I think we differ on the item of NEED. NEED to me means "cannot do without". In which case, the answer is simple, fulfill the need. However the need in this case is NOT simply expandability, it's inexpensive, expandability that runs macOS AND is not a hackintosh (so you can get actual work done). If you spell out the NEED, and the target doesn't exist, then the answer is simple, too.
As I posted above, to wait this long and then have the object of your desire priced above what you can afford must hurt. I like your signature.. --God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can & wisdom to know the difference.
That's the setup I'm leaning towards.
Don't get me wrong, the mini is very, very nice, and now with TB3 and EGPUs I could get a functional, expandable setup. I like that.
But the issue is I would have liked to NOT have to externalize everything.
That leaves us middle-of-the-grounders in the same situation we were when the Mac Pro Tube was introduced:
The difference between now and 2013 is that TB2 wasn't fast enough, and as usual Apple jumped too far forward while cutting the present off at the knees.
Now with TB3, the concept Apple was going for in the Tube is fulfilled with the mini. And for the pros that REALLY got screwed over by the Tube, Apple built the new Mac Pro.
Sadly, this Mac Pro doesn't scale down like the old one did.
So the writing's on the wall. Apple will NEVER build the machine I want (a consumer-grade PC tower equivalent).
Semantics
If I ask a poor man why he’s not buying a Mac Pro, he can say “it’s more than I’m willing to pay” OR he can say “it’s more than I can afford”. Doesn’t matter, the outcome is the same. That man won’t have a Mac Pro. And I checked Apple’s website. The current Mac Pro is $2,999 and $3,999. That model, which is the model on sale, has not been doubled. When the new Mac Pro is released later this year, it will be a NEW model and will be whatever price it is.I can say that just as well as you can say “It’s more than I’m willing to pay”. That REALLY should be the end of it. It’s more than you’re willing to pay, make the decision not to buy it, then carry on with your life.
And THAT is the core of what all these threads are about.
If you look at every single post that doesn’t like the Mac Pro, you can read into it that “THE PRICE AND FEATURES ON OFFER DO NOT MATCH MY EXPECTATIONS! I WAS SNUBBED AND I’M UNHAPPY!” As a result, as you start to pin down details of their disdain, you get thoughts like the below.And people that work... in Studios are.......... amateurs? Glad we got that straight.
If Lexus releases an updated version of the same model, but it has many more features, much better performance, new design, build quality, a redesigned engine etc and they decide to charge a lot more, then it makes sense.
Not saying you are wrong but the fact remains that it makes little sense to intentionally sink such high development cost into a product line that prices itself into a very limited market and has a starting configuration that is not priced competitively. Since the system was made to be configurable, it would have been MUCH smarter to have started with prosumer configurations in the same form factor. This would have greatly increased scale and help recover development cost. The iMac Pro is a stop-gap measure with far too many compromises (even ignoring the fact that it is always thermal throttled) that should never had been needed. It simply isn’t the right form factor for a workstation.
No, Pro means “will spend what I need in order to do my work”. If what they need to spend is $400, then that’s what they’ll spend. Anything more than that is overkill. If what they need to spend is $400,000, that’s what they’ll spend. Anything less than that is shorting themselves.
People want to buy something that Apple doesn’t even offer as a product.
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BUT THEY DON’T NOW
CORRECT! And they haven’t cared about it for awhile. Anyone paying attention over the last few years saw Apple targeting specific segments with each system release. Anyone paying attention... for example, me, have felt that the Mac Pro’s performance and price would start around where the iMac Pro stops, and go up from there. As a result, I’m not surprised.
@"Unregistered 4U, you're a reasonable man with real world common sense. Thank you.
Aw, jeeze enough small thinking and ungratefulness already. There is a reason many of you cannot or will not buy this unit. Because if your only thoughts are to to snub Apple at every turn, & gripe gripe, gripe, truth is you've already essentially stumped (amputated) and cauterized your ability to create the growth of your studio. Negative thinking words and actions create negative results and you are responsible for that. For goodness sake, it's only a $5 to $10k investment. How much did you spend on your car or truck, and toys? Do they make you money, no. Ask yourself when considering a somewhat large expenditure . "Is it working for me, or am I working for it? Meaning is it something that will pay for itself, or will you be paying for it? Now ask that same question concerning the vehicles you now drive and pay for, which on avg. is in the $40,000 range nowadays. Ya, when justifying the stroke to your ego, for $40.000, which will never pay for itself, and then you cry like an entitled trust fund child cause Apple is selling it in space grey, and you wanted blue, is just downright embarrassing to watch. Companies don't wait until the need is there, and they certainly don't sit around and whine. They look at their future and they "invest" because their intention is to be able to meet demand on the turn of a dime. No company is going to justify stagnation, when it's intent is to be able to be the first to meet demand. The difference between rich people and poor people is, rich people never pass up an opportunity to be the first to the lion's share. Poor people say, I'll do it tomorrow. because they are afraid moving out of their comfy, selfish, stagnated mentality, so they find excuses not to, which frankly so what the majority fo you are whining about. You're serving an industry where "creativity is as important as talent. Then you turn around and consciously kill those same creative powers, and that completely prohibits imagining growth for your "business." It's just "right sized thinking," and not letting the daily gnats swarming around you, to distract you from being successful. If you can't think big enough to imagine this machine, give up now, cause you don't win races crying at the minutia. Yes it is minutia (gnats) in the big picture. How do you do that? You make up your mind, stand up, pull up your skirt and swing for the bleachers. Cause 100% of the putts in golf that are too short...don't go into the hole. You whipped it, you lose, and everyone sees that. When you find excuses, those are excuses to fail. When you determine your path and go strong, you win. because you refuse to allow doubt to even get the tiniest foothold. You're going to spend $5k-$10k doing or buying meaningless things. Why not have some purpose instead, and...a good appreciative attitude...That's how you succeed. Because whether you think you can, or can't...you're right
AND pros and folks NOT on a fixed income.
This is probably the sentiment Apple has but it is the wrong way of thinking about computers and especially about desktop systems. It is the same mentality that led them to building the trash can Mac Pro. The iMac Pro was never meant to be the “workstation” product line and the form factor is compromised for such purposes. Apple should have discontinued the iMac Pro, made the configurable new Mac Pro start with prosumer configurations (i7-i9 CPU, up to 128 GB non-ECC RAM, etc) up to “Pro” class (Xeon, up to 2TB ECC RAM, etc). This could have been done using modular trays similar to the old cheese grater. This approach would have greatly increased sales volume of new form factor, decreased cost, increased profits. But Apple does not want upgradable systems to be mainstream. Too much revenue comes from the very overpriced upgrades customers pay for soldered in RAM, storage, GPU, etc.
Unfortunately, that way of thinking ONLY comes about when a company, that expects to lose your business, still RETAINS your business. Yes, they love making the market calculations that tell them they’re going to lose X many customers and they actually lose far less than that.
I actually think we hit a breakthrough a few posts back. People have been saying,”It’s too expensive, it’s not for pros” and others have been saying, “What are you talking about, it’s for people that have no qualms with the price, who, incidentally, ARE pros”. Followed by the inevitable back and forth that gets further and further away from the main point.
