The End of Apple's Professional Presence Is Here

[Tutor]

Without the current control Apple has over its products, I do not think they would have the same quality they do now. ...
As for the "lower price," I do not totally agree. ...

Sorry khollister, strausd, Steelgrave and all others. I meant that one could build a PC and then add all of the add-ons that they desired and that they would also have greater tweakabilty at a lower price than a seemingly comparable Mac Pro costs. That also applies to rolling your own vs. buying retail PC's. I fully agree that Mac Pro dual CPU systems are very competitive with comparable PC retail systems [I have four eight-core Macs], except that the last few times that I compared relative system prices, Apple still charged more for most add-ons than the PC retailers charged, while the base price of the Apple was a little less. I don't have the basis to compare the price of retail single CPU systems sold by Apple vs. PC retailers as I have not looked at the prices of any retail single CPU PC versions within years. I cannot imagine myself buying a retail PC. I much prefer to roll my own and have more tweakability control. I've even found that most of the warranties on individual parts are longer than those of system retailers and I don't have to pay anything extra.

An article in todays WSJ said that Tim is more open to customer feedback than was Steve, leading me to suggest that those who want the Mac Pro to survive axing ought to let their opinions be made known to Tim.

 

[HiRez]

I designed this in early 2004 as kind of a smaller, stripped down but still powerful alternative to the PowerMac (then using G5s). Today I guess it's kind of a hybrid of the PowerMac and the Mini (it's stackable. I called it the PowerNode, as one of my primary uses would be for compact render farm use (3D rendering, After Effects, encoding, audio processing).

 

[goMac]

An article in todays WSJ said that Tim is more open to customer feedback than was Steve, leading me to suggest that those who want the Mac Pro to survive axing ought to let their opinions be made known to Tim.

This.

 

[Nostromo]

It's not totally unlikely that the next Mac Pro will come and will be a great machine, and that the pro market will be more respected.

2 months after the departure of iSteve, I expect the power struggle within the company to go on for a while.

I'm sure there are groups within Apple who have enough of iToys and want to create some serious hard and software. They will fight with the argument (among others) that high end products are as important for a tech company as is pure research for science.

 

[MrTed]

I'm sure there are groups within Apple who have enough of iToys and want to create some serious hard and software. They will fight with the argument (among others) that high end products are as important for a tech company as is pure research for science.

Like F1 in car world.

 

[Nostromo]

Have you read the problems with the iPhone 4S.

It's not only the professional division (let's call it this), the gadget division also has severe problems. After the antenna problems of the 4, now the connection/battery/signal problems with the 4S.

Instead of upgrading its gadgets every few months Apple should make sure its so far superior quality control does not go down the drain with the mass marketing of its consumer products.

Now, more than ever, Apple needs to make sure there is a high quality and high performance core to the companies' products.

 

[xgman]

Have you read the problems with the iPhone 4S.

It's not only the professional division (let's call it this), the gadget division also has severe problems. After the antenna problems of the 4, now the connection/battery/signal problems with the 4S.

Instead of upgrading its gadgets every few months Apple should make sure its so far superior quality control does not go down the drain with the mass marketing of its consumer products.

Now, more than ever, Apple needs to make sure there is a high quality and high performance core to the companies' products.

Historically they seem to have a fair share of bugs with almost every product release. Their perceived quality is often better then their actual quality control.

 

[mark28]

another "Mac Pro Going Away" thread? wow...

The Mac Pro will be gone.

Next year when the new Mac Pro Sandy Bridge will come, Ivy Bridge iMac's are out then soon already.

Then people will moan they got weak Mac Pro's again. It's not worth the trouble for Apple to upgrade the Mac Pro's when it will be outdated almost instantly.

Maybe Apple will decide to release a new Mac Pro for Ivy Bridge. It's stupid to make a Sandy Bridge Mac Pro in 2012.

 

[wallysb01]

Historically they seem to have a fair share of bugs with almost every product release. Their perceived quality is often better then their actual quality control.

My general rules:

1) Never buy version one of any product, or the first version of a major redesign.

2) Don't buy the new, minor refresh until a few months after its release.

For apple, and some other companies, version 1 of anything is really still a beta and is often way over priced. And second, wait those 3 months after the new, minor refresh to make sure any new bugs are identified and corrected.

You won't be able to brag to your friends that you have this new cool iPad, but then 6 months later you won't look like a fool for spending $800 on the old one, when the new one, that is much better, is $400.

 

[nanofrog]

Historically they seem to have a fair share of bugs with almost every product release. Their perceived quality is often better then their actual quality control.

This is what I've been noticing, and since the switch to Intel, this has been one of their greatest failings.

They should be able to release systems and accessories they offer with fewer bugs due to closed development environment, but yet they don't. Truly sad, as they used to accomplish this in the past, and created the "It just works" campaign as a result (weren't as able to outsource then as now however).

 

[lemonade-maker]

This is what I've been noticing, and since the switch to Intel, this has been one of their greatest failings.

They should be able to release systems and accessories they offer with fewer bugs due to closed development environment, but yet they don't. Truly sad, as they used to accomplish this in the past, and created the "It just works" campaign as a result (weren't as able to outsource then as now however).

This has been the same since the 80s. All hardware (software too) companies have the same problem - bugs. Why should Apple be any different? It's all based on the same technologies, only the implementations different. I know one reason, Apple handles the bugs better.

 

[AppleDroid]

hi

Well I happen to be one that is looking for a Mac just like that compact i7 desktop. I will not spend money for a castrated mini or an iMac. I could get a Mac Pro but that is really overkill for my needs.

No arugments here but we have been asking for just that since 2005 and it didn't happen when PC's were dominant still and it sure doesn't seem likely now that portables have taken over.

Probably the best case scenario there would be seeing such a mac in corporate environments that make bulk purchases. If they owned such a market, these kinds of sales could float the machine. I doubt we will ever see this happen.

Apple doesn't care about "corporate environments" they care about consumers.

 

[nanofrog]

This has been the same since the 80s. All hardware (software too) companies have the same problem - bugs. Why should Apple be any different? It's all based on the same technologies, only the implementations different. I know one reason, Apple handles the bugs better.

My point is that a closed environment should generate far fewer bugs, and those that do occur, are solved faster as there are fewer things to deal with (limited hardware to support, and the OS is written in-house). If companies like SGI and Sun could get it right (closed environments), then Apple should be as well.

Yet I've actually seen less hassle in some of the other professional systems (servers and workstations - not consumer grade budget-boxes sold at rock bottom prices). And what issues do exist at release, are solved faster than Apple does with the MP/OS X bugs that exist on this particular system. Quite disappointing, given there's less work overall to be done by Apple vs. PC vendors and Microsoft (or even Linux, where the developers work for free ). Truly sad IMO.

 

[shinji]

Aperture, Logic, Final Cut, Filemaker Pro, etc. are all part of their professional line. It's not just the Mac Pro itself, and they feed sales to each other. I really don't think they're going to get rid of the Mac Pro or even the entire pro line just because they're not doing the same numbers as the consumer-focused products.

 

[Nostromo]

Historically they seem to have a fair share of bugs with almost every product release. Their perceived quality is often better then their actual quality control.

Agreed - in the consumer department.

iMacs always have lots of problems, like many bad screens.

In regards to the Mac Pro, I can only remember that one issue when the Mac Pros ran hot just by playing iTunes. Which was a software problem.

 

[thekev]

Apple doesn't care about "corporate environments" they care about consumers.

It's a corporation. They care about sales and margins however they are achieved. They aren't in any way emotionally attached to their customer base.

 

[starvingartist8]

my mom told my dad that steve is in hiding

 

[Thetonyk123]

First off, this is friend of a friend information, so I can't completely vouch for it, but I heard some sad news today that I wanted to share.

I work for a company that primarily does post production and motion graphics in Los Angeles. We exclusively use Apple products - about 60+ Mac Pros, a handful of iMacs, 10 Macbook Pros, and all the server parts to have about 150 TB of storage over a fibre network. The owner has been invited by Apple to give talks on his business at Apple stores occasionally, and for the most part it's been Apple all the way. (Accounting even uses imacs that run windows.)

The IT director told me today that his sources told him that Apple is getting out of the professional market. No Xserves (done), no professional editing software (done), no professional hardware (headed that way.) He mentioned that the Mac Pro is a dying breed at Apple, and it's possible that we won't ever see an update.

As a company, Apple has been trending toward meeting the needs of the average consumer. Since the iphone and ipad now represent the majority of Apple's market (and profit), there isn't a need to meet the needs of the professional anymore. (I say anymore since we all know it wasn't always this way. Before the iphone, Apple's strongest customer was the professional.)

Apple has been known for changing directions abruptly and at times seemingly without justification. (Does everyone have to upgrade to lion for icloud support? Is rosetta really weighing lion down that much? Is Final Cut X really a replacement to Final Cut 7?) Love Apple or hate Apple, it does what it wants and isn't afraid to alienate a consumer if it no longer wants to cater that that market.

So now we find ourselves in the sunset of Apple's professional presence. I'm not expecting any new Mac Pros. Editing systems here won't be running Final Cut anymore. Motion graphics will be running Adobe products on PC's since it will be better optimized. If an iMac isn't enough, a PC for us.

The IT director is hoping that the current tech we use will be fine for the next 3-5 years. After that, it's a transition to windows machines. He's hoping he won't be around to support it. They may be much faster machines 3-5 years from now, but support on them will be a nightmare, he says. I'm not trying to speculate for the sake of speculation, but I thought I'd let you all know what is most likely around the corner for Apple. If you think about, the writing has been on the wall for a while, but the reality of all this may be sooner than you think.

sigh...

 

[lokiju]

Wouldn't be surprised it they just drop the pro and offer some storage solution with the thunderbolt interfaces for the data needs it just leave that to the 3rd parties to provide.

If they offered a dual socket iMac or Mini then they'd be able to pull it off IMO.

I worked for a print/web company for 5 years that I moved on from this year.

I saw them go from having a huge art department with a few hundred Mac Pros to thinning out the head count with in-house solutions that allowed fewer artist do the job of many and in the process most ended up with either 27" iMacs or Mini's. The performance and power of a top of the line iMac and at times even Mini is nearly as good if not better than a mid to late 2000's Pro.

 

[wallysb01]

my mom told my dad that steve is in hiding

I heard he's in Cuba with Elvis.

 

[xgman]

My general rules:

1) Never buy version one of any product, or the first version of a major redesign.

2) Don't buy the new, minor refresh until a few months after its release.

For apple, and some other companies, version 1 of anything is really still a beta and is often way over priced. And second, wait those 3 months after the new, minor refresh to make sure any new bugs are identified and corrected.

You won't be able to brag to your friends that you have this new cool iPad, but then 6 months later you won't look like a fool for spending $800 on the old one, when the new one, that is much better, is $400.

My general rules:

1) Be an early adopter
2) Get mad when things don't work right
3) Complain on the forums

 

[Nostromo]

My general rules:

1) Be an early adopter
2) Get mad when things don't work right
3) Complain on the forums

Finally, this thread is getting serious!

 

[derbothaus]

or 5 years that I moved on from this year.

I saw them go from having a huge art department with a few hundred Mac Pros to thinning out the head count with in-house solutions that allowed fewer artist do the job of many and in the process most ended up with either 27" iMacs or Mini's. The performance and power of a top of the line iMac and at times even Mini is nearly as good if not better than a mid to late 2000's Pro.

Yes. But you would have the use of the Mac pro for 4-5 years before the Mini caught up to it's speed. 2-3 Years for iMac. The iMac's from 2010 were not really all that close to performance with, wait for it, the 2010 Mac Pro's. The 2011 iMac is closing the gap and the 2011 Mac Pro's, if they ever materialize, will pull even farther ahead. So old tech is not as fast as new tech. Hmmm.

 

[relbbircs]

In regards to the Mac Pro, I can only remember that one issue when the Mac Pros ran hot just by playing iTunes. Which was a software problem.

For the early 2008 series of Mac Pro there were a lot of problems with graphics irregularities and also fan noise. I went through two machines before I got one that worked properly (at that time Apple support was outstanding).

 

[Scarrus]

Srsly, I don't think a Ivy-Bridge 6 Core iMac would be able to outperform a 12-Core Mac Pro anytime soon(of course for heavy Multi-tasking) Even the 2013 iMacs won't come close in speed to a 12 Core 2010 MP, even if they will be 8 Core Systems.