Apple to Halt Mac Pro Sales in Europe Effective March 1 Over Regulatory Requirements

[IamScott]

If I open the case while it's running I accept certain risks involved. For normal operation of the computer the fans are sealed inside the box! I fail to see where the regulator is applying logic to this problem.

I can open the hood on an EU certified car and ram my hand into the engine bay and probably get my hand torn off. Seems to be acceptable engineering.

I could probably stick my tongue in a spinning computer fan and do more damage to the fan. Even if Apple puts better protection over the fans, just like opening the computer case I can go and lever off the fan protection to get to the fan and "hurt" myself.

Ho hum.

S.

 

[coolspot18]

A company sitting on over $130B in cash and who just posted record year-over-year sales and profits (over $13B) should be ashamed of themselves for not updating their flagship product.

I don't think Apple considers the Mac Pro to be a flagship product. If there was one, it would more likely be the iMac these days.

 

[InuNacho]

I want to get a pro not because I need one for my job but because it is the only mac out there that will allow me to change out components without performing major surgery or trucking it to an apple store. Not to mention that some of the mods I want to do right away (like add a Viper SSD) are not even an option on the iMac unless I do it externally.

Besides, it would make one great gaming box!

I myself are just like you, I own a Pro but don't actually do anything "professional" on it. I consider myself a hobbyist/enthusiast and just enjoy sitting at a computer that I don't have to worry about catching fire because the CPUs idle at 150 degrees like my old MBP.

I'm also pretty excited about 10.8.3, supposedly it brings AMD 7XXX support just in time for Metro Last Light.

 

[MacBoobsPro]

And of course you fully considered the origin, purpose and requirements of the relevant EU regulations before you made that point, right?

There will always be some form of market regulation in every Western country including the UK, especially for electronic products. Entrusting industry bodies and organisations with the maintenance of such standards is quite normal, because the technology advances quicker than any legislative body could act. The EU regulation probably does not even mention the specifics of the standard described here at all.

Even if the UK would leave the EU, that doesn't mean it won't have to be concerned with any of these regulations anymore. I doubt that the UK would leave the internal market entirely, it's economic suicide.

No I didnt. I didnt want to waste my time with it. Why do idiots in Brussells 1000 miles away decide upon idiotic and pointless rules and regulations in my country? If the UK ws not part of the EU it would most likely not be in the mess it is today. Just look at Europe crumbling around us (were going down too I may add).

 

[dragje]

Apple is not an business friendly company. At what point does it become responsibility of its business customers to realize that? How many "hints" do you need?

At the point the company start making promises even when they are highly suggestive.

Apple is an extremely professional company when it comes to selling products to consumers. Apple do not act "professional" towards companies because it isn't profitable for them to do so.

This is where you go wrong. Do you really think a whole setup at an IBC conference comes for free? Do you really think there is no suggestive go as far as binding customers to it's product when giving courses each single day at the Apple stores for everyone willing to come over?

Apple can decide themselves to stop a whole product line and yes they are entitled to do so but by doing so they will brake a promise. If they do, well, so be it. I'll not keep crying about that, or wining as you bravely put it. But to hold up your hand once, asking a simple question: hey Apple, will you do what you've promised? Isn't rocket science and doesn't come close to the wining part.

Last thing tough, Apple might act tough, but they do have to keep themselves towards certain rules, as any company need to do so.

----------

All in all, it's cool and actually fine. It's your money, your career and your business anyway. But to me, MacPro should and could be a better machine, A LOT better, especially for that kind of money. In fact I'd choose a MacPro over the new maxxed iMac given it has proper upgrades and reasonable spec.
Otherwise Apple should drop the price tag nonetheless. It's 2010 piece of tech in 2013. Why should it cost the same?

Just like the reason why you bought your MP right from refurbished section? Why? Because the full retail price is practically a highway robbery. As example, MacPo 512 GB SSD option costs stinking extra $1000 and it wouldn't be as fast as it should given the older interface. Really, Apple?

So true.

 

[jasonc74]

BIG Government

If I lived in Europe I would be pissed that I cant buy something as simple as a desktop computer because there is a new law about fans and covering power ports.

Apple shouldn't reconfigure the Mac Pro for any of those regulations.

I just wish it had happened to something like the iMac so that more people would make a bigger deal about it.

This is a perfect example of too much government. Its happening everywhere.

 

[milo]

If they have something new awaiting release then why would they bother to retrofit the old one? It would make no sense.

No "retrofit" needed. This regulation was announced over three years ago, they could have put the update into the 2010, 2011, or 2012 MP tweaks.

No, because different countries have different regulations. A new Mac Pro is already in the works.

No, he's right. When a company as big as apple can't update within a three year window to meet a requirement needed to sell on an entire continent, that's frankly incompetent.

As to upgrading the machine to some silly European spec when it is well known a new model is on the way is simply a waste of time. The real problem here isn't Apple but rather the nanny state mentality of the european community.

Regardless of what you consider the "real" problem, failing to keep products eligible for sale in a major part of the world is a major fail for apple. Unless apple's plan is to dump the MP completely and give up that part of the market, not having that model available, potentially for several months, IS a big deal.

Being the most expensive, is the only thing you can claim for it.

You forget most powerful mac, at least in a number of ways. Out of date as the MP may be, is there any other mac that can match the CPU power or ram capacity of a twelve core MP? People may not agree, but the power makes an argument for calling it "flagship".

 

[Nightarchaon]

Coming later this year, an apple announcement

The mac Pro is now discontinued due to the EU telling us we cant keep selling it, and since we don't want to sell or update it anyway, were taking this opportunity to send it the way of the Xserve, you all don't mind buying iMacs and Mac Minis on which we make WAY more profit do you ?

 

[milo]

There are enough reasonable people who disagree with your interpretation. The clarification by Apple PR was only to make it clear that the iMacs would be updated in 2012 and not in 2013. They did not say what shape or form the update to the Mac Pro would have.

Exactly. And that story just paraphrased, it didn't give any sort of direct quote from apple, so it's possible they misinterpreted what they were told.

I'm with Apple on this one.

Which is what, you'd stop selling a product rather than make a minor modification and keep selling? Really?

I wonder how long the EU lasts before they back down on this absurd requirement due to complaints from the consumers.

Complaints about what? How dare they stop me from hurting my finger? They won't change it, and they won't get any complaints. Because every other manufacturer has figured out that the modification costs them nothing compared to lost sales, and also because they probably haven't gone three years without a product update.

...you all don't mind buying iMacs and Mac Minis on which we make WAY more profit do you ?

Based on how high the price is for MP and how old the components are, I'd be absolutely shocked if any of those other macs had a higher profit margin. The others a priced much more competitively, have many mobile components which raises the build cost, and are much more expensive to design.

 

[aliensporebomb]

Gurgle

Nice to see the nanny state ninnies are at it again. Must be nice to have a job to think up crazy things like that.

Did someone sue because their hands were decapitated touching the fan blades?

Or did some moron stick a paperclip into the i/o ports?

 

[Amazing Iceman]

Living in Switzerland, which is an island surrounded by the EU, I endorse this post!

Heh I'm Swiss too, but never been there...

 

[macsmurf]

At the point the company start making promises even when they are highly suggestive.

I don't understand what you mean by "suggestive" in this context.

My only point is that if a business partner keeps screwing you over maybe it's time to fire that business partner instead of acting all surprised when they do it again.

 

[violst]

Here's my final thoughts on this subject. I think apple has been contemplating discontinuing the Mac Pro for a while, not because of sales or the cost of manufacturing but because it doesn't fit in with apples idevice business plan. If apple sells a high-end workstation how can they say we are in a post PC era. When you have billions tied up in idevice manufacturing you need to convince the consumer that all they need is an idevice to get the job done, which couldn't be further from the truth but a lot of apple fanboys drink the cool-aid.

A big powerful profession workstation is in conflict with apples new business plan. So they think lets get rid of the Mac Pro but there is a huge backlash from the pro community about it and deep down apple knows it could be a bad move. Thats why they have been procrastinating since 2010 with giving the Mac Pro a real update but at the same time not getting rid of it. Pro users for the most part have the deep pockets and build a whole apple ecosystem around there Pro desktop system. For example if I switched to a Windows workstation I would switch all of my back up systems and laptops to windows because all of my software is now on Windows, I would switch my phone to a windows phone and my tablet to a windows tablet for consistency and I know many other pros who have the same philosophy about switching over as well.

Apple would like you to believe we are in a post PC era but we are in the thick of the PC era. I say that because idevices are for content consumption and not content creation, and I don't see this changing for a good long while. look at all the people you know that own a pc/mac, its more then ever. So why does apple want you to believe that we are post PC, so that they convince you to buy more idevices.

Should the Mac Pro be sacrificed for more idevice sales? I sure as hell hope not. The Mac Pro is a great computer the best computer I have ever owned by apple. But for most pro's to continue to create content on a mac OSX based system the Mac Pro is a must.

My 2 cents.

 

[devinci99]

This makes it ever more urgent for Apple to release their Mac Pro 2013 soon!

I hope so, but it could also delay the new Mac Pro -- If Apple current R&D for the next Mac Pro is also in violation, they may not do some redesign so it can be compliant to European standards.

Though my '09 mac pro still feels snappy (esp with SSD), I really want, PCIe 3.0, USB3.0, and Thunderport! Would love 660GT as standard-base GPU.

 

[chadley_chad]

Hopeless!

They realised that, instead of actually innovating, they couldn't take away the optical drive and make it 5mm thick without people moaning ... so decided to give up making the thing completely!

 

[forumBuddy]

I second opinion that Apple is discontinuing Mac Pro.
Not complying with a 3 year old regulation was just a convenient excuse to kill Mac Pro in Europe. It also gives Apple opportunity to gauge consumer reaction in the smaller for Mac Pro, market than US.

The only Mac desktop that I bought was Power Mac Dual G5 2.0, though I really preferred the design of the previous generation G4 Power Mac. When Jobs announced switching to Intel, I saw the writing on the wall for Power PC family and sold my Power Mac after a year and a half of ownership, for a little loss.

I was holding off until Apple released a desktop with a good prosumer CPU and graphics options, but it never realized. Prices for Intel based Mac Pro went up and it used server level hardware, which would be money wasted for home use. So I bought Dell XPS. When it came to buy new computer again this holiday season, I looked at the Apple offerings, and bought another Dell XPS. Both machines where at top of the line CPU yet cost me around one grand.

I think Apple is making the right decision in discontinuing modular desktop. If you can't make a good one, don't bother.

 

[snberk103]

It seems to me all the complaints and drawbacks of current MacPro was neglected just because your MP don't actually have it.
...
All in all, it's cool and actually fine. It's your money, your career and your business anyway....
Just like the reason why you bought your MP right from refurbished section? Why? Because the full retail price is practically a highway robbery. As example, MacPo 512 GB SSD option costs stinking extra $1000 and it wouldn't be as fast as it should given the older interface. Really, Apple?

I do actually partially agree with you. It is an expensive machine, and for the money it would be nice you got more for the money.... so, yes... I waited for the one I wanted to pop up on the refurbished store. My requirement was 6 cores and the 1333Mhz memory.

My argument with your argument is that it is not a complete waste. For a large number of people it is still the best solution for what they need. I agree that it could be more - but it is still the best solution currently available.

the problem with ranking systems by features alone is that one doesn't measure the usability of the system - usually. If you are a gamer, then yes... you need to rank by speed. If you are render large files (video and/or audio) then the speed of the CPU & GPU become important.... though they can be easily starved for data if other - non-ranked - features create bottlenecks. But in my experience.... most people have hardware that far exceeds what they actually do most of the time. So.... while not the best it could be ... a Mac Pro is still good enough to get the job done (for me) and does it better than anything else I could buy (from the Apple eco-system). And I still have a 2008 8-core system (the one I retired) that I will sell for more than 1/3rd of the price of the refurbished system. So... the new Mac Pro is actually quite cheap in the long run.

 

[Larry-K]

Hear hear, these bureaucrates only make things more difficult for those that voted them to these positions. EU spends way too much time on meaningless ****, while the economy has been going down the drain for years.

I heard a report where they were banning old ladies in Italy from making Pasta by hand. It appeared to be true. Thank God (Excuse me, Thank the State) for Bureaucrats.

 

[Morshu9001]

Banishment of a computer due to fears of dangerous fans is the kind of thing you'd expect in America, where people sue for everything, not in the EU. I don't see how anyone could cut their fingers in the fans by accident. Do those things even have a enough torque to do any damage?

 

[Oletros]

I heard a report where they were banning old ladies in Italy from making Pasta by hand. It appeared to be true. Thank God (Excuse me, Thank the State) for Bureaucrats.

Source to that ban?

 

[hillsons]

A company sitting on over $130B in cash and who just posted record year-over-year sales and profits (over $13B) should be ashamed of themselves for not updating their flagship product. You can't tell me that Apple hasn't made a conscious decision to let this product die. Apple is such a large company and they can't update the Mac Pro to current industry specs for over two years? Something doesn't sound right...

Come out from under your rock, The Mac Pro is no longer Apple's flagship product.

 

[Oletros]

Why do idiots in Brussells 1000 miles away decide upon idiotic and pointless rules and regulations in my country?

Idiotic and pointless? All of the regulations? Or only the ones that you don't like?

 

[MIDI_EVIL]

Not that anyone in their right mind would be buying this now anyway...

I know of a guy at a company based in London who just purchased 15 of them...

 

[righteye]

To power those old MacPros, you have to feed it coal through a little hopper on the side, right?

Imported coal as well in the UK because one of our ex prime ministers decided to close all the mines

 

[manu chao]

Additionally, a card with two video ports (e.g., two DisplayPort ) doesn't really have a high need for daisy chaining. Two monitors still requires two cables. It is only really in >3-4 range that it has much higher traction. Thunderbolt maxes out at 2.

Thunderbolt has daisy chaining properties far more because you don't want to suppress the flexibility of PCI-e traffic to leverage the video output that has been multiplexed. It isn't really trying to solve the mutiple monitor problem at all. Used exclusively as two output sockets ( as likely on a Mac Pro sized box) there is little to no difference from two output sockets on a current PCI-e graphics card.

You underestimate Apple's strive for perfection and elegance, when they are going to add TB to the Mac Pro, they will want to everything nicely integrated.

----------

Nice to see the nanny state ninnies are at it again. Must be nice to have a job to think up crazy things like that.

Did someone sue because their hands were decapitated touching the fan blades?

Or did some moron stick a paperclip into the i/o ports?

Yeah, what is this business of requiring cars to have seat belts? The problem is rarely the actual regulation (because it is usually easy to comply with it), the problem is regulations being piecemeal and occasionally contradictory. But simplifying the set of regulations is a lot of hard work and not something that can be achieved by any simple measures.