I hear the complaints and there's no denying the level of discontent. I can understand the lack of focus Apple has had on pro apps lately with releases becoming less frequent and more meagre - that's definitely concerning. However, when it comes to the Mac Pro, the complaints here seem to be a collection of relatively petty issues that can be solved very reasonably or are unfounded...
- eSata (put in a $50 card)
- FW400 (buy a cable)
- RAM slots ("settle" for 8GB, buy 4GB sticks, an 8 core, or a 2008)
- Graphics cards (???)
- Poor performance (???)
- Paying for more than I need (???)
??? = I don't understand how this can be an issue
As for the price of the Mac Pro, $2500-$3000 for a 3-5 year investment for a business or someone who's making money with their machine seams reasonable to me compared to the cost of other professional tools (video camera's, photography equipment, music production gear, etc.).
To help make things easier, there's tax write-offs to be had for businesses on the depreciation and there's always the option to buy refurbished or even used Mac Pro's. Also the resale value of Mac Pro's holds up MUCH better than any PC.
I don't think I'm blinded by fanboism but I just don't see a lot to be down about really. OSX, Apple's pro apps, and the Mac Pro are still an unbeatable combo in my opinion... What am I missing here?
Well let me address some of the things you posted. First off, why on earth should anyone spend 50 dollars to take up a pci card with an esata slot, when this is pretty much standard PC equipment? This is not a luxury item. On most 3rd party motherboards this is as common as usb. Leaving it off is basically Apple telling it's customers they think they are idiots.
The firewire thing is minor, but still kind of odd. But if they want to leave only ONE port on there I guess 800 is better than 400, even though 800 devices are very rare. But still, the cables are cheap so not a big deal for me at least.
RAM slots are a biggie. I think telling people to buy older hardware to more easily stay current with RAM needs is a huge huge tell. Just think about it for a bit. Why should anyone buy a more expensive machine for less (and artificially gimped) capability? It borders on "morally wrong" on Apple's part. There is
no reason for the quad 09 boards being the way they are other than Apple wants you to go to the dual proc machines. But aren't those 4x4 even? All of these boards should have six ram slots for each CPU. Anything less is basically thievery. Buying 4gb sticks is no solution, the price premium for these is
massive. It is simply not a viable solution for most, outside of pro houses that can afford to flush money.
Graphics cards choices on Mac are just way too expensive, and not much choice. They are basically way behind the times. Sure that market is driven by games a lot, but I find it ironic that a board that was so hyped over open CL, when that sorta thing already existed on Windows, and could be USED on Windows, still defends Apple for basically screwing customers in the graphics department. For video editing and processing, 3D work, and games (yes, it's ok to want one for games even though that is not personally my thing) the graphics matter, period. Why should the
choice not exist when it is such a very simple simple thing? It's the fact that Apple is basically actively STOPPING their customers from being able to use the best of what is out there that is irksome. Why do they do this? Why are the choices that are there so ridiculously overpriced?
Poor performance...my guess on this one is how buggy and slow OSX has gotten with Snow Leopard, especially when that was supposed to be a clean up and improve job. SL is by far my least favorite release (I jumped in at Tiger FYI). In fact, I'm starting to hate how limiting OSX feels. It's a necessary evil for me at this point, though it is very pretty. But for actual work it's kinda ...meh.
Paying more than what you need too...I imagine this is along the long of a 2500 dollar mac pro being less capable and pretty much crushed by an X58 based PC in the 1000-1500 dollar range. Seriously, you can smoke the thing, and with Windows 7 being pretty outstanding in so many ways, where is the advantage unless you are absolutely tied to certain software? There really isn't any at all. If you're getting viruses, or hacked on Windows in this day and age you are pretty much a complete idiot or should stop going to porn sites. It's all marketing FUD and idiot users that perpetuate the ideas that Windows is a kludgy malware fest. It's faster than OSX now based on my experience. And much more capable, by a significant margin.
Obviously everyone has different needs and will perceive things differently as well. That's fine, and it's quite alright if one person prefers OSX to Windows 7 and vice versa. I certainly understand both viewpoint as I am in the (what seems to be) unique position of liking and owning both platforms. That comes from not wrapping up my ego in my purchases. Most of the people who bash Windows are usually not too smart based on my personal experience (not a blanket statement, and hey I could be wrong). I even remember watching an Apple documentary where some very large man was saying how his Windows friends enjoy how complex(?) it is. Obviously there is a subset of strong Apple followers who revel in the fact that OSX is quite limiting. To them that is freedom. Not needing to know much of anything about the machines they use. That's fine, not everyone is computer inclined. For those types I can see how an iPad would be great. Maybe Apple will make a killing on those devices.
But for millions of users, Apple is just taking this stuff down the wrong path. They are regressing. I for one don't want dumb terminals that have to connect to a "mainframe" to run things. That's all this cloud talk really is, and it's certainly not what I want personally. I'm all for more networking, but I'm not for returning to an era that existed before I was even born!
Bottom line, Apple is giving us less for more, trying to seize as much control over users as possible and are being quite blatant about it. Some people see it, some people don't. Some people like it, I would say more don't, which is why their real global marketshare is at 4% or so. Think about it. That 4% used to be the creators. The musicians, the film editors, the photographers. These are the people Apple are basically directly abandoning, and instead focusing on what are essentially toys. A current iPhone, or an iPad is gonna be a crap device in 2-3 years. The film, or the music, or the photographs I make on my hardware will be timeless. Art lives on, consumerism based on devices can disappear overnight. Who is Apple supporting? These old men that run the company simply want to make a buck so they can do who knows what with the money.
Wow, how is that for a long post with an overly dramatic finish?
. I've turned dozens of people to 
