Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Hmm, so it seems we go back to the innovative system designs of the 80s. Separate CPU and storage and connect everything with cables.

Can't say if I find this a step forward...
CoCo3system.jpg
 
When was a new Mac Truck announced that had a complete redesign and was twice as fast?

It's still a truck, and there's nothing special about it - maybe it's smaller but the size comes with a tradeoff and it doesn't make it computer magically better than any other computer of equal spec and caliber.

(Sorry for the long sentence)
 
Say what you will about Texas, but they have been attracting business from other states for a while. Are the tax incentives that strong or is it lack of regulations?
 
Say what you will about Texas, but they have been attracting business from other states for a while. Are the tax incentives that strong or is it lack of regulations?

It's both.

We have a trainer at work boasting that most of us would've been fired by now if we'd been working for him in Texas instead of Minnesota.

----------

I've been waiting for a new Mac Pro for such a long time but I fear Apple have completely misunderstood the needs of many pro users. I'm not sure I want to change my requirements to fit in with what Apple has to offer. Not this time.
 
Pros don't care what the machine looks like. We just want raw power. This machine can only be half as powerful as the competition by default.

As a pro (scientific computing), I care what my machines look like - that's one reason I've always gravitated towards Apple products because they are functional and aesthetically-pleasing.

The Mac Pro design was not just about aesthetics though - it's shaped like a turbine to maximize airflow and cooling in a compact shape. Function defined form as much as form defined function.
 
I've been waiting for a new Mac Pro for such a long time but I fear Apple have completely misunderstood the needs of many pro users. I'm not sure I want to change my requirements to fit in with what Apple has to offer. Not this time.
 
or the new Mac Pro (mini).... not the trashcan form factor but the same design themes and black... now that would be sweet.:D:D

With a Dell or HP label on the box? I covered that in option a.
Even if Apple merged Mac mini and Mac Pro they'd still be about an order of magnitude off a run rate of 2M.


One of the primary reasons why Apple gave a "sneak peak" of the new Mac Pro is because the old one is being discontinued. That wouldn't be sweet. That would be a complete change in Apple practices. Fratricide of highly overlapping Mac Pro variants would only kill of both faster.
 
why would they possibly need 1700 people to build a product that probably sells low 5 figures annually?
 
Who cares about how a PRO-desktop looks?

I dont mind if they keep it in the current form factor, as long as it's powerfull!

All I care about in a desktop is performance.


Steve would never have allowed these shenanigans...
 
Who cares about how a PRO-desktop looks?

I dont mind if they keep it in the current form factor, as long as it's powerfull!

All I care about in a desktop is performance.


Steve would never have allowed these shenanigans...

Apparently performance is off the charts...

Arguing that Steve wouldn't care about asthetics is silly.:rolleyes:
 
It's both.

We have a trainer at work boasting that most of us would've been fired by now if we'd been working for him in Texas instead of Minnesota.



Thats what Ive heard too and its a testament to what happens when you remove draconian, worthless regulations from a business and their path forward. They grow. they add jobs, they increase tax revenue. Amazing concept. But, no, plenty of states are still held hostage by the EPA and other "Empire-Like" groups who really only care about job security. More regs and red tape, more jobs for them.

Taxes too - you lower taxes and then..the business HIRES MORE TAXPAYERS! More homes are sold, more taxes are collected, etc, etc. Brilliaant concept, isnt it? But, lots of people just dont get it. Sadly. :rolleyes:
 
If you are serious and have a few days, we can begin to explain the book of production issues.

As some others already posted, one cannot develop production know how overnight. The resources that takes are better spent in areas of ones expertise.

Contract work has many advantages over owning and running a factory. (I have done both)

Besides personnel management, HR issues, paperwork for thousands of employees, ever changing production lines require further investments and what if the day comes that there is no work for a factory when a product cycle is finished?

If you contract, no worries. You just don't place any orders and if you own an Apple factory and now want to contract for others, that won't work as these are competitors.

The type of production output needed for iPhones and iPads requires a lot of workers and the amount of qualified personnel is not available in the US.
(engineers for example)

Supervising a Contract manufacturer is much easier. One can tell them what specs to work by, push them for greater output and offload all production issues to them.

If that would all happen internally Apple would have a ton of internal discussions with she said and he said arguing when something goes wrong.

US labor laws and practices are also not business friendly.

The list goes on and on.

Just because Apple has money, doesn't mean they need to spend it unwisely.

Owning a plant doesn't give them more bang for the buck. Developing the next best thing does!


Okay, so you place your reputation in the hands of a subcontractor. Based on the number of repeated problems in 2011 macbook pros, of which you may go to Apple's own discussion forums and find a LOT of angry people with repeated problems and due to poor design (and if people here read them, they would stop the malarkey about how it's A-OK to run these things at high temperatures ;) ) ... yeah, a lot of customers are pretty angry over a $2500 laptop that was poorly built. Rightly so.

Oh, everyone whines about regulations. Which ones, since you claim to have run a business and thus know all of these details firsthand? I know of a lot of regulations that hurt small businesses, placed there by big businesses that hate competition...

Best of all, would you work for a country (even a communist one that hates America's freedoms) or company that was "business friendly"? Or would you feel so enslaved and tortured that you might jump off a building to kill yourself? You might want to look up some of the business practices Apple has tolerated in the past from its suppliers and subcontractors, right down to child labor... And, yes, that hurts Apple's reputation too. Or is it too much to be pro-life?

If you want the system, try living in it before manipulating, coercing, or forcing it onto others as a "job creator", "market force", or anything else.

Thank you. Because we love you just as much as you love us. ♥ :)
 
Thats what Ive heard too and its a testament to what happens when you remove draconian, worthless regulations from a business and their path forward. They grow. they add jobs, they increase tax revenue. Amazing concept. But, no, plenty of states are still held hostage by the EPA and other "Empire-Like" groups who really only care about job security. More regs and red tape, more jobs for them.

Taxes too - you lower taxes and then..the business HIRES MORE TAXPAYERS! More homes are sold, more taxes are collected, etc, etc. Brilliaant concept, isnt it? But, lots of people just dont get it. Sadly. :rolleyes:

Please tell me you're joking.
 
They're finally bringing production of something back to the USA, and they are sending it out to a contracted builder...

Which is fine. It's still employment.

Although, assuming it is Apple doing this, it makes you wonder why they tried that song and dance before, claiming the US doesn't have enough industrial engineers to build devices here. Or the story that they needed workers who could roll out of bed at 2AM on just a cup of tea.

--

One interesting thing in the article was that Flextronics is trying to get their Austin plant declared a foreign trade zone. That would allow them to build units and not pay customs on parts unless the device is sold in the US.

why would they possibly need 1700 people to build a product that probably sells low 5 figures annually?

Well, it might not be Apple. Also, they've only hired 880 people. The 1700 was dependent on product sales.
 
So, another "new" Mac Pro ? We haven't got this one public yet.

(looks just like the one Apple showed of at wwdc)

And we still don't know the price yet .....

Looks like Apples building as fast as they can get it out.
 
Might consider a new trash can if the price is right!

I could be talked into a Mac Pro based on price and specs. But it has to be less then $3K including monitor and SSD!
 
Please tell me you're joking.

It's all right there. The math doesn't lie. There are such things as business friendly states and then there are NOT so business friendly states.

I assume you've never run a business before and don't understand how destructive overly obnoxious rules and regulations are. We aren't talking about dumping toxic waste into the lily pond here, we are talking about Govt getting out of people's way so they can produce and prosper.

So, no, I'm not joking. ;)
 
Okay, so you place your reputation in the hands of a subcontractor. Based on the number of repeated problems in 2011 macbook pros, of which you may go to Apple's own discussion forums and find a LOT of angry people with repeated problems and due to poor design (and if people here read them, they would stop the malarkey about how it's A-OK to run these things at high temperatures ;) ) ... yeah, a lot of customers are pretty angry over a $2500 laptop that was poorly built. Rightly so.

That remark is missing the point!
A bad product design is actually not the problem of a sub-contractor. Contract manufacturers have clear instructions on how to assemble something. That is done together with the customer.
So, if the 2011 MBP overheats, but is correctly assembled (by Apple's specs) then Apple is at fault and Apple would (and should) take the hit to its reputation.


Oh, everyone whines about regulations. Which ones, since you claim to have run a business and thus know all of these details firsthand? I know of a lot of regulations that hurt small businesses, placed there by big businesses that hate competition...

Business regulations are not put in by big businesses. Maybe they lobbied for them, but whatever these regulations are, they are law.
There are many things small businesses actually do not have to adhere to.

Citing multiple examples for regulations would take too much space here, but let's just say Apple wanted to build a factory. Designing a plan, to get it approved, environmental review, building permits all are subject to regulations one needs to know.

Asking a subcontractor to build or change a plant for their products is much easier.

Labor laws require extensive knowledge. Dealing with factory personnel is not that easy. again, you outsource and do not have the headaches.


Best of all, would you work for a country (even a communist one that hates America's freedoms) or company that was "business friendly"? Or would you feel so enslaved and tortured that you might jump off a building to kill yourself? You might want to look up some of the business practices Apple has tolerated in the past from its suppliers and subcontractors, right down to child labor... And, yes
, that hurts Apple's reputation too. Or is it too much to be pro-life?

You are asking Apple to play a role in fixing the world's problems. Nobody is forcing workers into the Chinese factories, but if you have seen how many line up when the factories are hiring you can see that they consider it a chance to make money. The argument that they have no choice is ridiculous
Not everybody works at FoxConn, so there must be other ways to earn money.
It is not Apple's fault that the China is overpopulated!
Also, not every thing we do in our Western mentality can be transported into other cultures. Judging what other cultures view as normal and criticizing it is wrong.


If you want the system, try living in it before manipulating, coercing, or forcing it onto others as a "job creator", "market force", or anything else.

Your idealistic view for a perfect world is not reality. Apple is a business and sells products. They have to have them made. How they do it, is not up to you or me. In their procurement process, they do actually create jobs for others.

But, the jobs require certain skills or are simple and boring. That is inherent in mass production. I work with people every day and see some who do not care and just want to get through 8 hours, some think and are advancing in their positions and some care about doing a good job and show interest.
The last group will become supervisors get promoted = more money.

The fact that we all have to work to make a living is also not Apple's fault. Everybody is free to decide what they want to do in life.


Whining about injustices of / by the business world isn't doing a thing!


Thank you. Because we love you just as much as you love us. ♥ :)

There is more, but again it would easily fill a book:)

----------

It's all right there. The math doesn't lie. There are such things as business friendly states and then there are NOT so business friendly states.

I assume you've never run a business before and don't understand how destructive overly obnoxious rules and regulations are. We aren't talking about dumping toxic waste into the lily pond here, we are talking about Govt getting out of people's way so they can produce and prosper.

So, no, I'm not joking. ;)

See my explanations to thermodynamic.

There are lots of posters here who do not understand how business works. There are even lists of which States are business friendly and which are the hardest to do business in.

A quick google shows it.

Also funny is if any of the idealistic people were in a position to decide whether to allow a factory which say would require environmental sacrifice (as in clearing a forrest, and that factory would bring say 5,000 jobs to their state (thus getting people of welfare, unemployment etc.) they would find a way to do it.

In the end sadly everything is about money. It is easy to criticize business being removed from deeper issues or not having the knowledge.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.