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Apple's $700 Mac Pro Wheels Kit Discontinued Along With Mac Pro
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They’re furniture casters - not some high tech product. You can probably get a cheap set for about 5 bucks and some nice-looking ikea ones for twenty bucks. Retail - so that includes a far profit for everybody down the line. If the standard ones won’t fit the legs that’s a design choice made by Apple. Requiring expensive custom parts when cheap generic ones would work just as well is bad design.
Whatever the technical merits of the Mac Pro, the case was grotesquely over-engineered without any corresponding attention to detail. Power button & USB ports on top? (Because nobody keeps it under a desk). Can’t remove the cover without disconnecting all the cables? Hard drives need custom bracket & special cable (not included) & sit right in the thermal exhaust of the power supply? Hatch for RAM slots underneath in rack version? Big, expensive, 3D-milled dust magnet on front?
I wouldn't be surprised at all if they spent:
- 50k on some big shot designer to design them;
- half a dozen meetings with rooms full of execs that probably cost 1k/hr each just to be there;
- throw in some focus groups via some market research company that would've charged another 30-50k;
- some probably eyewatering amount on the marketting; heck i'd not be surprised if they paid some photographer 10k just to photograph it for the website
- and then finally a partnership with some bespoke manufacturer that would've charged apple another 50k for the bespoke tooling to manufacture the wheels.
Didnt they cancel the mac pro because sales were low? a small subset of an already small market would be the target for these
TheOldChevy
macrumors 6502a
maxfromdenmark
macrumors 6502a
Not surprised at all, Apple is just not interested in the pro market beyond a niche product like the Mac Pro that is for such a small group of pro users. Had they made something that was a little more universal as in supporting some normal standards for RAM and SSD's, making it a little upgradeable with a reasonable price tag they might have sold more of these. Apple is all about closed systems now and this just does not fit in. The G4 Towers and G5 towers were exceptional products that had something for pro designers across a broader spectrum. It also allowed people to upgrade and add as needed with hard drive space and RAM and even a CPU upgrade or replacement if needed. Apple has closed themselves in with ridiculous designs that are far to away from function and way to focused on form. The wheel pricing, and trying to sell a screen without a stand. I think they listened on that one as it looks like all their screens have a stand included in the price now. I used to see in print shops and design houses a sea of 5K iMacs and G5's and their Intel models using the same case. Tables have turned on that, still a lot of Mac's but I see more Windows computers out there now then I have ever. Apple is not dying, they are just more focused on keeping the user thinking they need a new computer every year and have opted to being the creators rather then really supporting the creators with more options.
Tim Cook's Pool Boy
macrumors member
Mike_Trivisonno
macrumors 6502a
Mike_Trivisonno
macrumors 6502a
Non-Euclidean
macrumors 6502a
awesomecat
macrumors newbie
I'm glad the Pro was finally discontinued if only so that we don't have to keep hearing about those g/d wheels.
I stopped reading a rival site to this one when they reviewed these wheels and declared them to be good value.
emulator
macrumors 65816
Probably to alienate more of their employees and/or to keep the sheep meter in check.