Tim Cook Challenges Graduates to 'Think Different' in Duke University Commencement Address

[flyinmac]

instead of "think different" how about you "think about releasing a modular Mac pro at a competitive price point"

Apple is more likely to discontinue the Mac Pro than they are to admit that the price and configuration options are the problem.

They’ll say the new model didn’t prove to be successful. And of course it likely won’t be if the price starts over $5000, and the configuration is too lean at that price (not to mention that it’s going to take a while to win back the market they’ve lost during their stagnation).

So I expect it very likely that the modular Mac Pro (if it’s not just vaporware) will likely be a one hit and done.

They’ll say that sales have been poor for the last two revisions (Modular Mac Pro and Trashcan Pro), and therefore it’s time to discontinue it.

Of course, failing to realize that the death of the product is their own fault, and not a shift of Pro users moving to tablets.

 

[gnasher729]

Too late now, should've asked Jobs about those then. I mean Jobs didn't even want customers to be able to open the original Macintosh.

Four screws that needed a special screwdriver. And then it didn't open because there was one screw hidden behind the battery.

But with good reason, because inside was a Cathode Ray Tube, not an LCD screen, and if you didn't know how to properly discharge it, touching it would be another between very, very nasty and lethal.

Wait, people think Scott Forstall is going to come back to Apple and “save” it? Save it from what exactly? And what was so great about that guy anyway?

You mean apart from his ego?

 

[twistedpixel8]

Apple is more likely to discontinue the Mac Pro than they are to admit that the price and configuration options are the problem.

They’ll say the new model didn’t prove to be successful. And of course it likely won’t be if the price starts over $5000, and the configuration is too lean at that price (not to mention that it’s going to take a while to win back the market they’ve lost during their stagnation).

So I expect it very likely that the modular Mac Pro (if it’s not just vaporware) will likely be a one hit and done.

They’ll say that sales have been poor for the last two revisions (Modular Mac Pro and Trashcan Pro), and therefore it’s time to discontinue it.

Of course, failing to realize that the death of the product is their own fault, and not a shift of Pro users moving to tablets.

I think their biggest problem with the trashcan Mac Pro was that Pro users didn’t give a toss about it being small. In almost all cases, it’s not on show; it’s hidden away in a cabinet with the display on the desk. I think a winning design would be a larger trash can where components slot inand out horizontally around the core in multiple levels/rings. Standard ports with a good mix of USB3 and USBC, and an entry level version with a reasonable price tag that users can build up to something that works for them.

These obscenely priced “we know what’s best for you” configurations are also a major reason I didn’t buy one in 2013.

But what we will see is proprietary connectors, slots that only fit certain types of GPU, non user-upgradable CPU, etc. There’s no reason it cannot be completely upgradable, Apple just doesn’t want to support a broad range of components because it’s their business strategy to make buying a computer almost like a subscription service where you need to pay bi-yearly if you want to stay relevant.

 

[flyinmac]

I think their biggest problem with the trashcan Mac Pro was that Pro users didn’t give a toss about it being small. In almost all cases, it’s not on show; it’s hidden away in a cabinet with the display on the desk. I think a winning design would be a larger trash can where components slot inand out horizontally around the core in multiple levels/rings. Standard ports with a good mix of USB3 and USBC, and an entry level version with a reasonable price tag that users can build up to something that works for them.

These obscenely priced “we know what’s best for you” configurations are also a major reason I didn’t buy one in 2013.

But what we will see is proprietary connectors, slots that only fit certain types of GPU, non user-upgradable CPU, etc. There’s no reason it cannot be completely upgradable, Apple just doesn’t want to support a broad range of components because it’s their business strategy to make buying a computer almost like a subscription service where you need to pay bi-yearly if you want to stay relevant.

Yes, I agree with your points there.

Standard parts is what made my 2006 Mac Pro a great buy at $2500.

I got it at the price I could afford, and added to it as I could. I got the benefit of putting it to work immediately, and making it fit my workflow better as I could afford to.

If the entry price was $5000 (where it is likely going to start); or $2500 like the current one and not upgradable; I’d have never purchased it.

 

[Seanm87]

Christ the amount of negativity in here. The guy is more successful than everyone in this forum put together. I’d like to see what you have contributed to the world?

 

[mikecorp]

seriously is this a PR club? Macrumors suk Tims duke.

 

[I7guy]

I bet he is thanking his stars Steve Jobs had the courage to think differently for him which resulted into Apple not fading into oblivion under his watch.

And has already been shown, Tim Cook thankfully is continuing that trend. Customers, mgmt and shareholders are happy on his Watch. Pun intended.

 

[pika2000]

Christ the amount of negativity in here. The guy is more successful than everyone in this forum put together. I’d like to see what you have contributed to the world?

That is exactly why. The more successful you are, the more envy and hate people will give to you. Envy is one core human behavior.

 

[hans1972]

0.2%, because no one with two brain cells to run together, would buy the currently offered Mac Mini.

So we are in the 'Chicken or the egg' stage. Do people not buy it because it's a pathetically out of date offering, or do they not buy it because it is out of place in the modern computing world? I which you would lean toward, while I lean the other way.

The Mac Mini is meant to be the cheapest and least powerful of all the desktop Macs, only to be used by consumers who wants a Mac, do not want to use a lot of money and have no complex requirements.

A lot of readers here wants it to be a powerful, cheap Mac desktop which can be used by so-called pro users. Almost all use cases of the Mac Mini can be solved by other more expensive Macs.

It seems the last group has misunderstood the reason for why the Mac Mini was created.
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Are you certain that was his intention? In an era when it was common, even necessary, to “build” or modify a PC to suit One’s needs, the Macintosh was an out-of-the-box solution that appealed to persons who didn’t want to tinker with such things.

Yes, Steve Jobs, has always been against users changing his creations. He created the iPad which he saw as the future of computing. He talked about a post-PC world where PCs and Mac would just be specialised tools for a small minority.

 

[Glideslope]

"Think Different?" That's being innovative Tim. How about something non regurgitated?

 

[otternonsense]

Christ the amount of negativity in here. The guy is more successful than everyone in this forum put together. I’d like to see what you have contributed to the world?

For a point in time, Bernard Madoff was more successful than everyone here too, and then some. What's that supposed to mean?

 

[shadowmatt]

Something something... employ children.

Something something... dodge tax.

Something something... make bad design decisions and don't own up to them until the lawyers get involved.

Tim you run a computer company that can't put out a desktop computer that competes with the rest of the market.

 

[dan110]

As inspiring as an episode of "Golden Girls". When will we have a real tech-focused CEO back at Apple?

 

[otternonsense]

As inspiring as an episode of "Golden Girls". When will we have a real tech-focused CEO back at Apple?

I'll digress that Golden Girls was actually fun to watch for a time.

Cook is neither inspiring nor fun, just regurgitating platitudes.

 

[twistedpixel8]

Christ the amount of negativity in here. The guy is more successful than everyone in this forum put together. I’d like to see what you have contributed to the world?

Well, he did ride the coat tails of the world’s greatest tech pioneer and the company was already ahead of every competitor. It would have been very difficult for him to drive it into the ground.

Bottom line: he’s got the charisma of a piece of wood. He doesn’t have the enthusiasm or character that Jobs had. Heck, I think Craig Federighi should replace him. He’s funny, great on stage, shows huge passion toward everything he unveils and is generally well-liked by everyone. I imagine he’s a good decision maker too.

 

[RobaxMan]

... that's seemingly for the good of humanity ...

Could you expand on that, for us.

 

[otternonsense]

Well, he did ride the coat tails of the world’s greatest tech pioneer and the company was already ahead of every competitor. It would have been very difficult for him to drive it into the ground.

Bottom line: he’s got the charisma of a piece of wood. He doesn’t have the enthusiasm or character that Jobs had. Heck, I think Craig Federighi should replace him. He’s funny, great on stage, shows huge passion toward everything he unveils and is generally well-liked by everyone. I imagine he’s a good decision maker too.

Yep. He inherited a rocket mid-flight. Jobs had already done all the groundwork since the late 90s, created a veritable cult around it, and Cook grew it into a clinically uninspired empire. This Fortune article from 2012 was a chilling foresight into the stale corporate MBA farm Apple was about to turn into.

And yea, he's got the charisma and wit of a frayed lightning cable.

 

[citysnaps]

That is exactly why. The more successful you are, the more envy and hate people will give to you. Envy is one core human behavior.

Spot-on assessment there.

 

[otternonsense]

Spot-on assessment there.

Sure, spot-on platitude. Nobody is envious of of super successful geniuses like Steve Jobs, Shigeru Miyamoto or Elon Musk. In fact, we're quite appreciative and in awe of them as role models.

It's people like Cook who create a strong dissonance between their mad commercial success and complete personal blandness that generate such reactions.

 

[paulryp]

We are just frustrated with Apples new direction. They are no longer pioneers and Tech Evangelists. They no longer create anything i desire. They've lost their Mojo without Steve Jobs, which is fully understandable.

 

[I7guy]

Sure, spot-on platitude. Nobody is envious of of super successful geniuses like Steve Jobs, Shigeru Miyamoto or Elon Musk. In fact, we're quite appreciative and in awe of them as role models.

Hyperbolic generalization that can’t be proved.

It's people like Cook who create a strong dissonance between their mad commercial success and complete personal blandness that generate such reactions.

Jobs also created that dissonance it that you didn’t notice. There is confirmational bias at play here.

 

[citysnaps]

Sure, spot-on platitude. Nobody is envious of of super successful geniuses like Steve Jobs, Shigeru Miyamoto or Elon Musk. In fact, we're quite appreciative and in awe of them as role models.

It's people like Cook who create a strong dissonance between their mad commercial success and complete personal blandness that generate such reactions.

Yes, hackneyed regurgitated (a descriptor used here by some that harkens back to grade school usage) reactions steeped in unhealthy anger and jealousy, that can be safely ignored.

 

[otternonsense]

Jobs also created that dissonance it that you didn’t notice. There is confirmational bias at play here.

Not really. He was a horrible boss to work for, but a rockstar and visionary. No dissonance there.

 

[RobaxMan]

As someone posted on another thread -

"Those that think that Apple is a white-knight enterprise, driven by community welfare and guided by community values, need to come back to Earth from the Galaxy they are living on."

 

[thisisnotmyname]

0.2%, because no one with two brain cells to run together, would buy the currently offered Mac Mini.

So we are in the 'Chicken or the egg' stage. Do people not buy it because it's a pathetically out of date offering, or do they not buy it because it is out of place in the modern computing world? I which you would lean toward, while I lean the other way.

Using numbers from when it was fresh that only increases to 0.5%
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For the students, that may be true. But there is a tremendous amount of LCD informational displays driven by the mini. All those LCD's in hospitals and campus buildings are not producing the messages/maps/ads, etc on their own. Many are driven by the inexpensive mini as a feeder.

If a significant number of mini's are being used by a small percentage of owners as kiosks then my estimate of ownership numbers should actually drop further. I spread the numbers assuming one purchase per person.