Steve and Apple have Mac users figured out.
They excel in creating hype, and use panic to their advantage.
I think they learned this from the Segway guy. There was this new thing, it's going to change the world, etc. It turned out to be a stupid electric rolling platform that only lame mall-cops use, as far as I can tell.
Steve has done the same thing. He hypes up new products that will "change the world as we know it," and it is always just some cute junk that people have convinced themselves they HAVE to have NOW. It's no different with the "pro" line.
By keeping silent about the newest pro machine, an environment creates itself in which people speculate. We've been trained into a Pavlovian response in which we demand being constantly fed new products. Enter the iPad, and see the feeding frenzy it created. There is only so far that stupid thing can go before the lipstick wears off, but it will hold us over long enough for a new tower to be polished up.
In the meantime, old Macs keep getting older, and the pool of users that feel their machines need updating grows larger. Once it reaches the breaking point... BOOM! Steve hypes up the NEW MAC PRO that kicks the ass of the Sun God Ra himself, and we will tear out the eyes of children to get it after waiting so long.
See, Apple is waiting. This tech wave with i7 and beyond-quad-core was one of the smaller waves, and they're waiting for the bigger waves behind it to come, so they can finish bigger with more style.
In my opinion, there is evidence of this in the cycle / waves of Android vs. iPhones. The 3G and 3GS were on top, then they let the android market swoop in behind them, but on a smaller wave at first. Android started to pick up and fill out, getting cooler, more hip, more widespread... and Apple throws out the iPad-iPhone 4 one-two punch. It's all just a little bit better than Android - - better screen resolution, front and rear cameras, multi-tasking (finally) and powerful enough to edit HD video on. (Edit video on a stupid phone, really? That's another rant for another time.) Now they're on top again in the mobile market, and it will take that much more effort for their competitors to out-surf them in the next heat.
Apple will build a new Mac Pro, and it will be scrumtrulescent. The pros will suck from the teats of it, savoring the nectar it gives with crack-like addiction, and have no problem justifying the increased cost, because it's the top of the big wave again.
I jumped on this train right as the 3.33GHz model came out, and I'm happy. I think it will last long enough to allow me to skip one wave (Mac Pro 5,1) and jump on the following Mac Pro 6,1 wave. I don't believe pros will be editing feature films on phones in five, ten or even twenty years, but things will change for sure.
Why sweat it? Go with the flow, mang.
This isn't 1998.
I don't know why so many of you guys here share that flawed mentality that Windows = unreliable. If anything, today Windows is more reliable than OS X, relative to their market share.
exactly.
i read all the time that Mac users so do not want to move to windows because it crashes, freezes...explodes what not. Seriously ive been working with windows7 & Mac OS and to be honest, windows 7 is just as stable as Mac OS, i had it freeze on me but so did my Mac OS. Some things are better in Windows7 , some things are better in Mac OS. i even saw a windows 7 os that was so customized it looked even more sweet than Snow leopard...![]()
Or, 2007![]()
exactly.
i read all the time that Mac users so do not want to move to windows because it crashes, freezes...explodes what not. Seriously ive been working with windows7 & Mac OS and to be honest, windows 7 is just as stable as Mac OS, i had it freeze on me but so did my Mac OS. Some things are better in Windows7 , some things are better in Mac OS. i even saw a windows 7 os that was so customized it looked even more sweet than Snow leopard...![]()
The enterprise/business systems tend to be devoid of the additional crap that comes on the consumer systems, which is what you get if buying a Dell Precision T3500 or T5500 system for example....decided to go the Dell or HP route, I would suggest a reinstall of the OS when you get the machine just to clean off all bloatware they install.
Vista was a mess when they first released it. SP1 improved matters significantly, and SP2 is now out. That said, Windows 7 is still better IMO for stability.Windows 7? Stable? Sure.
But that's why I also referenced the year 2007. Don't forget the lovely Vista.
In the keynote Jobs said had $60M on table for iAds for second half of the year. Total... not profits
That's what they got in 8 days before officially starting up iAds.
Imagine how much they will be getting really.
Absolutely, and as the specific models aren't broken down from the computer sales figures, some are seriously wondering if that's actually happened.If the run rate on Mac Pros is in the sub 100K units/yr range it has problems. Big problems.
very constructive.... /slap
If the current Mac Pro meeds your needs and you have a software investment then I see no issue. This whole must get updated systems or die attitude is pointless.
If you need a stable high end workstation and the MP sits within your requirements and budget then its a good choice. A comparable HP or Dell dual Xeon workstation class machine is about the same cost (please lets not get into the 'I can build it cheaper with i7 and gamer's parts argument').
I don't get some peoples attitudes about the 'outdated' MP. it does the job or it doesn't: its that simple for most people who earn from their systems. if it does then get one, if not then with wait or consider the options (switching etc).
I do not earn my main income from my systems so I am happy to wait and see, but when my budget allows I shall buy a Mac Pro (current or updated whatever is about at the time). Yes I would get a refurb if there is no update (to save serious pennies - PC World business often have current quads for about £1300).
at the end of the day your needs, budget and way of working will help you determine the answer.
That just seems like a temper tantrum made by an apple blogger.
Just because Steve didnt talk about the Mac in WWDC doesnt mean anything. When the time to upgrade comes it'll come. Jeez.
8 weeks. They announced iPhone OS 4 (and iAds) weeks ago... not days ago. And they were pitching to folks before the announcement. Also, unless they shot the previous customers the ad company they bought had in the head, they had a customer list to start with.
The second factor is that there is a fixed amount of money for ads. Some companies may slightly boost they ad budget but for the most part for this year the ad budgets are fixed. They might canablilize their TV/print budgets a bit, but not going to be a huge shift at first.
Jobs quoted that an estimate for the whole mobile market ad market was around $250M for 2010 ( $125M for second half) . That's probably a bit low if can get ads up on iPads and expanding Android market. However, $250M is about 84K Mac Pros units at $3,000. Even if took over the whole $125M is about 42K Mac Pros units sold in 6 months. If the run rate on Mac Pros is in the sub 100K units/yr range it has problems. Big problems.
yeah, but you can't just think about it from a pure profit perspective.
Not offering a pro desktop means pros won't want to invest in mac software and macs in general.
, but not offering pro-level products cheapens the brand for sure.
It's as if saying, we can't compete with everyone else at the pro level, we just have cheap consumer grade stuff for sale.
I seem to remember that Mac Pros have been priced very competitively when they are fresh in their product cycle. Like when the current Mac Pro dual processor model was new, you could go on pricewatch.com (popular computer component shopping aggregator) and the whole Mac Pro cost about as much as the two Xeon processors alone.
Obviously you wouldn't want to buy the same computer for the same price today as you could have 464 days ago.
it's hard for anyone's budget to justify purchasing a computer that is using hardware over a year old that costs just as much as the day it was released.
Now, since it's clear that Apple doesn't care about the Pro Market, would it be a wise decision to switch to PC. I mean, I don't want to drop over $3,000 on a machine that is 1 1/2 out of date. And I don't to put money into a product line that apple might end up being canceled by apple pretty soon.
Would it be wise to just buy a used MP from ebay or something or just forget my mac plans and get a PC workstation?
just a thought, could Apple be holding out because of USB 3.0?
USB 3.0 boards have been shipping on the PC side since the beginning of the year.
Even if Apple are holding back for Light Peak that's a technology so far ahead of product lines that it could be a year or more before they add it to retail units.
That's too long to justify holding the Mac Pro line back.
There is conflicting information on the details as to Apple's involvement, but the actual development hasn't been done by Apple. It's Intel and other partners.Remember that Apple have developed this technology and intel have demoed it, first on a Mac Pro and recently they demoed in on a a Windows laptop.
Light Peak is due next year. But i will bet that apple have exclusive rights to be the first to the market. Preferable several months.
Not USB at all it is Light Peak they are waiting on.
Light Peak is due next year.
If Mac Pros are increasing at 20% a year and your workload/machine demands are increasing at 20+% a year then you need different systems. Or perhaps at least different software to either get more work out of the systems or make farming work out to a cluster easier.
There is conflicting information on the details as to Apple's involvement, but the actual development hasn't been done by Apple. It's Intel and other partners.
As per the demo units, the first one at the 2009 IDF was cobbled together using PC parts, not Apple's (I've posted on this before - look closely at the pics of the system, as it's a PC PSU, and even uses a blue LED fan on the CPU cooler).
I do beleive Apple's contributed the OS X code, as it's in their best interest to develop it now, so as to be sure they've got it ready when parts become available. That's the whole point of getting Evaluation boards (which are all that's actually available right now), as you use it to develop firmware and drivers, then perform validation testing (wash, rinse, repeat, until it's working properly).
in the long run it is meant to replace all the others.. said:Light Peak is not a replacement to USB 3.0