True. But it's rather poignant, given the price disparity...We only ever complain about the single socket Mac Pro.
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Apple 'Questioning' the Future of its Mac Pro Line?
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Long live my Hackintosh in a G5 Case!!!
On a side note - hard to justify keeping my entire advertising department on macs if Apple does not offer the pro anymore... Seriously, we are unhappy with the 27in imac i7s we have.. they don't run Indesign nearly as well as our Mac Pros.
On a side note - hard to justify keeping my entire advertising department on macs if Apple does not offer the pro anymore... Seriously, we are unhappy with the 27in imac i7s we have.. they don't run Indesign nearly as well as our Mac Pros.
Dropping the Mac Pro would mean the end of my business with Apple, unfortunately. I have a 2009 Mac Pro and an iPhone. I also have a new Android phone and a PC. Right now, the non-Apple stuff is working better than the Apple gear, and if Apple doesn't get it together with updating their high-end gear, there will be absolutely no reason for me to stay with them.
Sad, but it's not the end of the world. I'm more for actual performance than hype anyway, and it seems like Apple is more and more about hype these days.
Well said and it echoes my thoughts. Everyone has their own needs and uses and Apple will work for a lot of folks. I am glad I made the move back to a Windows machine since I could see a lot of this coming. I can not rely on Apple for my own needs. I understand everyones are different though, but my list of things annoying me was getting too long.
Blu ray, Pricing, Lack of Specs/ports, download only apps with no box option too early, lack of choices, lack of BTO options, FCPx, Xserve, White Macbook, Mac pro (eventually) I could go on.
So I got a good price for my MBP 13' and that is gone and I am apple free, I feel bad for pro's that have invested so heavily in Apple gear, that has to be a slap in the face and I'm sorry guys. If I was CEO I would take care of ya
I still have an airport extreme for the time being (need to rid that as well since the lack of a 4th port is causing me to have to switch cables on occasion.) Lack of ports go figure lol. I just can't continue to rely on a company that is run in this manner. I find a lot of this just....weird!?
SGI went bankrupt trying to sell $20-100+k workstations to compete with Windows NT boxes selling for $6-10K that were faster. Before then the apps only ran on UNIX but MS bought Softimage and SGI PowerAnimator/Wavefront had to compete so was ported too. SGI even tried to make WinNT workstations but priced them way higher than their competitors thinking name cred would work.
Apple's mac Pros are priced in the same ball field as Boxx and HP's pro boxes, sometimes actually cheaper, and speed wise they are the same. Droves of professional apps are being ported to OS X now and developers and studios are moving away from Windows to Linux and some back to OS X. Killing the Mac Pro now would be a slap in the face those efforts and to Professionals who have stuck with Apple for years/decades.
Apple's mac Pros are priced in the same ball field as Boxx and HP's pro boxes, sometimes actually cheaper, and speed wise they are the same. Droves of professional apps are being ported to OS X now and developers and studios are moving away from Windows to Linux and some back to OS X. Killing the Mac Pro now would be a slap in the face those efforts and to Professionals who have stuck with Apple for years/decades.
Don't forget Steve's wisdom and the fact that necessity is the mother of invention.
No one wants the Mac Pro line to die. Do even people who want Apple to introduce a Sandy Bridge line of Mac Pros want Nehalem Mac Pro and Westmere Mac Pro systems to die to get Sandy Bridge Mac Pros. And yet death of a line of computer is the destination all computer lines share. No line has ever escaped it, not the Apple I, Apple II, Apple II Plus, Apple IIe, Apple IIc, Apple IIc Plus, Apple IIe Platinum, Apple II Plus, Apple IIGS, Lisa, Lisa XL, Macintosh, Macintosh II, Macintosh LC, Apple Newton, Power Macintosh, Apple Cube, G3, iMac G4, G5, and even the XServe, many of which were used by creative professionals, engineers, scientist, researchers and the like. And that is as it should be, because Death of a computer line is very likely the single best invention of a Technology manufacturer. Death of a computer line is Technologies' change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is the Westmere Mac Pro, but someday not too long from now, it will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.
Oh and I was really anticipating on the new revision, looking at those new Sandy Bridge Xeon CPUs, I am willing to pay for a beast dual-octa core Mac Pro with hyper-threading giving 32 cores!
I really hope they dont kill the mac pro line or else I'd have to find another way to get more cores for the 3D graphics I have to do.
please please keep the Pro!!!!
No one wants the Mac Pro line to die. Do even people who want Apple to introduce a Sandy Bridge line of Mac Pros want Nehalem Mac Pro and Westmere Mac Pro systems to die to get Sandy Bridge Mac Pros. And yet death of a line of computer is the destination all computer lines share. No line has ever escaped it, not the Apple I, Apple II, Apple II Plus, Apple IIe, Apple IIc, Apple IIc Plus, Apple IIe Platinum, Apple II Plus, Apple IIGS, Lisa, Lisa XL, Macintosh, Macintosh II, Macintosh LC, Apple Newton, Power Macintosh, Apple Cube, G3, iMac G4, G5, and even the XServe, many of which were used by creative professionals, engineers, scientist, researchers and the like. And that is as it should be, because Death of a computer line is very likely the single best invention of a Technology manufacturer. Death of a computer line is Technologies' change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is the Westmere Mac Pro, but someday not too long from now, it will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.
Not if stick to "apples to apples" comparison. Where they vary significantly is where the Window Workstation PC ( eg. T3500) is really a more mini-tower like in that it drops functionality ( e.g., drops space for internal drives ).
Apple could be doing something very cool here...
What if Apple were to come out with a "cluster" concept (i.e a Distributed Grand Central Dispatch) that worked through Thunderbolt. In other words, a MacBook Air plugged into an iMac could take advantage of the iMac's CPU and GPU hardware. That would be one heck of a docking station and would be a tremendous advantage over the Windoze world. This also fits into the mobile world too. From a price/performance perspective this is way way way better than going down the dual 8-core extreme edition line. In this scenario, one could imagine that Apple coming out with a headless iMac (i.e. xMac), and professional creating these 'clusters' to their hearts content.
What if Apple were to come out with a "cluster" concept (i.e a Distributed Grand Central Dispatch) that worked through Thunderbolt. In other words, a MacBook Air plugged into an iMac could take advantage of the iMac's CPU and GPU hardware. That would be one heck of a docking station and would be a tremendous advantage over the Windoze world. This also fits into the mobile world too. From a price/performance perspective this is way way way better than going down the dual 8-core extreme edition line. In this scenario, one could imagine that Apple coming out with a headless iMac (i.e. xMac), and professional creating these 'clusters' to their hearts content.
I used to be an ardent Apple evangelist, 'Converting' maybe a hundred plus friends / customers over the years. I've chilled out a little in recent years.. But... whenever I jump on a windows box it just does not feel great. Once I'm in an application it's not so bad, But XP, Visa and Windows 7 leave me cold. I've never used a windows box as stable as my Mac Pros over the years either.
So like you, I'm happy to see people pointing out PC powerhouse solutions that have the needed grunt, but the Mac and OS X has just become part of me over the past 20 or years. More fundamentally, I use Logic, Color and other apps that are Mac only. I don't think there is anything on the PC to touch Logic, Color is another story I guess.
Anyway I'm mumbling away now, waxing lyrical and sounding like an old fart, not willing / wanting to try new avenues... Back to work! ... Hold on... I can't yet, I'm STILL waiting for my antiquated Mac Pro to stop rendering ;-)
Okay, just wanted to share my very interesting Mac Pro purchasing experience from tonight:
I have a 2006 Mac Pro that has served me well, but like many of you, I have been waiting to buy a new Mac Pro. I have saved the money and have simply been sitting on it, waiting for an announcement. Well, lately, my machine has REALLY been showing its age, and my workflow has gotten severely bogged down. A new Mac Pro is no longer something I just really WANT, it's now something I desperately NEED.
I had been considering caving and buying a current 8-core Mac Pro. And when I read the rumor article today about Apple possibly discontinuing the line, I slightly panicked and decided to DEFINITELY go ahead and cave. I need a new machine badly, and if they aren't going to make any more Mac Pros, then I'd better get one of the remaining current stock.
So... I call up one of the big online mac retailers (in order to avoid paying sales tax at the Apple Store). I tell them that I'd like to buy an 8-core machine, and that I'd like to upgrade the graphics card. The rep then asks if they can put me on hold. I say "sure". They're gone for quite a long while, then he comes back and says (and I still don't QUITE understand this), "Sir, we aren't offering any upgrades on this machine, because we are letting the stock run out". I said, "Wait, you're intentionally letting the stock run out?" and he said "Yes". Hmmm. Then I said, "Well, that seems like something you would do if you knew a new model of this machine was coming and you didn't want to get stuck with old stock". And he didn't say anything at first and then he said, "I... know what you mean." Hmm. So, I said, "I know you probably can't talk about it --" and he interrupted me and said "no sir, I can't". And i continued, "... and I don't want to get you fired, but, suppose a friend of mine suggested that I WAIT to buy this machine, because he thinks a new machine might be coming out very soon. Would you think my friend makes sense?" Again, he paused and then said, seemingly reluctantly "This is a fine machine." Hmmm. Kind of weird. I'd like to point ou that he wasn't being dismissive or rude at all. He was being very polite. Then I asked if I could return the machine if I buy it and a new model comes out in a week or two. He said that as long as the box was unopened, yes, I could do it. If it was opened, I'd have to pay a restocking fee.
So, I buy it. I figure, either way, I'm covered. After I buy it, I say "Ok, so, I can return it for a new mac IF i don't open it." Yes sir. And THEN I ask, "So, do you think it would be wise to not open it?" And he said, "Yes sir, I do. Very wise." Aha. Okay. I laughed, and he laughed. We understood each other.
Take what you will from it. It might not mean anything. I have no idea. But here's what I'm wondering: if Apple was about to release a new Mac Pro but they knew there was a lot of unpurchased current Mac Pro stock sitting around out there, might it be in their best interest to "suggest", via rumor, that the Mac Pro was being discontinued, so as to create a sudden rush to buy the remaining Mac Pro stock? I mean, that was MY personal reaction, and I can't be the only one to have done it.
We'll see. I'll stare at my unopened Mac Pro for as long as I can stand it. Which might not be very long!
I have a 2006 Mac Pro that has served me well, but like many of you, I have been waiting to buy a new Mac Pro. I have saved the money and have simply been sitting on it, waiting for an announcement. Well, lately, my machine has REALLY been showing its age, and my workflow has gotten severely bogged down. A new Mac Pro is no longer something I just really WANT, it's now something I desperately NEED.
I had been considering caving and buying a current 8-core Mac Pro. And when I read the rumor article today about Apple possibly discontinuing the line, I slightly panicked and decided to DEFINITELY go ahead and cave. I need a new machine badly, and if they aren't going to make any more Mac Pros, then I'd better get one of the remaining current stock.
So... I call up one of the big online mac retailers (in order to avoid paying sales tax at the Apple Store). I tell them that I'd like to buy an 8-core machine, and that I'd like to upgrade the graphics card. The rep then asks if they can put me on hold. I say "sure". They're gone for quite a long while, then he comes back and says (and I still don't QUITE understand this), "Sir, we aren't offering any upgrades on this machine, because we are letting the stock run out". I said, "Wait, you're intentionally letting the stock run out?" and he said "Yes". Hmmm. Then I said, "Well, that seems like something you would do if you knew a new model of this machine was coming and you didn't want to get stuck with old stock". And he didn't say anything at first and then he said, "I... know what you mean." Hmm. So, I said, "I know you probably can't talk about it --" and he interrupted me and said "no sir, I can't". And i continued, "... and I don't want to get you fired, but, suppose a friend of mine suggested that I WAIT to buy this machine, because he thinks a new machine might be coming out very soon. Would you think my friend makes sense?" Again, he paused and then said, seemingly reluctantly "This is a fine machine." Hmmm. Kind of weird. I'd like to point ou that he wasn't being dismissive or rude at all. He was being very polite. Then I asked if I could return the machine if I buy it and a new model comes out in a week or two. He said that as long as the box was unopened, yes, I could do it. If it was opened, I'd have to pay a restocking fee.
So, I buy it. I figure, either way, I'm covered. After I buy it, I say "Ok, so, I can return it for a new mac IF i don't open it." Yes sir. And THEN I ask, "So, do you think it would be wise to not open it?" And he said, "Yes sir, I do. Very wise." Aha. Okay. I laughed, and he laughed. We understood each other.
Take what you will from it. It might not mean anything. I have no idea. But here's what I'm wondering: if Apple was about to release a new Mac Pro but they knew there was a lot of unpurchased current Mac Pro stock sitting around out there, might it be in their best interest to "suggest", via rumor, that the Mac Pro was being discontinued, so as to create a sudden rush to buy the remaining Mac Pro stock? I mean, that was MY personal reaction, and I can't be the only one to have done it.
We'll see. I'll stare at my unopened Mac Pro for as long as I can stand it. Which might not be very long!
Huge Mistake
This would be a huge mistake, that would impact several major Hollywood film companies and television studios. The South Park studios alone use 30-40 Mac Pros. Myself I use it for video editing and gaming. The next level down, the iMac, has a MOBILE PROCESSOR. It just can't handle the level of content, such as 4K HD that a Mac Pro can. Discontinuing Apple's signature powerhouse that sets the industry standard would be a huge mistake, but I don't doubt they're thinking about it considering the axing of XServe a few years back.
This would be a huge mistake, that would impact several major Hollywood film companies and television studios. The South Park studios alone use 30-40 Mac Pros. Myself I use it for video editing and gaming. The next level down, the iMac, has a MOBILE PROCESSOR. It just can't handle the level of content, such as 4K HD that a Mac Pro can. Discontinuing Apple's signature powerhouse that sets the industry standard would be a huge mistake, but I don't doubt they're thinking about it considering the axing of XServe a few years back.
Put a SSD in your computer. You won't need a faster machine for photography. I work on Hasselblad digi files on a MBP with a SSD and it never hiccups. Modern computers aren't slow due to lack of processor power, they're slow due to the mechanical drives. In most cases modern computers can't use the full processing power without a SSD.
I based it on base model, and selected the same CPUID. Options can be had via 3rd party, which most MP buyers tend to do anyway, so it seemed a valid methodology.
As per the enclosure, for some, this could be an issue (3x 3.5" HDD bays vs. 4 in the MP). But it also includes an eSATA port, which the MP doesn't, so that sort of evens out IMO, as it can easily handle a backup drive/PM enclosure with multiple disks = not possible in the MP without consuming a PCIe slot.
Pixar does use Macs, When I was at ILM I used a Mac, Weta uses Macs and even does some of their software development on OS X. The studio I am at now is all Mac. They all also use Linux and Windows, but ILM used Macs for 3D rendering and development even back in the beige days.
Apple's WWDC site has published an article that answers a question many curious Mac users have long asked: Does Pixar use Macs? Pixar is headed by a CEO named Steve Jobs, the same Steve Jobs that runs Apple. According to the WWDC site, the answer is yes, Pixar is in fact using Mac OS X in its work flow, and has even developed new apps for internal use using Mac OS Xis Cocoa development environment. From the WWDC article at Appleis site:
Johnson was not an expected attendee that year, but he came to see what was going on with Mac OS X. And it sounds like heis glad he did. Two years later, Pixar Animation Studios, makers of Toy Story, A Bugis Life, Monsters, Inc. and other top-selling animated films, has been finding more and more ways to replace their existing Linux, Sun and Windows-based computer systems with Macintosh computers running Mac OS X. The studiois entire team uses Mac OS X not only for creative work, but for workflow and custom application development. The animators, writers, editors, production staff and administrators cite the benefits offered by the UNIX platform, Cocoa, QuickTime, and the powerful graphics technologies that come with Mac OS X.
"We are looking to OS X for the future," Johnson told a full house in a fascinating lunchtime talk on Wednesday at the WWDC.
In order to explain how and why Pixar is using Mac OS X, Johnson guided the audience through an insideris look at the creative and production processes that Pixar Animation Studios uses to create its award-winning films. After setting the stage by explaining many of the time-intensive, often hand-generated work that goes into creating an animation, Johnson then shared a Cocoa "success story." He explained how he built a powerful storyboarding tool in just a few evenings at home using the Cocoa development environment.
Apple's WWDC site has published an article that answers a question many curious Mac users have long asked: Does Pixar use Macs? Pixar is headed by a CEO named Steve Jobs, the same Steve Jobs that runs Apple. According to the WWDC site, the answer is yes, Pixar is in fact using Mac OS X in its work flow, and has even developed new apps for internal use using Mac OS Xis Cocoa development environment. From the WWDC article at Appleis site:
Johnson was not an expected attendee that year, but he came to see what was going on with Mac OS X. And it sounds like heis glad he did. Two years later, Pixar Animation Studios, makers of Toy Story, A Bugis Life, Monsters, Inc. and other top-selling animated films, has been finding more and more ways to replace their existing Linux, Sun and Windows-based computer systems with Macintosh computers running Mac OS X. The studiois entire team uses Mac OS X not only for creative work, but for workflow and custom application development. The animators, writers, editors, production staff and administrators cite the benefits offered by the UNIX platform, Cocoa, QuickTime, and the powerful graphics technologies that come with Mac OS X.
"We are looking to OS X for the future," Johnson told a full house in a fascinating lunchtime talk on Wednesday at the WWDC.
In order to explain how and why Pixar is using Mac OS X, Johnson guided the audience through an insideris look at the creative and production processes that Pixar Animation Studios uses to create its award-winning films. After setting the stage by explaining many of the time-intensive, often hand-generated work that goes into creating an animation, Johnson then shared a Cocoa "success story." He explained how he built a powerful storyboarding tool in just a few evenings at home using the Cocoa development environment.
Just going to point out that t3500 is just at most a small mid tower. It is not a full tower. Full towers are fair bit bigger in size and have a lot more drive bays.
No Mac Pro = teh sux0rs
The whole business of a Post-PC world is short-sighted. Yes, a lot of people will be fine with a laptop, an external drive, and an iPhone and iPad. The "sandboxing" of apps and file storage is limited though. That is, you have an app like Photos in iPad and all your pictures are stored there without any files structure. It would be same across devices as iOS and OS X meld.
But even for non high end power users like devs, music production, and digital content creators, you need a hub to organize and store. As more and more of our media like photos, video, and music becomes digital, you totally need the ability to sort, organize, label, tag etc. Even this basic type of work does not scale well on a post-pc device.
I think it will cycle. Devices mights become more mobile and the desktop paradigm will shift away but then as people's need for space and expansion arises, there will be a crying need for a desktop with multiple expansion ports and slots. IF the Mac Pro does die, it will come full circle again.
The death of the Mac Pro might be plausible if they put 12 USB ports, 4 eSata ports, 8 Firewire ports, 2 Thunderbolt ports, and there was a slew of expansion enclosures for pic-e devices, etc more ubiquitous on the market. Additionally, the iMac would need a ducl socket, a matte display, and a 30" LCD version. Then it would just be a Mac Pro in a slimmer form factor.
Of the top of my head, I have like 3 USB hubs, a pci-e eSata car, a pci-e USB 3.0, and 2 GPUS. I have tons of periperhals and mutiple monitors. It is unwieldy enough with all the cabling from my Mac Pro. If I had to add all my external devices to an iMac without a new Mac Pro, it would be a daisy-chained and spaghetti cord mess.
Killing the Mac Pro would be short-sighted and alienate a very important crowd. The Mac Pro user is the developer and creator of most of the stuff consumed by these post-pc devices. It would be like keeping all the eggs on the market with no chicken to make the eggs.
The whole business of a Post-PC world is short-sighted. Yes, a lot of people will be fine with a laptop, an external drive, and an iPhone and iPad. The "sandboxing" of apps and file storage is limited though. That is, you have an app like Photos in iPad and all your pictures are stored there without any files structure. It would be same across devices as iOS and OS X meld.
But even for non high end power users like devs, music production, and digital content creators, you need a hub to organize and store. As more and more of our media like photos, video, and music becomes digital, you totally need the ability to sort, organize, label, tag etc. Even this basic type of work does not scale well on a post-pc device.
I think it will cycle. Devices mights become more mobile and the desktop paradigm will shift away but then as people's need for space and expansion arises, there will be a crying need for a desktop with multiple expansion ports and slots. IF the Mac Pro does die, it will come full circle again.
The death of the Mac Pro might be plausible if they put 12 USB ports, 4 eSata ports, 8 Firewire ports, 2 Thunderbolt ports, and there was a slew of expansion enclosures for pic-e devices, etc more ubiquitous on the market. Additionally, the iMac would need a ducl socket, a matte display, and a 30" LCD version. Then it would just be a Mac Pro in a slimmer form factor.
Of the top of my head, I have like 3 USB hubs, a pci-e eSata car, a pci-e USB 3.0, and 2 GPUS. I have tons of periperhals and mutiple monitors. It is unwieldy enough with all the cabling from my Mac Pro. If I had to add all my external devices to an iMac without a new Mac Pro, it would be a daisy-chained and spaghetti cord mess.
Killing the Mac Pro would be short-sighted and alienate a very important crowd. The Mac Pro user is the developer and creator of most of the stuff consumed by these post-pc devices. It would be like keeping all the eggs on the market with no chicken to make the eggs.
Did you know that Windows compute clusters are already a shipping product? See http://www.microsoft.com/hpc/en/us/product/cluster-computing.aspx
Did you know that you can't connect two CPUs through TBolt?
And did you realize that many render farms consist of tens of 8 to 32 logical core systems working on the same problem? (Large render farms (Pixar or ILM scale) are hundreds to thousands of multi-core systems.) The whole idea of "adding the power of one Imac to your MBA" is laughable in this context.
My company just upgraded its computers for the first time in about a decade. What did we buy? A ton of iMacs and MacBook Pros. It's just insane to pay so much more for a big box with a minimally better set of hardware and no display.
These big boxes are pretty much good for being servers. But even that task can be handled by Mac Minis. Plus I would assume most people needing that much server power would want something that can be mounted in a rack.
I think Apple probably has a good small market of people who need a Mac Pro. There is probably money to be made with some BTO specs. But honestly most of that stuff can be done with cheaper computers. If the Mac Pro survives, you think maybe Apple could condense it in size some. If you've ever looked inside a big tower computer before, you notice the amount of space in there waiting to be abolished. Inferior computers need it for heat dissipation. I'm sure Apple could figure out a way to cram a lot of power into a box half that size. As the article said, with the advent of Thunderbolt you don't need all of those expansion bays.
These big boxes are pretty much good for being servers. But even that task can be handled by Mac Minis. Plus I would assume most people needing that much server power would want something that can be mounted in a rack.
I think Apple probably has a good small market of people who need a Mac Pro. There is probably money to be made with some BTO specs. But honestly most of that stuff can be done with cheaper computers. If the Mac Pro survives, you think maybe Apple could condense it in size some. If you've ever looked inside a big tower computer before, you notice the amount of space in there waiting to be abolished. Inferior computers need it for heat dissipation. I'm sure Apple could figure out a way to cram a lot of power into a box half that size. As the article said, with the advent of Thunderbolt you don't need all of those expansion bays.
I didn't read pretty much any of this thread nor do I have the time and inclination too but I will make some general statements on the topic. First off, I would never buy an iMac, why? I want the ability to expand my graphics, CPU, whatever and the iMac is like the macbook air with everything all jam packed in...I already hate that idea with my MacBook Pro, I do think thunderbolt will lift this restriction but that doesn't help me since my mac doesn't have thunderbolt. The Mac Pro is the beast behind allot of serious video production and yes you can find a dell or make your own super work station but I doubt many people want to move from OS X and all its glory to something new...the movie industry does not like change as apparent from pretty much every transition. I'm sorry but a 12 core Mac Pro is an absolute animal in terms of computing and 99% of us do not need a Mac Pro but I'm sure anyone who has done any sort of HD video editing on anything from Core 2 Duo to a quad core i7 will, provided with the chance jump on a system that has literally 12 cores or "CPU's" to improve there work flow. I'm impatient when it comes to computer things. I want things done right now, statim, asap, as fast as humanly possible because time is money. Put a Mac Pro 12 core maxed out next to whatever maxed out iMac you can create, have two pro graphics persons rip a 2 hour BluRay, transcode it from H.264 to Pro Res in Final Cut and edit out various CPU intensive aspects and regardless of the cost the Mac Pro will get it done.
The Mac Pro is basically the Ferrari, if not the formula one of computers. It will always have a purpose even if that purpose is shrinking. Apple needs to have the line of computers that provide the "mines bigger than yours" because there will always be someone out there that does need that. There are allot of things like that in life, for example you break your foot and your get Hydrocodone for the pain and you see someone who has to take 99999999999mg's of oxycodone...well first thoughts is that really necessary but then you learn he broke every bone in his body in a car accident. There is a purpose and a scenario for EVERYTHING so if your going to draw something off don't because you can't possibly predict every scenario. Drawing from the narcotics and bone fracture example, I'm a lowly video intern provided with nothing more that access to some DV cams and of course my Canon and edit my terrible boring college events (if they were fun they wouldn't be on camera) on my MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo and its sorta slow but I deal with it. Spring forward I manage to start working with a serious film group and I bring all my gear in and suddenly I'm handed a RED Epic camera and told to assist a director and his camera operators with their digital workflow...there is no way on Gods green earth I could efficiently do this on my macbook in its current state...I would have to set up a dual channel firewire-usb/thunderbolt SSD RAID 5 array to my macbook which would be begging for mercy just to get the data in. 12 core Mac Pro? Can't say editing RED code would be "fun" on even a 12 core Mac Pro but it would be a hell of allot easier someone argue that for me. Yes yes I'm ranting and dragging on but the overall point is the Mac Pro has a solid place and I have always looked up to it as being a beast. My old highschool has about 30 of the 8core Mac Pro's with 32GB's of RAM and they are strictly reserved for film/video/broadcast journalism students editing. I think its over kill but they get **** done! There always needs to be a high end...I don't think BMW is looking at getting rid of the 7 series anytime soon.....
...but uh if any of you guys get bored of your Mac Pro's hit me up 
The Mac Pro is basically the Ferrari, if not the formula one of computers. It will always have a purpose even if that purpose is shrinking. Apple needs to have the line of computers that provide the "mines bigger than yours" because there will always be someone out there that does need that. There are allot of things like that in life, for example you break your foot and your get Hydrocodone for the pain and you see someone who has to take 99999999999mg's of oxycodone...well first thoughts is that really necessary but then you learn he broke every bone in his body in a car accident. There is a purpose and a scenario for EVERYTHING so if your going to draw something off don't because you can't possibly predict every scenario. Drawing from the narcotics and bone fracture example, I'm a lowly video intern provided with nothing more that access to some DV cams and of course my Canon and edit my terrible boring college events (if they were fun they wouldn't be on camera
) on my MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo and its sorta slow but I deal with it. Spring forward I manage to start working with a serious film group and I bring all my gear in and suddenly I'm handed a RED Epic camera and told to assist a director and his camera operators with their digital workflow...there is no way on Gods green earth I could efficiently do this on my macbook in its current state...I would have to set up a dual channel firewire-usb/thunderbolt SSD RAID 5 array to my macbook which would be begging for mercy just to get the data in. 12 core Mac Pro? Can't say editing RED code would be "fun" on even a 12 core Mac Pro but it would be a hell of allot easier someone argue that for me. Yes yes I'm ranting and dragging on but the overall point is the Mac Pro has a solid place and I have always looked up to it as being a beast. My old highschool has about 30 of the 8core Mac Pro's with 32GB's of RAM and they are strictly reserved for film/video/broadcast journalism students editing. I think its over kill but they get **** done! There always needs to be a high end...I don't think BMW is looking at getting rid of the 7 series anytime soon........but uh if any of you guys get bored of your Mac Pro's hit me up
Okay, just wanted to share my very interesting Mac Pro purchasing experience from tonight:
I have a 2006 Mac Pro that has served me well, but like many of you, I have been waiting to buy a new Mac Pro. I have saved the money and have simply been sitting on it, waiting for an announcement. Well, lately, my machine has REALLY been showing its age, and my workflow has gotten severely bogged down. A new Mac Pro is no longer something I just really WANT, it's now something I desperately NEED.
I had been considering caving and buying a current 8-core Mac Pro. And when I read the rumor article today about Apple possibly discontinuing the line, I slightly panicked and decided to DEFINITELY go ahead and cave. I need a new machine badly, and if they aren't going to make any more Mac Pros, then I'd better get one of the remaining current stock.
So... I call up one of the big online mac retailers (in order to avoid paying sales tax at the Apple Store). I tell them that I'd like to buy an 8-core machine, and that I'd like to upgrade the graphics card. The rep then asks if they can put me on hold. I say "sure". They're gone for quite a long while, then he comes back and says (and I still don't QUITE understand this), "Sir, we aren't offering any upgrades on this machine, because we are letting the stock run out". I said, "Wait, you're intentionally letting the stock run out?" and he said "Yes". Hmmm. Then I said, "Well, that seems like something you would do if you knew a new model of this machine was coming and you didn't want to get stuck with old stock". And he didn't say anything at first and then he said, "I... know what you mean." Hmm. So, I said, "I know you probably can't talk about it --" and he interrupted me and said "no sir, I can't". And i continued, "... and I don't want to get you fired, but, suppose a friend of mine suggested that I WAIT to buy this machine, because he thinks a new machine might be coming out very soon. Would you think my friend makes sense?" Again, he paused and then said, seemingly reluctantly "This is a fine machine." Hmmm. Kind of weird. I'd like to point ou that he wasn't being dismissive or rude at all. He was being very polite. Then I asked if I could return the machine if I buy it and a new model comes out in a week or two. He said that as long as the box was unopened, yes, I could do it. If it was opened, I'd have to pay a restocking fee.
So, I buy it. I figure, either way, I'm covered. After I buy it, I say "Ok, so, I can return it for a new mac IF i don't open it." Yes sir. And THEN I ask, "So, do you think it would be wise to not open it?" And he said, "Yes sir, I do. Very wise." Aha. Okay. I laughed, and he laughed. We understood each other.
Take what you will from it. It might not mean anything. I have no idea. But here's what I'm wondering: if Apple was about to release a new Mac Pro but they knew there was a lot of unpurchased current Mac Pro stock sitting around out there, might it be in their best interest to "suggest", via rumor, that the Mac Pro was being discontinued, so as to create a sudden rush to buy the remaining Mac Pro stock? I mean, that was MY personal reaction, and I can't be the only one to have done it.
We'll see. I'll stare at my unopened Mac Pro for as long as I can stand it. Which might not be very long!
Almost exact same thing happened to me with MacBook Pro 15". I couldn't get the screen upgraded. So I just waited. 2 weeks later and the refresh happens. I hope this is true. Been saving for 4 years for this. Mid to high end MacPro and 2 27" LCDs. I can't wait.
Sorry, people who upgrade once every 10 years aren't power users, and shouldn't have been buying Mac Pros in the first place.