The Core i7 and the Xeon 3500 (which Apple uses) are the same bloomfield chip and use the same x58 motherboards. The Xeon version has ECC support enabled there are no other differences, price included.
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Updated Mac Pro Benchmarks and Video of Internals
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The Core i7 and the Xeon 3500 (which Apple uses) are the same bloomfield chip and use the same x58 motherboards. The Xeon version has ECC support enabled there are no other differences, price included.
If you have HDMI you have HDCP. It is apart of the hardware. The software DRM for BD is AACS. That has been broken. HDCP has not (well not without a device in the middle but either way it isn't defeated in software). BDA also has BD+ which is an even stricter version of DRM (thanks FOX). So it is less likely that we will see the DRM go away (no more likely than the DRM in iTunes movies going away).
A program called AnyDVD HD in windows circumvents the HDCP, AACS and BD+. Thus allowing any windows PC to play blu-ray. If only they made a mac version.
Interesting. It looks like the app basically encapsulates those requirements and then passes the unencrypted stuff along. They seemed interested in a Mac version. We will see. I do wonder if it would still require BD player software to playback the disk without re-encoding it.
Blu Ray
In regards to the Blu Ray discussion going back and forth - I both agree and disagree with BRLawyer here.
Blu Ray is not dead. Its actually doing well.
I agree its dead with Apple. Seeing how they like to do things they will probably skip it because they would much rather their users be on itunes paying to d/l 1080p content in the future. The way broadband bandwidth and speed is exploding (Verizon fios is insane out here - I love it) its only a matter of time before streaming such high def content is easy on a massive scale. Maybe as a means of data storage its useful in their eyes. Microsoft feels the same way. Their xbox live service is what they are banking on.
I think in the future media on demand will be the primary medium of consumers watching movies, but just not yet and so many are used to going to a store and buying a disc that I think Blu ray will be fine, but unfortunately Apple may never adopt it in their machines.
In regards to the Blu Ray discussion going back and forth - I both agree and disagree with BRLawyer here.
Blu Ray is not dead. Its actually doing well.
I agree its dead with Apple. Seeing how they like to do things they will probably skip it because they would much rather their users be on itunes paying to d/l 1080p content in the future. The way broadband bandwidth and speed is exploding (Verizon fios is insane out here - I love it) its only a matter of time before streaming such high def content is easy on a massive scale. Maybe as a means of data storage its useful in their eyes. Microsoft feels the same way. Their xbox live service is what they are banking on.
I think in the future media on demand will be the primary medium of consumers watching movies, but just not yet and so many are used to going to a store and buying a disc that I think Blu ray will be fine, but unfortunately Apple may never adopt it in their machines.
I suspect that the new post-Jobs Apple won't be so dogmatic about things - I'll wager an xMac that we'll see a Blu-ray announcement from Apple by 1 July.
If Apple only wants to sell to the tiny, tiny fraction of people with 50 Mbps FIOS - then Apple's current path is sound, as long as Apple's planning to sell/rent/stream 50 Mbps 1080p movies to match BD bitrates.
good points
Perhaps their view will change post Jobs. Also is it easier to license blu ray now with less requirements? (cheaper too?) but either way in the long run you know they want people streaming! You don't need 50mbps fios for that either. So many people I know have xbox and dsl or 6mb cable and they download the movies and watch them later on etc.
Not "will change", but "is changing".
Jobs is gone, today the Iphone gets MMS and copy-and-paste.
Coincidence? No.
They do coincide, hence it is a coincidence. Sure, you meant "Mere coincidence? No". But I still think there's no reason to think that it's anything more than coincidence. Unless you've got some evidence that Jobs had a personal mission to deprive users of C&P. I think it's more likely that they didn't want to ship it until they were sure it wasn't half-assed. That was what held back doing color in NeXTStep back in the day: despite much wailing and gnashing of teeth, he held it back until they could do 32 bit color, of which 8 was transparency. It's perfectly consistent with his personality from my perspective.
"The perfect is the enemy of the good." - Voltaire
"Le mieux est l'ennemi du bien.", from Voltaire's Dictionnaire Philosophique (1764)
In other words, pursuing the "best" solution may end up doing less actual good than accepting a solution that, while not perfect, is effective.
(http://www.famous-quotes.net/Quote.aspx?The_perfect_is_the_enemy_of_the_good)
"There was an old man from Natucket..." - Author unknown.
In other words, perfection is only as good as man's personal reach.
And what happened to NeXT ? Epic fail.
There's something about causing "wailing and gnashing of teeth" in your customers that is not a good long-term business model.
And, by the way, there's a recent example where Apple has screwed up by "not waiting for 'better than good'".
Apple should never have sold any Yonah systems - they should have waited for Merom before selling Intel boxes.
Now, when Snow Leopard comes out and isn't supported on the older 32-bit only Yonah Apples - the heavens will part with the wails of the injured fanboys.
Why didn't The Steve wait a few months, and have only 64-bit Intel chips in the lineup?
Because you are not Apple's competition, Dell and HP are. If you can build the same Mac Pro configuration for $1,000 less using off-the-shelf parts, then go for it, but your hardware won't be supported by Apple and you could lose your entire investment if Apple changes its OS in a way that breaks your hardware. No business in its right mind would take the approach you are suggesting by purchasing totally unsupported hardware.
There are two types of Mac Pro users -- those who buy them as status symbols but don't really need it, and those who actually use the machines as business tools to make money. For the latter, the Mac Pro is still a good investment because the cost will be amortized over several years while the machine is used to create far more income than it costs. For the former, however, the Mac Pro is obviously "overpriced" because it's becoming more and more difficult to justify the Mac Pro as an ego buy.
When I had a design studio in Seattle, my paltry $5,000 Mac Pro investment allowed me to generate over $150,000 my first year. I could never justify spending that kind of money for something that would just sit on my desk as a status symbol. Today I'm a successful real estate agent, and even though I desperately want a Mac Pro because it would be "cool", I could never justify the purchase because it won't be used to generate income. An entry level iMac is enough for someone in my business.
It all depends on your perspective. I think Apple has done its homework and knows that more Mac Pros end up in the hands of professionals who can use the additional horsepower and can justify the added expense versus those who just want to have bragging rights.
That's a good solution for you, but not for the vast majority of Mac buyers who want a product that won't be broken with the next OS update... or Mac buyers who use their machines to generate income... or Mac buyers who want support from Apple... or Mac buyers who aren't technically savvy and want something that just "works".
Hackintosh, now that's a word that inspires confidence...
Perhaps, instead of speculating, we should wait until Dell actually announces a Xeon-based product and then we can compare?
Everyone was talking about how Dell was going to have a viable competitor to the MacBook Air with their Adamo system... now that it's been announced, we can see that it's nothing of the sort and the MacBook Air is a much better buy.
Actually, the MacBook Air sucks big time if you want 3G builtin, Gigabit Ethernet, 4 GiB of RAM, eSATA, multiple USB ports or Blu-ray.
The Adamo has those... MBA - not.
Also, the MBA is rather fat compared to the Adamo.
Yes, the absence of Blu-Ray is because Steve Jobs doesn't like it... yes, it's exactly these types of decisions that have lead to Apple's success since Jobs re-took the helm. NOT!
COME ON PEOPLE! This has nothing to do with Jobs. If anything, Jobs would be all for it given his involvement at Pixar and Disney. Disney is a big supporter of Blu-Ray. There are other business-related reasons for not doing this that we aren't privy to.
Steve Jobs would sell you a computer that ran on horse sh*t if he could to make money. Business is business.
Oh goodie this takes me back. They wanted those systems that trashed the G5 out and fast. They made a quick buck on those 32-bit machines.
Conroe/Merom would have been a better launch for the consumer and maybe even the iMac but that's not how it turned out.
MacBook Air is thinner at its thinnest point, and only .1" thicker at its thickest point, weighs 25% less, has a 30% faster CPU, and costs $200 less. I suppose you have to pick your battles.
LOL, right. What actually happened is that they acquired Apple for a negative 450 million.
Try watching it on something other than a Lloyds 13" black and white set, try wearing your glasses, or try using something called eyesight.
Like I've said, it comes down to DRM and how hard it is to pirate Blu-ray discs and movies. Steve-o thinks everything created and sold by everyone else should be free because easy ripping has been very, very good for Apple's market share.
And the pirates are behind him 1000% and will go to every possible ridiculous length to justify his shortsightedness.
In the meantime, "high-end" Apple computers sales are crashing because they are overpriced relatively outdated crap without Blu-ray capability.
It's called cutting off your dick to spite your nuts.
It's time for Apple to grow up and leave the kiddie piracy behind. At least as far as their high end market is concerned.
No there are more types of buyer than that and this forum has clearly shown it over the past two and a half years. The Mac Pro has been a consideration for many people purely because of the limitations of Apple's other desktops. It may be a small vocal subsection that are disappointed by the new pricing but to write off what is a price increase, regardless of Apple's reason, as being insignificant because those who need a Mac Pro can afford it is rather unfair in my opinion. If any of the other lines had seen such pricing differences there would be far more outrage.
I agree that Apple probably have got this right for themselves. They have blunders from time to time but even if this is I doubt it would seriously impact their business heavily as Mac Pro sales are a small portion.
AZREOSpecialist said:
Where is the fun in that?