It means nothing. All it means is Apple will now offer 8GB modules in the build-to-order configuration. If you want to put 8GB modules in your MacBook Pro, then go buy some. You can put four 8GB modules in a current model 27" iMac too - it has nothing to do with "supported configuration" It's about availability at the time the model was released.
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New iMac and Mac Mini Models to Retain Current Pricing, Add 8 GB RAM Module Options
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It means nothing. All it means is Apple will now offer 8GB modules in the build-to-order configuration. If you want to put 8GB modules in your MacBook Pro, then go buy some. You can put four 8GB modules in a current model 27" iMac too - it has nothing to do with "supported configuration" It's about availability at the time the model was released.
Wish they would drop the price of the Mac Mini by $100 and give us a RAMless and Driveless machine.
Many people would prefer to DIY. Of course I understand that will never happen. The margin on the actual machine is pretty slim and all the profit is from the add-ons.
Many people would prefer to DIY. Of course I understand that will never happen. The margin on the actual machine is pretty slim and all the profit is from the add-ons.
That probably amounts to a couple hundred bucks for most people. Not really worth the trouble.
It depends on how they phrase it. There was already a serious post on here that said "No Retina iMac = no buy" as if it Apple could do it but are just being mean.
If that person had said "I'm going to put up with the older Mac I have now, and wait a couple of years until I can get one with a Retina screen" then it'd be different. There's no sense of entitlement to the feature today.
Real men make smart financial decisions and buy based on their needs.
Weak-minded men who feel they have some shortcoming in their life buy something excessive to compensate for that shortcoming. Those men need self-esteem therapy more than a Mac Pro.
Wow! I've got a 2008 iMac with 4GB of ram and I'm almost constantly using right at all but about 50 MB of it. I use photoshop/illustrator all the time, but I do have to close them, and chrome, to open aperture or other big apps. Can't wait to have a machine that has 32GB (or more if possible) of ram in it.
We Don't Need Thinner iMacs...
...But we could use iMacs that have basic ergonomic adjustments available on cheap external displays. And don't forget an anti-glare display option.
My current 2006 iMac is going to be replaced with a Mac Mini combined with an excellent 24" NEC with an anti-glare display that can be easily adjusted.
Apple has become a company that focuses on developing eye-candy instead of computers that can be used all day long without suffering from eyestrain and problems associated with typing on terrible keyboards.
...But we could use iMacs that have basic ergonomic adjustments available on cheap external displays. And don't forget an anti-glare display option.
My current 2006 iMac is going to be replaced with a Mac Mini combined with an excellent 24" NEC with an anti-glare display that can be easily adjusted.
Apple has become a company that focuses on developing eye-candy instead of computers that can be used all day long without suffering from eyestrain and problems associated with typing on terrible keyboards.
I think making SSD the main, standard, drive and offering an optional HDD drive would be nice.
Nicer still I would love to see SSD Caching as a real option.
I would expect the redesign and the Retina to go hand in hand as the 15" MBPr.
The Retina iMac will likely be more expensive than the current screens so Retina plus a redesign would be much more enticing than just a Retina update to a one or two-year previous redesign.
That's my guess.
Waste of money to you, maybe. I don't like opening new iMacs and MBPs. They end up with a scratch, or a screw that doesn't quite go back correctly and protrudes, and there's always a sinking feeling in the back of my mind that I've introduced some subtle damage somehow that's going to bite me later.
I just buy the configuration I want and I'm done with it.
It may not affect AppleCare, but it's best to not have to deal with AppleCare if you don't have to. Nothing is worse than dragging a 27" iMac to the Apple Store multiple times, and being without the computer.
Well I don't carry my iMac around with me - I would rather have 32GB of RAM.
Sure, a thinner iMac would be wonderful, but NOT at the expense of performance. Steve mentioned that not everyone needs a truck - well I do need a truck and since Apple has cut their biggest truck off at the knees (MacPro is basically dead) - the iMac is the only powerhouse left (that isn't a laptop).
Sure, redesign it, make it thinner - but give us the power we need! I'd love to see an iMac with a 6-core ship with a 48GB RAM capacity.
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Sure, a thinner iMac would be wonderful, but NOT at the expense of performance. Steve mentioned that not everyone needs a truck - well I do need a truck and since Apple has cut their biggest truck off at the knees (MacPro is basically dead) - the iMac is the only powerhouse left (that isn't a laptop).
Sure, redesign it, make it thinner - but give us the power we need! I'd love to see an iMac with a 6-core ship with a 48GB RAM capacity.
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I'm in the same boat right now.
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Haha was going to ask - what about Thunderbolt? Assuming its not dead and buried hope I am wrong!
TBolt will be with us for many years to come. How useful it will be depends on the prices of peripherals.
LOL. Yes all these idiots that think they should be entitled to get $10k tech for $1k just because its Apple. Apple could make a Retina 27" screen but that screen would cost about $10K just like all the 4K video editing monitors do. Do they think Apple just makes all this stuff using magic or something.
Whilst I do agree to some extent, the Mac Pro is really overkill now. Not in terms of performance, but its size. You could easily reduce its size (and weight!) without it having any baring on its existing flexibility. For most people the 'top' of the pro contains just the PSU and one superdrive. The superdrive is tiny now (as seen in the Mac Mini and MBP), yet the pro still ships with a bulky drive. The PSU is still a 'traditional' PSU, however again, these can be made MUCH smaller (again, the Mac Mini is a good example, but obviously the Mac Pro one would be slightly larger to allow for it's higher power needs)
Those two relatively minor parts alone could nock a good 15CM off the height.
Then there's the huge empty space for cooling behind the GPU's, the cooling on the Pro is excellent, but it's overkill. You could get away with a much smaller exhaust fan, taking a good 5CM off the height there, as well as about 8CM off the width.
The CPU fans could also be shrunk down a fair bit now. With the older models they were a necessity, but with the latest Xeon's you dont really need them that big.
This is all without even thinking about moving stuff around. You could even add more extensibility by adding an extra 4 HDD bays below the existing 4, or even adding 2 more where the unused optical drive space is.
Finally there's the case shell. It uses a rather thick aluminium...very thick actually. This seems to be solely for design aesthetics, as you'd still have perfectly good strength with a thinner alloy (such as those now in use on the MBP, iMac and Mini lines) which would make the case a fair bit lighter (and hopefully avoid razor-sharp cuts to the hands when you pick it up by the handles!!)
I'd be happy with Ivy CPUs and 16GB MacMini Server and at least two USB 3.0 ports. Even more happy if it had dual GigE ports or at least a GigE to USB 3 to get faster throughput. Although I guess I could use the current USB Ethernet for public facing Internet and on board for internal.
I can assure you, it's much worse lugging a Power PC Mac Pro to a crowded mall/even more crowded apple store during Christmas shopping season.
If you look at this article: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/12/nand_shrink_trap/ there is the claim that flash memory runs into some serious problems with production capacity. So it would make real sense to build something into the OS that lets Mac users combine a 128 or even 64 GB flash drive with a 1TB or 2TB hard drive. Best if it is invisible to the user.
Z68 and Z77 motherboards already support this. All Apple has to do is enable it in the EFI.