"The Mac Pro Lives"

No we don’t they have more than enough money to throw at anything they wish but would rather spend it on things that to many of us seem like a total waste of time and money like the aforementioned ‘Carpool Karaoke’ and ‘Planet of the Apps’.

They seem to have forgotten about (or simply don’t care about) many of those in their core user base that want to be able to buy products in which they can expand memory and disk storage to grow with their needs over time and not be forced to waste time (and contribute huge amounts to environmental destruction) by being forced to buy entire new machines rather then breath life into those that they already have.

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When I was in school, this was the type of guy who, in Week 1, would declare how he was saving his money to buy the latest XYZ card for his PC so he could play the latest Wolfenstein in 3D. By Friday, Week 20, he’d be bragging at having finally saved enough money for said card, and although it was now superceded, he was going to buy it anyway and install it that night. On the following Monday he would declare his intent to buy PQR card, because after installing the XYZ card, his machine melted and he had to spend the whole weekend problem solving what was wrong with it… and it involved upgrading something else…

Meanwhile I spent the entire weekend working on my HyperCard Doctor Who Database because I had no friends.

(This anecdote would have worked much better, and reflected the above public opinion had I been able to say - Meanwhile I just upgraded the RAM and HDD, maybe added a PDS card or something, thus extending the Mac’s capabilities… But the fact is, I’ve ultimately performed very few upgrades of that nature in my time owning a computer. Replaced dead parts occasionally… not a lot of actual “upgrades”. I do however lament the loss of the option!)

I just did this. And can I just say, at this stage, I’m happy with the machine, but once I upgrade my quad core Xeon to a six core tomorrow I’ll be even happier! :wink:

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My 24" Early 09 iMac is getting flakier… I’m thinking about going back to a tower! Looks like my budget would only be a 3,1 though… Oh - and hopefully my egads 17" Studio Display would hook up ok… Nah, couldn’t go that small again.

this is what a mildly updated MBA would look like available for sale on gear beast . Updated ports, specs, more compact size, etc. Otherwise it would be a blatent knockoff if Apple had bothered to keep the MBA up to date. Its even available in gold.
it’s AUD$659. Apple could have done exactly this, sold it for $1000, and ruled the world.


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So, it looks like it’s still coming, but not this year, alas!

Some interesting take aways from the article:

  • They are working on a monitor too.

  • There is a group within Apple who coordinate all pro products so they work optimally together.

  • There is now a Pro Workflow group, whose job it is to actually run through pro workflows and find out where the problem areas lie.

  • They’re being upfront about it and are saying that they’re committed to being more transparent about their pro products.

As frustrating as they are - I am seriously sick of waiting for something that can replace my Mac Pro 3,1 FFS - it really does look like they’re continuing to do what they do better than everyone else. It just takes a terribly long time!

While I want to give Apple kudos for all the work they are doing now, I could use a little more humility from them. So what, they’ve finally figured out they should listen to their Pro customers instead of building a non-upgradable, thermally limited (seriously, we all knew that when it launched :man_facepalming:) trash can…

RE: The article - I hope they don’t make the Mac Pro too creative industry specific. I did note in the Panzarino article they said they won’t, so that gives me hope. But I’m starting to feel that it’ll be an integrated GPU (plus eGPU support) which makes me nervous. I don’t see the point in that either, to be honest, as the eGPU enclosure is just using a PCIe card. I’ll hold out hope they don’t ditch PCIe slots entirely - even if it’s a single GPU slot they leave I’ll be happy.

All that said, the admission that Apple hasn’t been able to predict what their pro customers want for the past few years is a startling admission. Apple used to famously never ask people what they want, “as people don’t know what they want until you show them” (to quote Jobs), and they had hit product after hit product (and indeed their consumer teams still do in many areas). Did it literally take 5 years for that arrogance/hubris to be broken about the 2013 Mac Pro?

I did get a degree of optimism from the article that Apple are finally rethinking their entire Pro range including laptops (as they should be!). :crossed_fingers:Clearly the 2016/17 MacBook Pros are a product of the same thinking as the 2013 Mac Pro. Hopefully they revisit the concept there asap too! Hopefully they are asking Pro users if they actually use the touch bar and not just hiring yes men/women creatives to say “yes sir, we love it”… :grimacing:

On a completely different note, the Mac Pro 5,1 I bought last year after the Mac Pro round table is looking like a better buy every day. :man_shrugging: 12-core 3.3Ghz Xeons, lots of RAM, GTX 680, SSDs, PCIe USB-C… what can Apple honestly offer me in a new Mac Pro at this stage? And when they do, will I need to mortgage my house to be able to afford one? :grimacing: Guess it’s good they aren’t coming until next year - gives me time to save up! :open_mouth:

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This reaction piece is so on the money…

https://mjtsai.com/blog/2018/04/05/new-mac-pro-wont-arrive-until-2019/

They are working on a monitor too.

Just to add fuel to that fire, I went searching for the neat wall paper from the iMac Pro and came across https://www.iupdateos.com/2017/12/29/download-imac-pro-wallpapers/

Three of those wall papers are 7680x4937 pixels! 8k monitor anyone?

Can anyone with a real iMac Pro confirm?

bennyling, I understand Apple has put most of its resources into a large bank deposit box in Ireland in case it (n)ever has to pay Australian taxes.:roll_eyes:

And now they’ve done away with the rainbow logo, no one knows where the pot of money is…

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Real life laugh out loud there! Best comment ever

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I thought I’d bring up this old thread as it seems we may see a new Mac Pro at WWDC. What are people’s thoughts about a new Mac Pro now?

I’m still hoping for more of a mini tower type design. A newer G4 type tower. I’d also like something a bit lighter than the cheese grater.

Thoughts on specs and cost?

Do we think we’ll even see it in 2019 or will it ship late December 19 and really be a 2020 machine?

It’s hard to know what I’ll need in about 7-8 years time (when the 2nd hand market will reach my price point)…

But - well, actually I’ve got nothing.

Nothing I know should probably be taken into account for this new Mac.

Who knows is the real answer.

If Apple turned around and re-vamped (reimagined?) the old cheese grater style, but retained largely the same form factor (and it was available in space black of course), I think it would meet every requirement of a ‘new’ Mac Pro and keep most people pretty happy.

Of course I can’t see them actually doing that … because they are Apple. People also sort of expect some sort of dodecahedron design made of unobtainium.

If it comes to shape… still waiting, Apple.

(Yes, incredibly impractical…) :slight_smile:

I’m not a big fan of the price, but it’s about what I expected. I can’t believe it starts at 256gb for storage though. I guess they expect external storage to be king again.

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The Pro Stand, which is sold separately for $999, provides both tilt and height adjustment, allowing Pro Display XDR to rotate into portrait mode.

Finally, Apple can put the ridiculous trash can Mac Pro where it belongs, in the trash.

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