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Its because the Mac Pro manufacturing process is 90% robotic, and the robots are at capacity. Adding more humans doesn't speed anything up.

So why don't they add more robots instead?

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I configured my computer and it says March 5th :eek::eek::eek:

Maybe they should have announced it at next years WWDC instead as it sounds like June 2014 is when we might actually get one the way things are going.
 
Personally I don't mind the small internal storage. HFS+ is such an abomination of a filesystem that I'm happy to keep as little data on it as possible. My MacPro was ordered with the minimum flash for OS and apps, while the real data goes on a ZFS illumos NAS running Netatalk.
 
That's what happens when you have form over function!

But rest easy new Mac Pro owners, all your external components that you now need, to have any kind of real storage, will ship immediately. :D

-Kevin

This is complete nonsense, Mac Pro owners will likely opt for a SAN...

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Is it because American workers aren't prepared to put in the long hours for low wages, compared to their Asian counterparts?

Or is it just that they lack the small, nimble fingers required for precision assembly of high-tech electronics?

Right, because all Americans are big African and European descendants. There aren't any Asians or even Irish in the US with small hands.
 
Because this is just an initial surge and the added capacity would quickly become excess?

Do excess robots cause a problem? Not like you're paying them wages and with billions in the bank I'm sure Apple could afford it. Presumably Mr Cook thinks we'll all just sit on our hands and wait.
 
Damn unions.

If it wasn't for unions, child labor would still be a thing. Have you ever worked in a factory or construction job ? Ever watch someone accidentally hit their hand with a nail gun and get a 2 1/2" corrugated staple embedded in their arm ?

I have. And I can tell you, without the union not only would he have been out of a job but lost his health insurance. The surgery costs were VERY high, it would have bankrupted him. He was also paid something like 85% of his salary when he was out of work for a few months.

Good unions provide workers with protections that most people never think of. Sure, there are a lot of terrible unions like the one for cashiers at a supermarket. The good unions provide protection and help in dangerous jobs.

Now, I am sure someone will say that assembling a computer has little to no risks. Which is very far from the truth. There are tons of chemicals, sharp objects, and heavy machines for things like machining the aluminum.
 
Do excess robots cause a problem? Not like you're paying them wages and with billions in the bank I'm sure Apple could afford it. Presumably Mr Cook thinks we'll all just sit on our hands and wait.

They do if you purchase, assemble, and program them only to have them become useless after a short while. Having more cash than god doesn't necessarily mean they should throw some of it away on a temporary situation.
 
Glad I ordered mine before it slipped to February. My estimated ship date is January but that could mean January 31st of course. Ah well, it's progress so I'm not complaining. Just have to hope that my ancient Mac Pro 1,1 lasts a little longer...

I'll gladly take your old one off your hands :D haha
 
Nah ...

Benchmark tests never tell the whole story. They give you a starting point to make comparisons, but little more.

This new Mac Pro offers a lot of improvements in areas other than just raw CPU performance. The RAM communicates with a faster bus speed than any previous offerings, for example. The PCIe flash storage built on is supposedly a newer/better technology than current SSDs that attach to SATA drive connectors too. How much disk I/O performance improvement that gives is still probably an unknown, but I'm sure it's better than any current systems. The video should certainly outperform any cards you can put in previous Mac Pro models.

If it turns out even the *base* model of new Mac Pro doesn't outperform any of the existing iMacs -- then this is a massive fail on Apple's part. But I don't think that's how it's going to pan out in real world use.


It's a relief that it won't be available for 2 months...
I am seriously doubting this machine is worth the upgrade from my 12-core...
My geek bench tests show around 23000. The new 6-core is barely faster than a top iMac. It's a joke.
The numbers don't add up. To match the performance of my old Mac Pro I need to spend $8000 tax included.
I can probably get $3500 or so for all the stuff I already have on eBay but I still have to shell out $4500 more for just a little bit more performance and no way to expand internally.
Doesn't seem like the right move.
After you start adding peripherals and the monitor and stuff, you will end up with a disgusting web of cables on your desk.
I have 6 HD's incide My Mac and without any cables or power supplies.
I'm glad it sold out. I won't be getting one any time soon...
 
Do excess robots cause a problem? Not like you're paying them wages and with billions in the bank I'm sure Apple could afford it. Presumably Mr Cook thinks we'll all just sit on our hands and wait.

Yeah that's really an effective use of cash. And how do we know its lack of robots or manufacturing capacity causing the delay? What if the delay is on Intel's end? You can't build something if you don't have all the components.
 
Unions aren't the only solution for this ....

I'm not denying unions helped give people some added protection from dangerous working conditions like you describe.

BUT, it's only tunnel vision if you believe unions are the ONLY viable solution to this problem!

Let's say all of the labor unions vanished into thin air tomorrow? We still have all the legislation in place at the federal (not to mention state and local levels) that they fought for in the past, and I don't see almost any of that going away. (Heck, we still have completely useless laws on the books regulating things like tying your horse up to a barber pole -- because it's so hard to erase an existing law!) Lots of people are employed by organizations like OSHA who will throw a fit if their job is threatened.

Therefore, a certain level of worker safety could still be expected/demanded and employers brought to court when they failed to provide it.

As for workplace accidents like shooting oneself with a staple gun? I'm sure the private sector would see an opportunity to make money there, and someone would begin offering special riders to add onto existing policies, if not special policies themselves, offering coverage for such workplace risks?

If you CHOOSE to work for a non-union employer who doesn't even pay you enough to cover that kind of insurance or insurance add-on, you KNOW the added risks you're taking and you chose to do so anyway. So yep ... you suffer an accident with the big staple gun and you might be done.


If it wasn't for unions, child labor would still be a thing. Have you ever worked in a factory or construction job ? Ever watch someone accidentally hit their hand with a nail gun and get a 2 1/2" corrugated staple embedded in their arm ?

I have. And I can tell you, without the union not only would he have been out of a job but lost his health insurance. The surgery costs were VERY high, it would have bankrupted him. He was also paid something like 85% of his salary when he was out of work for a few months.

Good unions provide workers with protections that most people never think of. Sure, there are a lot of terrible unions like the one for cashiers at a supermarket. The good unions provide protection and help in dangerous jobs.

Now, I am sure someone will say that assembling a computer has little to no risks. Which is very far from the truth. There are tons of chemicals, sharp objects, and heavy machines for things like machining the aluminum.
 
Do excess robots cause a problem? Not like you're paying them wages and with billions in the bank I'm sure Apple could afford it. Presumably Mr Cook thinks we'll all just sit on our hands and wait.

What do you do with those robots (which would cost millions of dollars to factor into the production line) once the initial wave of demand is satisfied?
 
All you guys talking about how the disk and GPU aren't upgradable and that you're "stuck" with that you get, I mean that has to be ********. I just installed an SSD into an early 2009 plastic Mac Mini, but Apple did not consider it "user upgradable." It took less than five minutes.

So it probably won't be a simple upgrade. Maybe you'll have to buy a Torx-6 screwdriver. Big whoop.
 
I know pcie flash is fast and therefore more expensive but come on 256GB on a $4k pc is just wrong, even doing some kind of slower flash hybrid all flash fusion drive would have been better.

If you were in the market for a high end mac you probably are going to have extra stuffs for this anyway but you probably also have enough space for any size computer. I'm not saying it's the wrong design to go with it's very elegant in design but for the price it doesn't make much sense leaving all the extras out.

I mean at least offer a full computer as an option with 4k monitor keyboard mouse thunderbolt storage etc if you are going to charge $4k
 
I have the money, want something better than a mac mini and don't really want an iMac.

I also want to be able to upgrade later if I want to....

I've been buying macs for over 20 years...

Apple failed me.

I'd be interested to know how much it would cost to upgrade a nMP with lowest CPU and GPU option, to the highest GPU & CPU option by sourcing the new components yourself, and how that compares to just buying a new machine? By reading some accounts it almost sounds as if the parts would be more expensive.
 
It's a relief that it won't be available for 2 months...

I'm glad it sold out. I won't be getting one any time soon...

If it is not right for your needs, why would availability factor into whether or not you purchase?

Does your mouse finger click the "buy now" button irrespective of what the analytical part of your brain says?

After you start adding peripherals and the monitor and stuff, you will end up with a disgusting web of cables on your desk.

Cable management is not that complex. You just have to be willing, organized and have a bunch of zip ties. For some, there is no getting around having a dozen cables. Whether or not those dozen cables look clean vs. looking like a rat's nest is totally a choice you get to make.
 
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Funny how the availability of the Mac Pro has made so many people so much smarter already!
 
They can do the Mini, iMac, and later work on the portable line if they are bored.

Is it that simple to retool the factory in Texas to build iMacs and Macbook Airs? How much does it cost to do that retooling? And in the end, what will the cost per unit be when building a Macbook Air in Texas vs. China?
 
Let's say all of the labor unions vanished into thin air tomorrow? We still have all the legislation in place at the federal (not to mention state and local levels) that they fought for in the past, and I don't see almost any of that going away.

Look harder. Those protections are being attacked on the state level on a daily basis. State legislatures have been engaged in continual warfare over these issues for a century, and every time a legislature shifts into Republican hands, the worker protection rollbacks begin immediately. Whatever opinion you have of it, unions spend millions a year on local battles, mainly towards passing new and protecting existing legislation.
 
These prices seem pretty reasonable for what you get. Much better value than the top line iMacs which are way overpriced IMO. Mine was £2300 and it has a 128GB flash drive+1tb SSD, 3.2Ghz i5 one GTX680MX and 8GB RAM.

The Mac Pro has all of that bar the HDD, but with 128GB more Flash, an extra GPU (each of which is double the price of the 680MX) , 4GB more RAM, a 3.7Ghz Xeon and 4 more TB ports. And it's £2499. It's minus a screen obviously, and a decent 27" screen would set you back a couple of hundred quid, but even so. iMacs are way too expensive.
 
Glad I ordered mine before it slipped to February. My estimated ship date is January but that could mean January 31st of course. Ah well, it's progress so I'm not complaining. Just have to hope that my ancient Mac Pro 1,1 lasts a little longer...


what time did you order? I placed mine at 7am EST. got an email that it's being processed with a delivery date of January 6 with standard shipping.
 
After talking to a few colleagues and friends that are typically anti-Apple, they all would say something along the lines of, "Well I can just grab a 4770k and GTx 780 for some much less!"

I would then just facepalm.

I know some made a big deal about what it costs fully decked out. They don't realize that the video card alone is $6600 retail.
 
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