Shipping Estimates for Mac Pro Online Orders Slip to February 2014

[Cavepainter]

No doubt this will be a formidable machine.

BUT, for me, looking at the rumored performance figures, the upfront cost of the unit, the eye-watering cost of upgrades, and ultimately the overall value for the money, not to mention that they still aren't available to use RIGHT NOW- for possibly weeks or even a month or more(?) I'm so very, very glad that I stopped waiting for the Second Coming of the Mac Pro and pulled the trigger around two and a half years ago and bought a well-optioned 27" Imac at that time. I do digital painting and design, and my computer has been a perfectly capable and competent workhorse for my needs.

I followed the advice of a wise friend who said "think of all the work you can do and the money you could make with something else in the mean time".

Since 2011, I've been using it continually and I've done alot of work and done quite well while I was not waiting...

 

[saschke]

No doubt this will be a formidable machine.

BUT, for me, looking at the rumored performance figures, the upfront cost of the unit, the eye-watering cost of upgrades, and ultimately the overall value for the money, not to mention that they still aren't available to use RIGHT NOW- for possibly weeks or even a month or more(?) I'm so very, very glad that I stopped waiting for the Second Coming of the Mac Pro and pulled the trigger around two and a half years ago and bought a well-optioned 27" Imac at that time. I do digital painting and design, and my computer has been a perfectly capable and competent workhorse for my needs.

I followed the advice of a wise friend who said "think of all the work you can do and the money you could make with something else in the mean time".

Since 2011, I've been using it continually and I've done alot of work and done quite well while I was not waiting...

No one was saying that you shouldn't start/continue working with a different hardware solution. I think it would be a very strange business decision to wait for two years, not earning money, because a certain tool is not available yet. I'm fairly certain that anyone talking about getting a Mac Pro around here has another workstation that is doing the job somehow.

 

[Cavepainter]

No one was saying that you shouldn't start/continue working with a different hardware solution. I think it would be a very strange business decision to wait for two years, not earning money, because a certain tool is not available yet. I'm fairly certain that anyone talking about getting a Mac Pro around here has another workstation that is doing the job somehow.

Guess that's not what I was meaning to say- I wasn't recommending going back to carving stone tablets instead of using a computer- I was just saying that my personal decision was whether to continue using my really old computer (a very early Mac Pro- only slightly faster than a stone tablet) and keep waiting and waiting for a long- rumored new Mac Pro, or give in and go ahead and "compromise" and get something that wasn't as powerful, but still much faster than my old 1.8 dual. I feel I made the right decision, and the Imac has been fast enough that I don't feel compelled to convert back to a Pro anymore. The waiting game is always a crapshoot when you're talking about Apple hardware-sometimes you win, sometimes you lose....

 

[vmistery]

Shortage of E5 CPUs? I have about 30 in servers we have recently bought I could let go for a few ££££ :-D

 

[milo]

And how many pro sales have they lost since they discontinued the old Mac Pro?

Probably no more than you could count on your fingers and toes.

 

[MacTCE]

This is not surprising in the least. Also adds security for the jobs here in US assembling them.

 

[awarlock]

As of now my only email confirmation is that its being processed and has a Jan. 6 ship date as indicated by my shipping method (standard free) I don't know how much sooner express shipping would have been- Anyone get an earlier date than Jan 6. ?

As I recall, I ordered around 5:30AM CST 12.19.13, USA. I did order the stock 6-Core (couldn't afford the 8-Core or better, . Upgrading from a Mac Pro 2008 3,1.) As you can see, my order shows a ship date of December 30th and an arrival in KS on Jan 3rd. I have been checking my order for any updates and this picture is current as of this post. I check my account on the Apple website every few hours, when I think of it, hoping the status will upgrade to "Preparing for Shipment" lol.

 

[kingtj]

Umm...

You never heard of a U.S. factory running a night shift?

The reason for the delays in shipping is due to the fact that these are being built in the US. You have to factor in the inexperience of the workers to work the assembly line, 10-minute breaks every 4 hours, 30-min lunch breaks (probably 1 hour), and the 8-hour mandatory work day. No Macs are built after 5pm daily, and definitely, not on weekends. Plus, it's the holidays, so most workers have the next week off.

The buyers should understand that they are treating the people who build theirr machines fair and humane working conditions. Everybody wins.

 

[BillyTrimble]

This just shows how little manufacturing there is in their USA plant right? It's such a low volume product, and they're already 2 months out.

Where are you getting this from? You just decided to make a wild and crazy speculation?

 

[vmachiel]

Where are you getting this from? You just decided to make a wild and crazy speculation?

Yes I did. I based it on the fact that the Mac Pro has traditionally been a niche product due to its very specific use case and high price. This makes it a low volume product. The shipping has already slipped to february, so the manufacturing capacity must be low.

 

[ElectronGuru]

I'm so very, very glad that I stopped waiting for the Second Coming of the Mac Pro and pulled the trigger around two and a half years ago and bought a well-optioned 27" Imac at that time. I do digital painting and design, and my computer has been a perfectly capable and competent workhorse for my needs.

This brings up a good point. Part of why apple is able to build such an over the top specification (and price) is how good the basic machines now are. 10-15 years ago, you had to buy the top of the line just to ensure the machine was waiting more for you than you for it. These days, even an air can keep up with many/most tasks. So they have the freedom to push the limits.

As for manufacturing...

It makes no sense to say that delays are suddenly the fault of US production. Last I checked, the iMac and iPads and iPhone are all made in china and each had similar issues when launched.

If the issue was consistently robots and people under apples direct control, extra of both would long ago have solved such issues. There's a pattern of component shortages (beyond apples control) and this appears to be no different.

The only thing apple has control of is release date. There is clearly some advantage to announcing stuff before stocks are piled high.

 

[laurim]

You can still buy the Mac Pro this year and apply it to this year's taxes. I'm not a tax lawyer, but the deduction is taken when the purchase was made, not when the product is received or the check or credit card is put through the bank.

It's the same as when you write and send checks to charities on Dec 31. You get the deduction for that year, not the next year when the check is received and cashed.

You should probably talk to your accountant if you really want this machine for this year's taxes.

When I fill out the 179 deduction form, the IRS wants to know when the equipment was put into service. So I would assume if you can't actually use the computer this year, you can't deduct it this year. From what I've read, it's OK to still be making payments on it to deduct it.

 

[SaxPlayer]

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.

Wow! You're really lucky! Sounds great. I'm in the UK and ordered mine at 1.50pm GMT/UTC which translates to 8.50am EST so less than 2 hours after you but I'm yet to hear anything. Of course, me being over the pond will likely make a difference.

Pleased for you that yours is on the way and as I've taken a while to reply to your question THAT MEANS TODAY!!