MP 7,1 Waiting for Mac Pro 7,1 A1991 (no more)

[Derived]

I see the "it's not actually happening" and "it will just be a tweaked cylinder MP" crowds are still, for some strange reason, going strong. I will bet anyone anything that it will absolutely not be a tweaked cylinder.

Again...Apple isn't in business to troll you. Fairly strange to think that they might be. They're not in business to build failed products or intentionally piss off potential customers. I don't even know how anyone comes across this line of reasoning.

 

[Michael Scrip]

Again...Apple isn't in business to troll you. Fairly strange to think that they might be. They're not in business to build failed products or intentionally piss off potential customers. I don't even know how anyone comes across this line of reasoning.

I can totally see why people have this line of reasoning.

Perhaps people were upset at the last Mac Pro (cylinder) and for the last 4+ years they've held onto that resentment for Apple?

Could that be it?

 

[CWallace]

Taking your Imac or Modular macinne for repair opens your files up to be viewed by any one.

Just use FileVault 2 to encrypt your data. If you want to be doubly safe, buy an iMac Pro as the T2 chip also natively encrypts all data so with FV2 you have double protection.

 

[AidenShaw]

Just use FileVault 2 to encrypt your data. If you want to be doubly safe, buy an iMac Pro as the T2 chip also natively encrypts all data so with FV2 you have double protection.

Is FileVault whole disk or per-user-based?

With WDE (whole disk encryption) you need the password to boot - and you can't really bring your system in for fixes if you don't give the Idiots^H^H^H^H^H^H Geniuses the ability to boot the system.

Honest question - how can you ask for diagnosis of the system if you don't give the techs the passwords to boot and log in? And if you give them the passwords, how do you protect your porn library?

 

[CWallace]

With WDE (whole disk encryption) you need the password to boot - and you can't really bring your system in for fixes if you don't give the Idiots^H^H^H^H^H^H Geniuses the ability to boot the system.

If it's a hardware issue, the techs should be able to boot the machine from an external drive and troubleshoot and verify repairs from it.

If it's a software issue, then yes they would need your password. So if you have sensitive information you do not want folks to have access to, you can make an encrypted folder (.DMG) and copy any sensitive information to it before deleting it from the drive itself (of course also making a full backup, first). I am also guessing there are third-party apps that would allow you to selectively encrypt folders.

 

[AidenShaw]

If it's a hardware issue, the techs should be able to boot the machine from an external drive and troubleshoot and verify repairs from it.

If it's a software issue, then yes they would need your password. So if you have sensitive information you do not want folks to have access to, you can make an encrypted folder (.DMG) and copy any sensitive information to it before deleting it from the drive itself (of course also making a full backup, first). I am also guessing there are third-party apps that would allow you to selectively encrypt folders.

Ick.

 

[CWallace]

Well you could just leave the data on an external drive and only OS and programs on the internal one. That way you do not need to bother with any encryption and you save money by only needing to configure your Mac with a 256GB SSD.

 

[AidenShaw]

Well you could just leave the data on an external drive and only OS and programs on the internal one. That way you do not need to bother with any encryption and you save money by only needing to configure your Mac with a 256GB SSD.

Ick.

 

[deconstruct60]

If it's a hardware issue, the techs should be able to boot the machine from an external drive and troubleshoot and verify repairs from it.

With new 'secure boot' regime need to make sure that have enabled external boot, but yes this is viable. It is what they should be doing anyway. For the systems administrated by the "ooh I got they dood-dad driver off the wipe" or " someone one macrumors said delete these 3 kexts and my system would get more stable. " or etc. that is entirely the noise want to skip when diagnosing a hardware problem.

If it's a software issue, then yes they would need your password.

No they don't. If it is software problem there is no inherent need to ship in the hardware to another location. Software diagnosis can be done remotely. Diagnostic logs . Crash backtraces . etc.

If you have a problem with a major enterprise DBMS ( DB2 or Oracle DB ) nobody ships in their hardware and sends in their root passwords. It is just not necessary.

Even if do bring in a Mac to a authorized help location then most software troubleshooting can be down wit the user there (and no giving up of the password).

There are corner cases where you hand your machine to be cleansed of virus/root kit/hackery that may take hours. That's is about the only case where would need it. ( multi reboots and admin/root power removals. ). Basically outsourcing the admin duties to someone else.

So if you have sensitive information you do not want folks to have access to, you can make an encrypted folder (.DMG) and copy any sensitive information to it before deleting it from the drive itself (of course also making a full backup, first). I am also guessing there are third-party apps that would allow you to selectively encrypt folders.

This is rather dubious. If sensitive and copying then can easily copy it off to another disk (as well as the normal backup) and delete (if for some reason needed to ship device off to some remote facility). The sensitive data is extremely likely not what is root cause software issue. ( some binaries probably are: drivers, flaky software , etc ). The data shouldn't be needed for the diagnosis.

 

[Simon R.]

It sounds like a good idea... take your Mac Pro to the Apple Store to have them swap in a new GPU.

But this will rely on Apple's commitment to providing upgraded proprietary GPU modules every year or so.

And things like "upgrade paths" and "roadmaps" haven't been a part of Apple's vocabulary in a long time. Could this be the turning point?

My prediction:
The next MP will obviously be bigger than the trash can. It will be all proprietary like the trash can. It will be capable of accepting high end GPUs, but only those that are available through and blessed by Apple.
And it will (should) also have room to accept two more drives.
Oh yeah, almost forgot. It will also look pretty cool.

I really hope you're wrong. If you're right, it will be another failure and people like me will (have to) leave Apple for creative, professional work. I might go Hackintosh because I am pretty locked into using Logic Pro and I prefer the OS indefinitely over Windows.

I can't rely on Apple's random/unpredictable likelyness to provide updated hardware, seeing how they have neglected that completely for 5 years.

 

[Michael Scrip]

I really hope you're wrong. If you're right, it will be another failure and people like me will (have to) leave Apple for creative, professional work. I might go Hackintosh because I am pretty locked into using Logic Pro and I prefer the OS indefinitely over Windows.

I can't rely on Apple's random/unpredictable likelyness to provide updated hardware, seeing how they have neglected that completely for 5 years.

Yep... it will be interesting to see how they handle future upgrades of this supposed "modular" Mac Pro.

It's funny... the other guys will let you add or swap pretty much anything inside their computers. There's no questioning it.

Meanwhile... Apple keeps everything locked down.

The ideas expressed in this thread would be a way for Apple to keep control... but still offer some upgradability.

But will they? Apple hasn't exactly been a great steward of pro Macs in recent years.

I really feel for you Mac people. You clearly love the OS and software... but it's strapped to hardware that Apple doesn't seem to care about lately.

Hopefully you will get what you've been waiting (years) for.

Or... have you had any experience with a Hackintosh? Would that actually be a credible option?

My only fear is that future MacOS versions will be tied to the T2 chip... making Hackintosh impossible.

 

[Mikael H]

have you had any experience with a Hackintosh? Would that actually be a credible option?

For tinkering at home? Sure, if you liked running early-to-mid 'nineties BSD or Linux based operating systems with no hardware budget at all, you'll feel right at home anytime there's an upgrade or whenever you try some almost-but-not-quite-supported hardware.

In a pro setting? No way.

 

[Chancha]

They're not in business to build failed products or intentionally piss off potential customers. I don't even know how anyone comes across this line of reasoning.

The issue has always been which segment Apple wants to cater to. The tcMP was in all ways meant to impress, otherwise we wouldn't have got Schiller's infamous "my ass" quote. They thought Apple was supposed to be about being bold, in making right choices towards a brighter future at the expense of short term pain for some segment of users.

In hindsight, since we are directly after the minimalist approach being deemed inadequate even by Apple themselves, compounded with their verbal commitment on fields that absolutely demand no-nonsense performance, Apple probably shouldn't try to be bold even if they wanted to.

Apple needs to show a lot of self-contraint this time, please be a problem-solver for us before putting up a show.

 

[Zarniwoop]

Just a look at history. Most macs


Taking your Imac or Modular macinne for repair opens your files up to be viewed by any one. I saw this article on the Mac performance guide.com web site (https://macperformanceguide.com/index.html)

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/...r-we-thought?_ke=ZGlnbGxveWRAbXlwcml2YWN5LmNh

If this is true that our personal information is being scanned and shared with the FBI we need to reaffirm our constructional right to privacy. This is a good reason to keep my cMP. Since I have never had to take it for service. Anywhere...

That is why there's going to be the T2 or successor chip. FBI or repair worker can scan all they want.

 

[mattspace]

They thought Apple was supposed to be about being bold, in making right choices towards a brighter future at the expense of short term pain for some segment of users.

They built it to be the best (in their opinion) turnkey appliance for running Final Cut, at the same time they radically altered Final Cut, into a form that a huge segment of the user base for a FCP workstation (ie not people who would run FCP on a laptop) rejected.

 

[barmann]

Again...Apple isn't in business to troll you. Fairly strange to think that they might be. They're not in business to build failed products or intentionally piss off potential customers. I don't even know how anyone comes across this line of reasoning.

Of course Apple didn't mean to mess up their MP and MB products .
Noone ever said so .
They just didn't do anything about it .
For years .

The other day, I poured salt instead of sugar in my morning coffee - true story .
I managed to rectify the situation in a matter of minutes , as I immediatly noticed my mistake and took swift action .

 

[deconstruct60]

They built it to be the best (in their opinion) turnkey appliance for running Final Cut, at the same time they radically altered Final Cut, into a form that a huge segment of the user base for a FCP workstation (ie not people who would run FCP on a laptop) rejected.

Final Cut Pro X 10.0.0 released in June 2011. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Cut_Pro_X#Release_history)

Mac Pro 2013 release in Dec 2013


Over a two year difference. That isn't "at the same time" unless measuring glacial eras. The rest of the quote is just as lacking in factual accuracy.


( 10.1.0 released in Dec 2013, but that was the first 'dot' , 10.x , upgrade of the product; not its creation. There were nine releases in that two year period. )

 

[mattspace]

Final Cut Pro X 10.0.0 released in June 2011. Mac Pro 2013 release in Dec 2013

That's pretty much one hardware cycle (given the 2012 is a 2010 with a widely mocked at the time specbump). They released FCPX, annoyed a bunch of their editors, then released a machine that was targeted at an app for which people were already looking at (cross platform) alternatives. That's how you seed a platform failure.

 

[Chancha]

That's pretty much one hardware cycle (given the 2012 is a 2010 with a widely mocked at the time specbump). They released FCPX, annoyed a bunch of their editors, then released a machine that was targeted at an app for which people were already looking at (cross platform) alternatives. That's how you seed a platform failure.

The other day I was binging Apple bashing videos on Youtube (they are entertaining tbh). Came across Casey Neistat's TouchBar MBP "review", was surprised to see him dropping a "my Mac Pro might just be the worst computer I've ever owned" line. This coming from a prime target audience of the renewed platform, a hugely influential one.

So Apple not only pissed off the old school editors camp, they actually didn't manage to impress the hipster content creator crowd.

 

[mattspace]

So Apple not only pissed off the old school editors camp, they actually didn't manage to impress the hipster content creator crowd.

who'd have thought that sealed non-changable disposable appliance would fail to resonate with a zeitgeist that worships artisanal custom made things, repairing as an aesthetic, repurposed and recycled old things, and fetishises keeping old machines of all kinds in use.

Then again, silicone valley did give us "soylent" at the same moment the rest of the western world rediscovered food as something in which farm to plate accountability is the platonic ideal.

 

[vailr]

For tinkering at home? Sure, if you liked running early-to-mid 'nineties BSD or Linux based operating systems with no hardware budget at all, you'll feel right at home anytime there's an upgrade or whenever you try some almost-but-not-quite-supported hardware.

In a pro setting? No way.

A 2018 Hackintosh is not really as difficult as you make it out to be.
Has no one purposely bought a 2018 HP Z8xx machine and replaced the Windows O.S. with macOS?
Once installed (via a bootable USB thumb drive), it would run quite well on macOS, as well as being able to update to a newer incremental build of the O.S., without much fuss at all.
Only the onboard audio (possibly) needing a bit of attention to enable working again after an O.S. upgrade.
Buy some iMacPro owner's space gray keyboard and mouse off of eBay, and you're all set.

 

[Mago]

All Apple Needs to make everyone happy is two sollutionss: an single GPU/CPU trashintosh-like WS and a Macintonishzer daughter card wich would enable Full macOS (thunderbolt A2, + feat continuity,etc) to run on capable COTS workstation Motherboards (asrockrack gygabyte, asus, supermicro)...

 

[rjtiedeman]

who'd have thought that sealed non-changable disposable appliance would fail to resonate with a zeitgeist that worships artisanal custom made things, repairing as an aesthetic, repurposed and recycled old things, and fetishises keeping old machines of all kinds in use.s.

For a independent designer. It's not about a hobby like restoring a antique car. I work alone. Projects come and go at random. I can't afford a full time IT staff and dropping you mac off at the apple store for several days is a project disaster. I like the apple store. Getting an appointment with the apple tech guy took several days so that is also a project disaster. If you are working as a freelancer or a small company you need to be able to pull a hard drive, add ram or replace a bad display in hours not weeks, and at a reasonable cost or your are working for free and you are not going to make your monthly bills. End of story. In this new economy many of my associates are in the same situation. Is no one looking at the real world or are they playing with cool designs for a spot in SIFI TV show.

$6000-12000 is NOT DISPOSABLE.

 

[Joe The Dragon]

For a independent designer. It's not about a hobby like restoring a antique car. I work alone. Projects come and go at random. I can't afford a full time IT staff and dropping you mac off at the apple store for several days is a project disaster. I like the apple store. Getting an appointment with the apple tech guy took several days so that is also a project disaster. If you are working as a freelancer or a small company you need to be able to pull a hard drive, add ram or replace a bad display in hours not weeks, and at a reasonable cost or your are working for free and you are not going to make your monthly bills. End of story. In this new economy many of my associates are in the same situation. Is no one looking at the real world or are they playing with cool designs for a spot in SIFI TV show.

$6000-12000 is NOT DISPOSABLE.

dell / hp and other have it so the tech comes your office with the new parts or you have them just ship the part to you.

 

[Mikael H]

A 2018 Hackintosh is not really as difficult as you make it out to be.
Has no one purposely bought a 2018 HP Z8xx machine and replaced the Windows O.S. with macOS?
Once installed (via a bootable USB thumb drive), it would run quite well on macOS, as well as being able to update to a newer incremental build of the O.S., without much fuss at all.
Only the onboard audio (possibly) needing a bit of attention to enable working again after an O.S. upgrade.
Buy some iMacPro owner's space gray keyboard and mouse off of eBay, and you're all set.

Linux in the ’nineties wasn’t as hard as people made it out to be either, if you did your homework before installing it. The things that broke on updates if you ran on not fully compatible hardware were usually mostly unimportant things like sound support or the boot loader.

I stand by the relevant point that I would find it unwise and an unnecessary risk to invest in non-Apple hardware and run hackintoshes in a production environment. I’m sure some people do exactly this, and if they manage without unacceptable downtime then cheers to them.