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Mac Pro 2013 (Black Cylinder)

Macsen

Macsen

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 2, 2012
20
1
Morelia, Michoacán, México
Hi...

I've been tasked with finding information on this machine so maybe in a future (close future) we will be buying some of them.

My question, if anybody here knows or has seen it (since I fail to find anything about it in Google) is: Does it have a kensington lock slot somewhere? or a way to secure it?

The size and form factor has me scared a little with this doubt since they seem very easy to carry away.

And although I still have a lot to look for, this is my main concern right now.

Thanks in advance
 
wonderspark

wonderspark

macrumors 68040
Feb 4, 2010
3,048
102
Oregon
You can build custom cages/boxes to put the tubes into. I thought Apple dropped the Kensington lock slots on all new models?

Other option could be to drill a hole through the side (carefully threading the space between the triangle sides) and run a cable through and back out the hole in top.
 
ntrigue

ntrigue

macrumors 68040
Jul 30, 2007
3,805
4
brand said:
There is no Kensington lock slot on the back in that picture.
Click to expand...

It may lock the external to the cylinder or it might be a Kensington lock. Either way there is the universal symbol for lock near a port.
 
ntrigue

ntrigue

macrumors 68040
Jul 30, 2007
3,805
4
Seems like an oversight. I know the Kensington slot is a horizontal oval btw.
 
ntrigue

ntrigue

macrumors 68040
Jul 30, 2007
3,805
4
******* aside, typically Apple has reserved Kensington lock port for mobile. Recent iMacs HAVE featured the port and the last Mac Pro does not have the port. Hopefully they will incorporate by launch due to the small size and reduced weight.
 
brand

brand

macrumors 601
Oct 3, 2006
4,390
456
127.0.0.1
ntrigue said:
Recent iMacs HAVE featured the port and the last Mac Pro does not have the port.
Click to expand...

Every Mac Pro up to this point has a Kensington lock port. Sometimes its just better to say nothing. :rolleyes:

The new Mac Pro has not been released yet so we do not know if it will in fact have a Kensington lock port or not.
 
Macsen

Macsen

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 2, 2012
20
1
Morelia, Michoacán, México
Darn... well... that was the main part of my investigation for school, seeing that anyhow, this will come later on and probably prices and specs are subject to change and stuff, I'll have to wait a little bit more, and I will have to thing about a way for securing those machines...

Thanks everybody for the replies
 
P

Photovore

macrumors regular
Dec 28, 2011
116
0
I would be astounded if it were released without some way to secure it.

That lock symbol must mean something even if it's not a Kensington. The current MP has a shackle for a regular padlock and I use it....
 
P

Photovore

macrumors regular
Dec 28, 2011
116
0
brand said:
Why? The Retina MacBook Pro and Mac Mini do not have a Kensington lock port.

It could be the lock/mechanism that secures the outside/lid the the Mac Pro chassis. It does not have to mean it is a security mechanism.
Click to expand...
Just that I would be astounded, personally. I don't think I can explain my internal psychology on that matter in a logical train of thought designed to convince another that I'm right (nor would I care to -- don't think my brain works that way!); mainly just stating an opinion.

But!, just to be really silly: I'm not surprised when a 6-pack of peanut butter crackers doesn't fill me up, but would be very surprised if a ribeye / scalloped potatoes / asparagus, after a Caesar salad, failed to do the trick....

...

<< plus, I think the international padlock icon may in fact mean something about security; dunno>>
 
O

Omnius

macrumors 6502a
Jul 23, 2012
562
30
Out of curiosity, where are people puting these multiple thousands of dollar machines that they will be made substantially safer by a thin chain or cable?

I could see an application for such things in an apple store environment but I've never really come across another setting where there were Mac pros that struck me as being at risk to theft. Of course, I could be totally clueless and just am missing some critical location where a tiny cable will keep the desktop safe.
 
Z

zaphoyd

macrumors regular
Jun 25, 2002
121
32
Wisconsin/Illinois
Omnius said:
Out of curiosity, where are people puting these multiple thousands of dollar machines that they will be made substantially safer by a thin chain or cable?

I could see an application for such things in an apple store environment but I've never really come across another setting where there were Mac pros that struck me as being at risk to theft. Of course, I could be totally clueless and just am missing some critical location where a tiny cable will keep the desktop safe.
Click to expand...

Large organizations without super strict access control and lots of foot traffic going in and out all the time. Example: university staff offices. It is fairly easy for someone to slip in to an accidentally or negligently unattended office and have a minute or so to stuff whatever looks highest value into a backpack. A cable lock costs $20 and upgrades the theft of electronics from no tools to some tools that look obviously suspicious to anyone who happens to walk by.
 
O

Omnius

macrumors 6502a
Jul 23, 2012
562
30
zaphoyd said:
Large organizations without super strict access control and lots of foot traffic going in and out all the time. Example: university staff offices. It is fairly easy for someone to slip in to an accidentally or negligently unattended office and have a minute or so to stuff whatever looks highest value into a backpack. A cable lock costs $20 and upgrades the theft of electronics from no tools to some tools that look obviously suspicious to anyone who happens to walk by.
Click to expand...

University staff offices are high foot traffic? I generally don't see Mac pros in generic professorial or grad student offices. That's more the province of iMacs and laptops. Aren't these generally stored in lab and computer lab settings in universities?

It sounds reasonable to add the lock. I just don't recall ever feeling like the areas where Mac pros and other higher end machines were kept were "at risk" places. Laptops in libraries were generally the classic theft case but offices and labs are generally monitored, trafficked only by those who ought to be there (students and staff). Are colleges simply becoming ghetto compared to my college and graduate school days?
 
D

deconstruct60

macrumors G5
Mar 10, 2009
12,286
3,882
Photovore said:
I would be astounded if it were released without some way to secure it.
Click to expand...

They have done so for some other Macs ( no slot ).


That lock symbol must mean something even if it's not a Kensington. The current MP has a shackle for a regular padlock and I use it....
Click to expand...

If go to the current marketing page with animated transitions between Mac Pro pictures:

http://www.apple.com/mac-pro/

Between the "Fan" and "Expansion" screens you can see the "external shell" locking mechanism being used and the grooves on the inner infrastructure during the transition. Go backwards from "Expansion" to "Fan" and will see the external shell be taken off in the animation.

It isn't "locked" as can't be opens as much as locked so that shell doesn't slip off if pick the Mac Pro up by its external shell/case. It is very similar to the function that the current Mac Pro latch has in keeping the side panel on. It doesn't lock the panel on, but panel can't fall/slip off either.


What is unknown is if this new "latch" as a similar side function of enabling an addition lock to loop through and keep the latch from operating. For instance if that round tab tilted up and could slide a lock's bolt through there disabling the sliding motion. Since that tab slides through a grooved guide, getting the case off would be much more difficult at that point.

It wouldn't be a Kensington lock solution ( but neither is the current Mac Pro's mechanism), but could be used with some locking solutions.

Otherwise, all 3rd party solutions need to do is cover the latch completely somehow. At that point the shell/case isn't removable without extraordinary methods. The current Mac Mini "secure for lab" mechanisms involve placing it in a bracket so can't get to relatively easy opening bottom. Something like a bike water bottle holder like same could cover the latch and with straightfoward tweaks lock the Mac Pro into something that could be bolted down.
 
Last edited:
flat five

flat five

macrumors 603
Feb 6, 2007
5,580
2,657
newyorkcity
you can probably bolt the base down. (which might have something to do with why the computer can rotate on the base?)

dunno, when you see those pictures of it in the glass tubes at wwdc, I doubt they're just balancing on a pedestal inside the glass
 
D

deconstruct60

macrumors G5
Mar 10, 2009
12,286
3,882
flat five said:
you can probably bolt the base down. (which might have something to do with why the computer can rotate on the base?)
Click to expand...

Kind of pointless when the more expensive components of the box are removable. If can crack the case and take the RAM and PCIe SSD card that isn't going help much. Probably with few tools can get the CPU free also.

The bulk of the MP 2013 BOM costs is in the detachable parts.
 
Z

zaphoyd

macrumors regular
Jun 25, 2002
121
32
Wisconsin/Illinois
Omnius said:
University staff offices are high foot traffic? I generally don't see Mac pros in generic professorial or grad student offices. That's more the province of iMacs and laptops. Aren't these generally stored in lab and computer lab settings in universities?

It sounds reasonable to add the lock. I just don't recall ever feeling like the areas where Mac pros and other higher end machines were kept were "at risk" places. Laptops in libraries were generally the classic theft case but offices and labs are generally monitored, trafficked only by those who ought to be there (students and staff). Are colleges simply becoming ghetto compared to my college and graduate school days?
Click to expand...

Depends on a lot of factors. High foot traffic in the sense that the buildings are mixed use. There are always students coming and going for classes, meetings, appointments, etc and there aren't guards at every door checking IDs so anyone sufficiently young and dressed like a college student can usually walk in. Depending on what department you are in you'll see a different mix of machines. The art, graphic design, music, visual arts, and computer science departments, etc will have mac pros everywhere, as do many of the labs and researchers offices. In theory offices are locked and people are keeping an eye on the stuff, but in practice extra layers of security are quite effective. Location also makes a difference too I would expect. The university I work at is in the middle of a mediocre (crime wise) neighborhood in a large city.

The old Mac Pro was 40-50 pounds and big as a house. It had a security latch to lock the door and the handles were easy to put a cable lock around. That seems sufficient to secure a $3-4000 machine. If the new Mac Pro is going to pack that cost into something that can be handheld...
 
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