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Nice thread on the future of the Mac Pro on the Videoguy’s forum
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[Herb Sevush] “the tenor of your opening post was to discredit them for financial bias, which was not fair or accurate.”
I don’t think the bias makes them “bad” in any way. The VARs were impacted by FCPX and certainly those selling software and Mac video peripherals may be hurt by the direction Apple is going it. I think that’s the perception he may be coming from regarding the MacPro replacement. I have no idea how it will impact his business but apparently he thinks it won’t be of great value for editors (my inference) and I suspect he’s wrong (about the value to editors not sure what the value will be to his business).
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[Gary Bettan] “I hope I’m wrong. I’d love to see a new Mac Pro in 2013.”
My own speculation as that the MacPro replacement will be a different sort of beast in many respects given Apple’s design direction. The face some challenges given the importance of Thunderbolt in their business model. To date there are no Xeon motherboards with Thunderbolt. All Thunderbolt systems have a GPU (mobile I believe) on the motherboard. Given this and the possibility they’re working closely with Intel, they’re not likely to talk about such things in advance
It’ll have Xeons, at least one if not two 16 lane PCIe slots for GPU. There may not be additional HDD slots and not any other PCIe slots as it’ll all be 4 lane Thunderbolt. Some Post people will love it and others wont. I suspect Apple is banking it on reaching a bigger audience than the current MacPro though.
I can’t imagine them taking it in any other direction. Maybe my imagination is limited.
I certainly have a reason to prefer a computer with Xeons and a better GPU than the “mobiles” they’re using but I don’t have much angst about that because I fully expect that. It’s the other stuff that’s a bit of a mystery such as internal HDD slots, the number of Thunderbolt ports, whether they’ll be a motherboard based GPU even if they have to resort to a mobile one and the 16 lane slot an addition.
I expect it’ll be a major design controversy just like FCPX is.
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[Herb Sevush] “Gary –
I love reading your DIY blogs. I have no interest in ever building one for myself but I find it invaluable for understanding what’s going on in world of PC components. Thanks.
“I’ll second that! I’ve been buying from Videoguys for years, and I particularly recognize their contribution to our little community. I also believe Gary’s assessment is a fairly realistic one.
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[Brett Sherman] “”If you require more power than a single CPU iMac or DIY build then a dual Xeon CPU workstation is for you. The new HP z620/820 or Dell T5600/7600 workstations blow the current Mac Pro out of the water. They are more powerful and more cost effective. Plus you get a level of flexibility and configurations that Apple simply does not offer.”
It’s pretty clear in the post he’s trying to sell PCs. Maybe he’s right or not, but it’s definitely a sales pitch. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
“Nope. You’re wrong. They don’t sell PCs. AND the majority of what they do sell works on both Windows on OSX OSs. They are trying to give the best advice they can to their customers. I’ve used them for years. I know them as a company. Disagree with their assessment if you like, but don’t besmirch them just to buoy up your own wishful thinking.
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I don’t see why Gary’s credibility is being attacked as his post says nothing that hasn’t been said here, or other places, a dozen times. Is Gary the only one that’s said Apple’s lack of a roadmap and tendency to make abrupt course changes makes it hard for users to plan future, big ticket purchases? Is Gary the only one that’s pointed out that, speaking strictly of hardware, your dollar goes farther on the PC side since the MPs are years old at this point? Heck even RED, whom Apple partnered with early, now has a hardware partnership with HP. Is Gary the only one saying that Apple may no longer see the need to sell a big, expandable tower to an ever shrinking percentage of their users? Is Gary the only one saying that FCP7 users should not plan on new hardware and software from Apple supporting FCP7?
I don’t understand why people are trying to manufacture a reason to discredit Gary’s opinion when this piece is a culmination of things that have been talked about in the community for the past few years.
[Brett Sherman] “I just don’t agree with this analysis. Tim Cook has already said they are releasing a MacPro or Pro Market Mac in 2013. They would have to change gears completely and reneg on a promise.”
Tim Cook never said a new Mac Pro or Pro Market Mac. He was asked a question about Mac Pros and said they were “… releasing something really great next year [2013].” Maybe Apple will release a new tower that is very feature similar to the current MP. Maybe Apple will release a product they think is the modern day version of a tower but isn’t a tower at all (a Mac Mini Pro for example). Who knows, and what Apple defines as really great is up for grabs, IMO.
As far as changing gears goes, Apple’s history is full of misinformation.
[Brett Sherman] “It’s pretty clear in the post he’s trying to sell PCs. Maybe he’s right or not, but it’s definitely a sales pitch. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”
I guess he is trying to sell Macs too as he states three different times how great current Macs are for editing.
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Brett,
I hope you are right and that we do see a really new, really powerful Mac pro. I just don’t believe we will. It is just my opinion based on the info I have and talking to people I respect in the industry.
It’s OK to disagree and it’s OK to question my motives. While I don’t sell computers, I definitely do sell video editing software, hardware, storage, plug-ins, I/O peripherals and more.
And to be fair – I’m always selling!
I’ll be the first to admit that my reviews and articles are biased towards selling more stuff. But I also think I try to be fair and objective at the same time. I took a ton of heat for killing FCPX a few weeks prior to it’s release, based on all the info I was able to gather post NAB. I felt pretty sure it was going to leave my professional post customers short. And I was spot on!The funny thing is I like FCPX, I think Apple added some amazing new features and performance. I LOVE the magnetic timeline, but I know it’s not for everyone. (I also like the Avid Smart Tool, while most pros initially hated it, and some still do) But I also understand how FCPX falls short for my professional customers workflows. FCPX is getting better, but so are the other NLEs that compete with it!
Great discussion here. Everyone have a great New Year.
Gary
https://www.videoguys.comCOW members get 5% OFF with Coupon COW5OFF
https://www.videoguys.com 800 323-2325 | We are the video editing and production experts!
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The best part of this thread….at the bottom is a banner add for Videoguys! (at least on my page ..it may rotate)
Perfect product placement
(they are great by the way…bought many things from them – terrific customer service)
Andy Field
FieldVision Productions
N. Bethesda, Maryland 20852 -
I think they’re spot on and many folks have seen the writing on the wall for this for some time now.
Apple and FCP-X is going to be the way forward for an increasing amount of content creation and that will run just fine on off the shelf hardware. An ipad version I’m sure isn’t far away.
And yes the HP machines blow he current MacPros out the water but then the MacPros are now old tech. Not that the future for HP is a sure thing…
Will we see a new MacPro and if so will it regain the lost ground? Who knows and if it won’t support the FCP legacy users then I’m not sure wht people will be editing on it with…
Pat Horridge
Technical Director, Trainer, Avid Certified Instructor
VET
Production Editing Digital Media Design DVD
T +44 (0)20 7505 4701 | F +44 (0)20 7505 4800 | E pat@vet.co.uk |
http://www.vet.co.uk | Lux Building 2-4 Hoxton Square London N1 6US -
Craig has consumed so much Apple Kool-Aid that they (Apple) could commit mass murder and he would see it as a positive action.
What Gary wrote has been talked about here and other places’ and I personally believe is reality. I don’t think his motivation is anything negative, but rather an opportunity to try and help his customers, past, current and future make informed decisions as we all go into a new year.
Craig, you talk like you are some sort of authority, but you are not. I haven’t been on this forum for more than 6 months, and you are still pushing the same inaccurate information that you have been since FCP X was released. Are you capable of learning? Capable of actually seeing what’s in front of your face?
None of your predictions about Apple’s plans, products, etc have come anywhere near reality. Stop spreading your personal fantasies as anything more than that.
Happy New year everyone!
DBK
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Some have gone, some will go, some will wait, some will stay, and some will come. When Tim spoke in 2012 about addressing the needs of the professional creative communities, he gave an ambiguous timeframe “later in 2013” which could mean ‘later, not now but in 2013’ or it could mean ‘late in the year 2013’ however I suspect it meant the latter with new hardware to be delivered about October 2013 if it is ready then.
If he was planning on that distant a release, the date could change depending on so many factors related to introducing new technology. As an example, what if the new design includes the next generation of Thunderbolt? Perhaps that would be optical, not copper, at far greater speeds and/or bandwidth which could disrupt the hardware playing field. If you were announcing to the world that you will be bringiing “something really great” to the dinner table, then you have set expectations that it will be something really delicious after all. What we’ve speculated about would be tasty appetizers but we may be surprised by a new satisfying entreé we hadn’t realized how much we craved until it is served on our platter.
Rick Lang
iMac 27” 2.8GHz i7 16GB
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