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So what happens to our hardware…?
It seems pretty clear by now that Apple does not consider the pro-video/broadcast/film arena as somewhere it wants to be. Steve Jobs (RIP) has even said on many occasions: ‘Apple is a mobile device company’.
That’s fine. I can (and am) switch to Premiere Pro, so for the time being, things carry on for my little company much as before.
But then I hear noises from Apple that the next range of Mac Pros will be their last. And that does present an problem.
It may be a few years down the track from now, but if the writing is on the wall for our Mac hardware, then where do we go from there? Back to Windows? The very thought makes me shudder…
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68 Replies
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[Dylan Hargreaves] “It may be a few years down the track from now, but if the writing is on the wall for our Mac hardware, then where do we go from there? Back to Windows? The very thought makes me shudder…
“Apple is a consumer company first and foremost. Everything is now bet on Thunderbolt. We discussed this back in July at our first Atlanta Cutters meeting when we had Apple, Adobe, Avid and Autodesk at our event. The system of the future would be a Mac with a bunch of thunderbolt external devices connected.
That’s the main reason why we’re not even considering FCP X at this time and for the foreseeable future. All our AJA cards can run in a Windows box. Adobe and Avid are cross platform. So we have an array of choices moving forward from the hardware side on both sides of the aisle. If we go FCP X then we will be forced to choose from whatever Apple offers to the consumers that can be modified to meet our needs. If we go more open / cross platform, I can already design a desktop system today that’s about $2500 top end, or about three top end Mac Pros.
So what happens to your hardware is simple. Stay Mac then start your process of getting to know Thunderbolt. Go cross platform and then you can decide for yourself how you want to go.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Editor, Colorist, Director, Writer, Consultant, Author, Chef.
HD Post and Production
Biscardi Creative Media“This American Land” – our new PBS Series.
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The truth is, no one really knows accept Apple.
You can still buy a MacPro today.
Miniaturization is happening. Computers are getting smaller and more powerful. In some cases the 4core i7 is keeping up with the current crop of MacPros. Not exclusively, but they are close in some respects. Check out barefeats.com
Apple has never had the fastest or best or most flexible hardware. Ever. They have preferred system stability to speed since the beginning. If speed and raw power is what you’re looking for, there are much faster options than Mac hardware.
I have a question for you, where did you hear from Apple that these are the last MacPros?
What, specifically, do you need from a MacPro?
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[Jeremy Garchow] “The truth is, no one really knows accept Apple. “
[Jeremy Garchow] “I have a question for you, where did you hear from Apple that these are the last MacPros?”
First you say nobody knows except Apple then you say where did you hear from Apple. Obviously he’s responding to the many rumor mills that the Mac Pro is going away. You and I both know that the current Mac Pro is getting long in the tooth and is overpriced for what it is today. If the machine was half priced, then maybe it’s a bargain now.
Truth is that Mac Pros do not sell, Apple is no longer interested in enterprise solutions so the dedicated desktop machine that is used by professionals is going away. Just look at the path of all the other machines and the push for Thunderbolt. All things that professional will require to do our work is expected to be carried by external gear.
Trying to shrug off the discussion by saying “Where specifically did you hear from Apple that the Mac Pro is going away” is moot. Whether it’s the current Mac Pro or they make one more, this is a very valid discussion of “what do we do with our hardware.” They are not long for the world and if you truly want a desktop machine, like we prefer here, then you will probably have to start looking elsewhere.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Editor, Colorist, Director, Writer, Consultant, Author, Chef.
HD Post and Production
Biscardi Creative Media“This American Land” – our new PBS Series.
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Stability and ease of use is what I go for. After years of working in PC environments, transitioning to Mac was like sliding into satin sheets on the world’s comfiest bed. As the great man said, they just work.
To be honest, I know precisely zilch about Thunderbolt, so I guess I will have to start looking into it, and for the time being at least, there’s not a huge sense of urgency.
And for the record, the Mac Pro thing was reported in Iris magazine – a products and review magazine i sometimes pick up over here in the UK – although they did qualify it as a rumour at this stage.
But they do go on to say that Apple are planning on removing optical drives from their hardware, so I’d say the writing’s most definitely on the wall.
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[Dylan Hargreaves] “As the great man said, they just work.”
Unless you’re trying to find a working and supported CUDA driver for Lion. I’m getting fed up with Apple, and will most definitely be transitioning BACK to Win 7 after I use up this latest MacPro.
Chris
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[Chris Conlee] ” I’m getting fed up with Apple, and will most definitely be transitioning BACK to Win 7 after I use up this latest MacPro.”
What caught my attention was very hard care Mac folks I know telling me that “Windows 7 is pretty darn good, really.” When Mac folks I trust are telling me that, then it’s time to take at least take a look and consider all possibilities.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Editor, Colorist, Director, Writer, Consultant, Author, Chef.
HD Post and Production
Biscardi Creative Media“This American Land” – our new PBS Series.
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[walter biscardi] “First you say nobody knows except Apple then you say where did you hear from Apple. Obviously he’s responding to the many rumor mills that the Mac Pro is going away. You and I both know that the current Mac Pro is getting long in the tooth and is overpriced for what it is today. If the machine was half priced, then maybe it’s a bargain now.”
Well, I accept the fact that there’s people that know more than I do, have talked to more people than I have, that have read more articles than I have. If Dylan says that he has heard from Apple, shouldn’t I give him the benefit of the doubt? Don’t I have the right to ask the question? Or no?
[walter biscardi] “Truth is that Mac Pros do not sell, Apple is no longer interested in enterprise solutions so the dedicated desktop machine that is used by professionals is going away. Just look at the path of all the other machines and the push for Thunderbolt. All things that professional will require to do our work is expected to be carried by external gear.”
It’s the same gear, just in a external enclosure. For instance, with the v9.1 AJA drivers, all Kona boards are Thunderbolt aware.
[walter biscardi] “Trying to shrug off the discussion by saying “Where specifically did you hear from Apple that the Mac Pro is going away” is moot.”
I’m not trying to shrug it off, Walter. I am trying to further to conversation, friend. I don’t know everything. I happen to believe that there will be some sort of replacement for the MacPro. I don’t know what it’s going to be, or if it will even be viable. My hunch says that it will. So, my view isn’t valid? I understand the disenchantment with Apple these days, really, but I also live in the now. The MacPro is still available, and there’s been delay on the latest round due to a delay at intel. I’ll find the article in a little while.
Jeremy
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Last time I used Windows to any extent was back on XP. I’m prepared to believe things have significantly improved since then but even so, once you go Mac it’s a wrench to go back…
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[Jeremy Garchow] “Apple has never had the fastest or best or most flexible hardware. Ever. They have preferred system stability to speed since the beginning. If speed and raw power is what you’re looking for, there are much faster options than Mac hardware.”
Jeremy, I’ll argue this point with you every time you make it.
Saying that Apple prefers system stability over speed suggests that there is a tradeoff to be made, and that other vendors are choosing the other side and thus putting their customers’ businesses at risk.
In your mind, which vendors prefer speed over stability? Has any professional systems vendor introduced a product to the market that actually sacrifices stability in favor of speed?
I also think your “Macs aren’t the fastest” premise is wrong. The top of the line Mac Pros have been screaming and price-competitive machines at the time of their introduction. The performance problem is that Apple allows the line to languish for over a year at a time without speed bumps or price drops, despite the introduction of faster processors or the declining cost of major components.
I’ve been seeing a lot of FUD slung at Windows (not necessarily by you) on this forum. I have bought 15 Macs (4 of which dual-boot OS X and Windows to use OS-specific software) and 3 PCs in the last 10 years, so I certainly appreciate the Macintosh way — but I also have enough perspective to say that most of the criticisms leveled at Windows here are woefully out of date. Complaints from Mac users about Windows system instability are the moral equivalent of complaints from PC users about Macs only having a one-button mouse. Windows 7 on good hardware is a perfectly reasonable platform for getting things done, and Macs support multi-button mice.
Admittedly, I had a different view on this prior to FCPX, which has pushed me to actually try Windows for creative work. Just like you tried FCPX and found that it wasn’t as bad as everyone said, I’ve tried Windows and found that you can take advantage of the additional power and flexibility to do creative work without pulling your hair out. HP has sent me a Z800, and it’s well-engineered, well-built, and perfectly stable. It’s also available in significantly faster configurations than the Mac Pro.
I am amazed at the number of people who have said here that they’d consider trying to piece together and maintain a Hackintosh for professional work, when they could simply buy a well-built and well-supported Windows PC instead.
My point in all this isn’t to encourage people to dump the Mac platform today. Rather, I’m trying to point out that a lot of folks here have an irrational fear of the PC platform. It really isn’t so bad! Once you’re in your main applications, whether they’re Adobe, Avid, or something else, the OS is pretty irrelevant. Restricting yourself to Apple products may have been a smart strategy in the past, but now is a good time to re-evaluate cross-platform or PC workflows.
Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
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[Jeremy Garchow] “If Dylan says that he has heard from Apple, shouldn’t I give him the benefit of the doubt?”
Sorry, posting in haste seems to have opened a can of worms. To clear this up, As Walter suggests, I was responding to a rumour reported in a magazine not affiliated in anyway to Apple, and have heard nothing from Apple themselves.
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