how learning type with ten fingers > chicken pecking)
and people are always complaining that osx is turning into ios etc as if it's a bad thing.. i mean, some of the ios stuff is exactly the direction we need to be going in if the end goal is to increase productivity and leisure time.. pros probably stand to benefit the most out all the consumers because not only will they be able to experience the fun(wheeee) of messing around with the gadgets, they'll also be able to work in more productive manners..
dunno, i'm a designer/builder.. which translates to me building every project twice.. i get to draw it on a computer first-- working out all the details, experimenting, acquire necessary confidence for construction phase, sort out assembly etc.. and some of the things which you can do on the computer absolutely blows away what's possible on paper etc alone..
(pay attention to some of the modern architecture.. it's only possible because of computers.. computers are the key ingredient in making it real)
but then, i shift gears and i'm now physically constructing.. some of the stuff on site is way faster -or- way more natural to me than how the same task needs to be accomplished during the virtual building.. if there's some sawdust in my way, i just brush it off in a halfsecond without much thought.. moving the scraps around on the computer though is click,move,peck,peck,<return> or whatever.. it just took me 20 times longer to do on the computer.. gestures is actually working towards this type of solution.. but then a computer can much more easily move a 20 ton block of concrete 50 feet away but it should still be able to do it 20x faster than current.. but it can't because we have a serious communication breakdown between it and us..
[and this analogy isn't optimized i agree.. just the first way i tried to talk about it]
look.. i get it.. it's fun or at least stimulating to sit around and shoot the sht about computer tech etc.. but there comes a point when the line needs to be drawn/recognized/admitted to that what many of the arguments around here regarding 'pros' actually don't have much to do with the daytoday working pro at all..
if we're talking pro users and what type of improvements are necessary in order to better optimize their efficiency on the job.. hardware performance ranks fairly low on that scale i imagine.. i mean, do you really think it matters if someone shaves 5 minutes off their work day because they have some crazy rig that geekbenches 40k? especially when compared to ,say, accomplishing something on the computer in 4 hrs instead of 8 simply because the two of you interacted better?
we need to be able to take much better advantage of what a computer offers us.. or, another way.. the computer needs to be able to take much better advantage of us..