David Pogue: New iMacs and Mac Pros Coming 'Probably in 2013' [Update]

[LethalWolfe]

My point is no one that uses 4k is edit monitoring in 4k. There is no COMPLETE 4k online production system.

Sure there is. Otherwise 4k projects couldn't be finished in 4k.

All 4k editing is done offline or editing lower-resolution monitors, negating any need for an upgraded GPU. The display resolution is STILL the same as when the Mac Pro GPUs first came out 3 years ago, which is perfectly fine for editing purposes. (4k Rendering is done offline in server farms using distributed Compressor, never at the local workstation.)

The GPU these days does a lot more than push the image to a screen. FCPX, Motion, Avid MC, Adobe's Mercury Playback Engine, Apple Color, DaVinci Resolve, Smoke, etc., all tap into the GPU for hardware acceleration.


Lethal

 

[faroZ06]

I doubt you can plug a TS output into the MacBook's jack without an adapter, but I've never tried. I've used the iRig with a guitar and MainStage. My friend uses one of these: http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-...0WAQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339528458&sr=8-1

I should tell my friend about this. He uses a 2009 MacBook Pro and complains about there not being two different ports.

 

[nwstehle]

So no new iMacs until 2013 means a refurb unit

It sure looks like Apple is looking to redesign the iMac. That's great, but in the meantime offer some systems with bumped stats if it is a year off (or more).

Running Geekbench told me I'd really notice the difference between a year old iMac and my current one.

Odd thing is, Best Buy does not list ANY 27 inch iMacs. Any thoughts? They sometimes have refurbs.

Suggestions for best places to get a refurb? Apple? SmallDog? Others?

Thanks!

 

[Atlantico]

"Our pro customers are really important to us...don't worry as we're working on something really great for later next year."

Yay... looking forward for the next "iMac Pro"! FCP 7 -> iMovie Pro anyone? :

Cheers

Yeah, if the Mac Pro isn't dead already (and this last "revision" wasn't the final one) and Apple intends to redesign or reinvent the Mac Pro, then I don't know if Apple can deliver.

What are they going to do? Make the Mac Pro thinner??

Sure there could be a minor cosmetic change, but it isn't really needed, the Mac Pro case is as pro as it gets... well as pro as Apple is likely to make it.

A new Mac Pro with 6 PCIe slots, like HPs Z series 800?

Honestly, the Mac Pro only needs to be a big box (the current one is fine) with 4-6 expansion slots, plenty of I/O and the latest and greatest CPU that is available.

That's what Apple used to do for the Mac Pro series and the Power Macintosh series, until about 2009.

People aren't asking for the moon here.

 

[NY Guitarist]

The GPU these days does a lot more than push the image to a screen. FCPX, Motion, Avid MC, Adobe's Mercury Playback Engine, Apple Color, DaVinci Resolve, Smoke, etc., all tap into the GPU for hardware acceleration.

Exactly.

BTW I just got the email and downloaded the new Smoke 2013 pre-release trial!

And my what-used-to-be kickazz GTX285 is considered by Autodesk to be a "consumer" video card now.

 

[Atlantico]

I'm surprised the professionals haven't all gone on strike yet. That'll teach the consumers...

There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs and hobbits.

 

[toke lahti]

These no good? http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?id=10493

You didn't read the small print:
"***The LaCie USB 3.0 Driver for Mac OS® is for LaCie storage devices only. It does not support other USB 3.0 devices such as hubs, printers, scanners, or webcams."

The MacPro users are the ones who should be the most upset and will cost Apple business. They buy more than just the machine too. The upgrade they put out there should not be. It's really no better than what is out there now. Why waste the resources on something that received minimal though?

Has anybody already emailed Tim Cook, that will 3 years be regular time frame for MP to get new GPU?
Anyway you're quite right, there's not much use for the expandability of MP if one pci slot is occupied by ancient GPU and others are filled with ports that other workstations get straight out from the motherboard (usb3, esata, 10GbaseT, tb, etc.).

 

[Atlantico]

"The foundation of the Mac Pro graphics architecture is the latest generation of GPUs..."

from the current Mac Pro pages:

http://www.apple.com/macpro/features/graphics.html

Sheesh.

The same page also has:

"Two Mini DisplayPort outputs connect to a pair of Apple LED Cinema Displays" which of course Apple doesn't manufacture anymore and are not to be found anywhere else on the site. Apple needs to tighten this up. But what can they do, show the Mac Pro with an HP display? Scary how unfocused this is.

----------

No audio in port on the Retina MacBook Pro? That's supposed to be the foundation of a mobile studio? I thought Apple would have learned from the disaster of the "Digital Audio" 733 MHz Mac about no audio in.

Sharp eyes there, I was so underwhelmed by the revision that I couldn't even be bothered to read the graphics specs very carefully..

The Mac Pro can't even run the one display Apple sells. That puts things in perspective, and the claim of «latest generation GPUs» was pretty bold even in 2010, now it's like Apple has lost touch with reality (and/or omitted to proof-read their «new» Mac Pro tech specs)

I'm really looking for any tangible sign that Apple isn't about to end the Mac Pro, but outside rumors and rampant speculation, everything points to this being the very last Mac Pro revision.

 

[Atlantico]

In the first few hours after the keynote, the Apple store (in the Netherlands) had the word "new" attached the the MP picture.
24 hours later, Apple has removed the word new.

A company so occupied with appearances and profiling, should have known better that the word new would infuriate a creative and outspoken group of users.

Coen

Long overdue to replace a PowerMac G5 with a new tool to process Sony NX5e footage.

Yeah good catch, all Apple online stores have already removed the «new» tag on the Mac Pros. Probably a prudent decision. Now there should come a public press release on the future of the Mac Pro, in all seriousness.

Even Macrumors has change their buyer's guide for the Mac Pro from «new release: buy» to «Don't Buy - Still outdated»

Wise words.

----------

yes make the Mac Pro tower more like the Macbook Air.

It was a sarcastic post, I am sure (even with the rolleyes smiley and everything)

It was funny!

 

[studiomeridian]

Seriously?! Speaking as a power user myself, I sometimes wonder why I pay a premium for a Mac Pro, with parts inferior to what's currently available for PCs, and have to wait so long for a proper upgrade.

"Our pro customers are really important to us...don't worry as we're working on something really great for later next year."

...then why bother introducing three ridiculous "upgrades" yet letting word out that there'll be a newer Mac Pro coming out? This plan is set up to fail! I can't stress how much more appealing PCs are starting to look.

 

[toke lahti]

It is illegal to install Mac OS on a non-Apple computer. Check "Hackintosh" on Wikipedia...

EULA is not valid in countries that emphasis consumer rights, because you can't read it before you buy it.

You have no idea what you're talking about. Since the Nehalem CPUs came out in 2009, Xeon processors have 3-channel memory controllers. Those "tests out there" actually support the opposite of your claim.

This has been major design mistake in MP's for so many years that I just can't understand why they don't correct this!
Is there 4-channel controllers coming like really soon now, and poor Apple just saved some money for selling engineering mistake as a "flagship" for 5 years.
They must be laughing; "nobody seems to notice anything...!"

 

[AidenShaw]

It is illegal to install Mac OS on a non-Apple computer.

Come on, FaroZ - you're usually better than this.

It is not illegal to violate a EULA, especially when the EULA itself contains unenforceable provisions.

 

[theBB]

The iCloud meme is to upload everything right away. I think FCP and iM already edits a thumbnail of a video as an option. So that could easily be done on an iPod touch over wifi and the edited and rendered video would then be available for iCloud to serve at various resolutions for various target devices and bandwidths.

I meant the professional video, not something recorded on a phone. Good luck uploading uncompressed 1080p or 4k video, right away or later on. The topic is Mac Pros after all.

----------

Come on, FaroZ - you're usually better than this.

It is not illegal to violate a EULA, especially when the EULA itself contains unenforceable provisions.

Ahh, nothing like armchair lawyers declaring something unenforceable.

 

[twoodcc]

It better be good!

 

[faroZ06]

Come on, FaroZ - you're usually better than this.

It is not illegal to violate a EULA, especially when the EULA itself contains unenforceable provisions.

Yes, I was wrong about it being illegal to violate the EULA. But it seems like Apple would be able to press some kind of charges for violating it if they, in theory, could know that I'm doing it. Of course, that is not a worry. Also, the fact that I'm using software that is cheaper because it is subsidized by the purchase of a Mac (Mac OS is worth way more than $30) is cheating.

It's not illegal to violate a EULA (which doesn't make sense), but I'm pretty sure it's illegal in this case for other reasons. I did a little Googling and found people saying that the Hackintosh equipment (hardware and software) itself is illegal even if you don't download those hacked copies of Mac OS X (which violate copyright laws). I know that Apple did a lot of suing of Hackintosh companies in the past.

Also, I just don't want to bother with all of that since the old Mac Pro is more than plenty for me anyway.

----------

It is confirmed that I am getting the 8-core 2008 Mac Pro ASAP, but I need a monitor. Should I try and hack my 2006 iMac to make it a monitor?

 

[xbjllb]

If Apple wish to abandon the desktop space, why don't they do us all a favour and break-up the business into its consumer-orientated toys - these being the mobile's and iOs toy - Let's call this APPLE - and a professional computer business that focuses on desktops and workstations all underpinned by OSX - for the sake of clarity, lets call this Macintosh Computer.

Other businesses have split in two and prospered, whilst others have withered on the vine - my impression would be that iOS toys will one day go the way of Nokia and many other businesses that are based on fads and what's in vogue.

Given the desktop segment, and indeed OSX are now little more than a small segment of Apple's overall business model - it would be best to dispense of the desktop segment and OSX and allow those who believe in this business segment to innovate with new superior products that are engineered to outperform DELL, Lenovo, HP and the other PC manufacturers.

Given Mountain Lion is a merger between OSX and iOS - it does not represent leading-edge computer coding, such a move would allow both engineers and software designers to concentrate on products they love - they may be niche products and not part of what's fashionable today, but they are required products that have a large following - basically Apple you can keep your feminine toys and allow the boys to actually have something muscular to play with!

+1000 I've been saying this for years. Just as in the organ biz, those who concentrated on the top end will survive, those that chase the LCD will fail.

To keep brand recognition, I vote for Apple for the high end computer division, and Crapple for the toys. (Tell 'em the Cr stands for "Cook run").

I am fairly convinced that what they're working on is an all-in-one that will swivel down to your desk and then you'll use the new vibrating pen for graphics etc whilst still using the traditional keyboard, mouse and voice input.

Actually, what they're working on is a marriage of the new smaller form factor mobile Mac Pro and Roomba. It will also clean your floors and carpets.

Thank God it's wireless because half the time you won't know where it is.

Yeah, a jar of vaseline with every purchase.

More like Bengay, which should not be used on "delicate" tissues because of the burning, which could send you to the emergency room.

:crossing fingers:

C'mon Psystar...

From YOUR mouth to GOD'S ear!

 

[kendall69]

You didn't read the small print:
"***The LaCie USB 3.0 Driver for Mac OS® is for LaCie storage devices only. It does not support other USB 3.0 devices such as hubs, printers, scanners, or webcams."


Has anybody already emailed Tim Cook, that will 3 years be regular time frame for MP to get new GPU?
Anyway you're quite right, there's not much use for the expandability of MP if one pci slot is occupied by ancient GPU and others are filled with ports that other workstations get straight out from the motherboard (usb3, esata, 10GbaseT, tb, etc.).

I let him have yesterday in open on his facebook. I hope I embarrassed him. I'm not saying I was responsible BUT the NEW tag was removed from the Mac Pro.

I told him quite clearly it WASN'T NEW, and he was scamming the public and we're not that stupid. ....Not all of us voted for Obama.

 

[barkmonster]

To be fair, a friend works at an independent Mac dealer that primarily serves the professional market and a massive percentage of the kinds of customers that used to buy G3, G4 and G5 towers are now all buying MacBook Pros and iMacs to do the same thing. Indeed, go to a graphic design house or magazine and designers are almost all on iMacs these days.

Two points, though: First, there is still strong demand for a headless iMac/bigger mini/MacPro Lite with fast desktop class chips as a general design and business machine. Second, YES, for the sake of completeness of the platform Apple should have an up to date workstation even if it only sells a relative handful of machines.

Enterprise servers, really not too important - in the corporate world most Macs are clients on Unix or Windows servers anyway. And for smaller Mac-only shops, the current Mini and Tower machines do the job.

I agree, the entry level Mac Tower HAS to be something Apple realise a lot of people need.

What about people working with audio who want to spec out their Mac from day 1 with dual internal drives/SSDs and a large RAID 1 set for storage of general files and backup?

I currently have a SATA PCI card with an SSD as my system drive, just to scrape that little bit more performance out of my old Mac, a 7200rpm SATA drive I use for general storage and a partition for audio recording with Pro Tools LE and an internal ATA drive I use for backup of the system drive.

I also have an external USB 2.0 drive for backup and 2 monitors of my choice that I have no desire to replace with an all-in-one.

I "could" configure a used Mac Pro with all those drives internally, elimitating the bottleneck of USB 2.0 altogether, still use my 2 screens and have a system I can get a few years use but it would have to be used, not new because there's no expandible Mac system in the price range of the entry level towers of the G3 - G5 days.

It would be a false economy too. They're very power-hungry from an electric bill point of view, only offer SATA 3Gb/s which is potentially limiting if I intend using software sampler libraries at a later date after updating to Pro Tools 10.

I'm getting a used 2007 Mac Mini as a tie over for a few hundred off eBay later in the year and then waiting to see what happens with future Mac Mini models.

Unless there's a system that fills the void between the iMac and the Mac Pro, it's my only option and the Core i5/i7 series CPUs are so powerful, they're at least 60-70% the speed of a £2000+ Mac Pro from a raw CPU power point of view and with SATA 6Gb/s and cheap RAM expansion, I could use the older Core 2 Duo model Mac Mini as a media centre through my TV then buy a newer model Mac Mini with the following extras and warranty voiding upgrades for less than £800:-

1) Mac Mini 2.3Ghz - I don't care about gaming performance and the increase in CPU power of the 2.5Ghz model is insignificant.

2) Thunderbolt to DVI adapter

3) 16Gb RAM from Crucial

4) 240Gb Agility 3 SSD + Lowerflex cable, Mac Mini motherboard removal tool and 11-piece Newertech toolkit

5) Add my current SSD to use as a recording drive using the Lower Flex cable and the Agility 3 as the system drive voiding my warranty in the process unless I go the used route for the Core i5 Mac Mini aswell then use the drive the Core i5 mini came with in the other model I'm using a media centre.

this would be the cheapest option and get me 1 system dedicated to my media library/iTunes etc and a dedicated audio only setup that would run Pro Tools 10 quite adequately but I'd still have at least one 3.5" drive lying around unused.

If there was an affordable, entry level, i7 based tower system built using desktop class, not laptop or server class components with equal internal expansion to my current G4 (2 x 3.5" drive bays, 1 x 2.5" bay, 1 x optical bay and several PCI slots), I'm sure a lot of people would buy them over the iMac or Mac Mini or even buy a Mac in the first place if they simply HAD to get a Windows PC because they couldn't manage with the compromises involved in Apple's range of Laptops and Laptops for your desk.

 

[Treebs]

I bet new iMacs will be announced in a month and shipped with mountain lion. My wife is going to force me to buy the current model in July if they are not out yet.

 

[Treebs]

I can't believe that apples world of secrecy is compromised by the NYT's reporter Pogue. I don't believe a word of it David. There are probably 500 people or more with a Tim cook email address just designed to troll with. And apples PR is reaching out to MacRumors, my arse. The reality is that these could all be lies. Making all MP people think that it's not until 2013 and will make them all more excited when the new Mac Pros are announced in July along side the IMac like it once was back in the days of the G3, G4, G5. Good days are ahead for Apple. Remember too Johnny Ive saying that he is working on some of the best work of his life. I'm sure he doesn't engineer on an iMac or small screened laptop.Yes I'm sure what he works on is years ahead of what we get but probably always close to a release. The upgrade to the MP was a slap in the face for pros but also a way to keep it on the shelf a little longer. My guess is if you don't see a new MP in July, then go elsewhere because the 2013 thing is probably real. Tim Cook also said they are doubling down on secrecy. I know when I'm keeping a secret and then asked about it I will lie to send people in another direction. Especially if it's my wife asking about a Xmas gift.

 

[strangegeek]

Here's hoping for an IMac refresh in July

I bet new iMacs will be announced in a month and shipped with mountain lion. My wife is going to force me to buy the current model in July if they are not out yet.

That is the strategy I have decided on - I want to get an IMac, I love my Macbook Pro (mid-2009 17" 8 GB) and it performs wonderfully but I'm tired of squinting and want the 27" screen. After much debate I decided that I will wait until July when Mountain Lion comes out and if a new IMac comes out that's fantastic and if it doesn't then I'm too impatient to wait any longer

 

[Treebs]

I can't believe that apples world of secrecy is compromised by the NYT's reporter Pogue. I don't believe a word of it David. There are probably 500 people or more with a Tim cook email address just designed to troll with. And apples PR is reaching out to MacRumors, my arse. The reality is that these could all be lies. Making all MP people think that it's not until 2013 and will make them all more excited when the new Mac Pros are announced in July along side the IMac like it once was back in the days of the G3, G4, G5. Good days are ahead for Apple. Remember too Johnny Ive saying that he is working on some of the best work of his life. I'm sure he doesn't engineer on an iMac or small screened laptop.Yes I'm sure what he works on is years ahead of what we get but probably always close to a release. The upgrade to the MP was a slap in the face for pros but also a way to keep it on the shelf a little longer. My guess is if you don't see a new MP in July, then go elsewhere because the 2013 thing is probably real. Tim Cook also said they are doubling down on secrecy. I know when I'm keeping a secret and then asked about it I will lie to send people in another direction. Especially if it's my wife asking about a Xmas gift.

 

[D Madison]

Hurry Up and Wait

Funny. I’ve been waiting since October to get the new MBP. Days before the WWDC I began thinking I don’t really need a laptop, and started looking at the iMac, which I decided was much better bang for the buck. No problem. The iMac has been out for over a year; it will be updated too! Won’t have to be eagerly consulting MacRumors daily for anything I can hang my hat on. Now here I am on the waiting treadmill again for . . . . Will someone be so good as to check daily to see that I have sufficient hamster food?

In my opinion, it is dishonest in the extreme for Apple to keep hanging a “New” tag on year-or-more-old goods, and too unethical by half to not inform potential buyers that a new model is about to be released, and only offer a two-week window for returning it for the new. Buying a year-old computer, outdated in five years or so, you’ve already lost 20% or a minimum of $200 just by clicking “Proceed to Checkout.” Well, as the saying goes, Caveat empty.

 

[mward333]

Apple Store--Mac Pro no longer listed as "new"

The Apple Store Online did something I've never seen them do. They had the Mac Pro listed as "New" after the WWDC, but now they removed the "New" label on the Mac Pro's listing. Very strange! The "New" label is gone today!

 

[GeMenRe]

1. Ping: Dead

2. 17'' inch MBP: Dead

3. Mac Pro: On expiry

Instead of enticing poor Mac Pro users, just say whether the future of Mac Pro is dead or not.

on Ping vs Facebook:
a: was there ever a reason to use it?
b: You don't find "friends" and
c: you are not reminded every week with somebody you share on some other platform to harass them to become your friend too...
d: you never had to enter your job profile, personal pictures to be accepted

I just hope that Facebook won't replace Ping in iTunes alerting me, that some distant cousin is using 10 % of the same music collection which cd's he probably got from me anyway or your boss decreasing your salary because he doesn't like your taste in music :roll eyes:

But back on topic: to create content for the mac you have to work on a mac and for proper content you need a proper mac such as the Mac Pro...