Palpable disappointment

[Helmut Kobler]

Well, I’m pretty disappointed.

Apple is really pushing it…it’s been about 1225 days since they made a credible upgrade to the Mac Pro. That’s just vile. To push things so far to the end of the year doesn’t show a lot of sympathy or empathy with customers who have already gotten the shaft for the last several years. No, it’s the usual Steve Jobs tone-deaf, near-sociopathic treatment for us…

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Los Angeles Cameraman
Canon C300 (x2), Zeiss CP.2 lenses, P2 Varicam, etc.
http://www.lacameraman.com

[Marcus Moore]

If you discount maliciousness, which- really… what does Apple gain from keeping the MacPro out of our hands but frustration like yours.

The MacPro has taken centre stage at 2 Apple keynotes in a row now. They had an ad for it in theatres. They sent out posters… I think they’re proud of the machine and want to get it into people’s hands.

I think it’s one simple factor. Volume of essential components. Whether it’s CPUs from Intel, the GPUs from AMD, Thunderbolt2 controllers… I think they’ve had to hold off release until they have enough supply on these components to meet initial demand. Why? Cause after having to apologize for it during an earnings call, I don’t think Tim cook wants a repeat of the 2012 iMac launch- with super-constrained supplies and shipping delays that went on for months.

I think they have something to prove with this US factory too. I’d imagine MOST MacPro orders will be BTO configurations. So the last thing they want is their US factory coming under fire cause it takes someone a month to get their order fulfilled.

That’s my crazy theory.

[Bill Davis]

[Marcus Moore] “So the last thing they want is their US factory coming under fire cause it takes someone a month to get their order fulfilled.

That’s my crazy theory.”

I think Marcus is on to something here.

But I also think there’s more at work here.

I did a good bit of work with my largest corporate client over many years creating informational videos about supply chain management, and I can tell you it’s anything but trivial.

We’ve probably all seen the “new MacPros on the assembly line” video. In order to shoot that, they had to create a very high level assembly factory essentially from scratch here in the US. That assembly facility had to get tuned up for consistent production. Subs and component sourcing had to be not only be found, but delivered to the factory for assembly.

But the factory is just one part of the process. You also need some form of supply chain system that includes not just “build to order” but a back stock and store supply system that includes in warehousing in regional distribution centers and all the truck and rail logistics necessary to distribute the products nationwide.

Apple, with it’s retail presence, clearly has the necessary expertise and certainly has all the resources it needs to make this happen, but EVEN with all those advantages, the new system has to be built out and managed.

For instance, they’re releasing directly into the last stages of the normal huge holiday distribution surge.

I remember driving into Phoenix from LA one holiday and driving by literally hundreds and hundreds of rail cars sitting still on tracks in the middle of nowhere miles out of Phoenix. One of the retail experts I happened to mention that to, noted that what I had noticed was a part of the distribution supply chain standing by to re-supply the entire metro Phoenix area as our retail industry sold thru it’s holiday stocks. Those rail cars had been planned, loaded and rolled into place literally months in advance.

So my presumption is whatever product release date they’ve decided on, it’s been long, long planned and it’s sensitive to the fact that they have a brand new product that they have to distribute.

Maybe this is as simple as Apple figuring out that they didn’t need to shoehorn their new MacPro distribution into the first or even the second wave of holiday shopping supply – but could just as easily wait for the third or fourth round of holiday supply chain capability?

Just random thoughts. But it will be released when it’s released.

And I’m not sure Apple is all that concerned whether they sell MacPros before during, or after the holidays – they have enough desirable consumer goods to be fine in that game.

My 2 cents, anyway.

Know someone who teaches video editing in elementary school, high school or college? Tell them to check out http://www.StartEditingNow.com – video editing curriculum complete with licensed practice content.

[Brett Sherman]

I’m always a proponent of getting things right rather than rushing to put out the latest, greatest. You’re right the update of the Mac Pro took way too long. That had little to do with the new imminent Mac Pro. But now we know its almost here. So waiting a few weeks I think is probably inconsequential in the long run. In a few months who will remember whether the release was December 1 or December 20.

[Helmut Kobler]

Even if Apple isn’t ready to ship today, Dec 3, I doubt there’s anything stopping the company from posting BTO pricing *today*, and simply having the web store say “Ships Dec 20” or whatever. Having waited about 3.5 years for this update, I’m *more than ready* to know what my options are, and how much they’ll cost.

There’s definitely a lack of plain old empathy at Apple for certain customers. Take Apple’s inexplicable and massive product delays (i.e., 1255 days without a Mac Pro, long absence of Final Cut before X’s introduction, selling ’09’s edition of Mac iWork until just recently, etc. etc. etc.) and combine it with the company’s asinine, smug radio silence about what’s going on, and you get deep frustration on the part of some customers…..customers who have invested massive amounts of time and money in the Apple ecosystem, all with Apple’s eager encouragement.

But it’s all about Apple’s convenience. Apple’s schedule. Whatever.

I still prefer Apple products over the competition, but these last few years have shown me that Apple can be *deeply* fallible, and there’s some aspect of the company’s culture that is rotten….something that’s entirely content with doing a mediocre, apathetic job for its customers.

The new Mac Pro may be great, I’m definitely looking forward to it, but that doesn’t excuse all the bullshit that’s come beforehand, and I’m really, *really* sick of being in an epic holding pattern because some grossly over-paid, comfy execs couldn’t be bothered to plan a smooth product transition.

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Los Angeles Cameraman
Canon C300 (x2), Zeiss CP.2 lenses, P2 Varicam, etc.
http://www.lacameraman.com

[Mark Dobson]

[Helmut Kobler] “The new Mac Pro may be great, I’m definitely looking forward to it, but that doesn’t excuse all the bullshit that’s come beforehand, and I’m really, *really* sick of being in an epic holding pattern because some grossly over-paid, comfy execs couldn’t be bothered to plan a smooth product transition.”

Helmut, not being able to get what you can’t get because it isn’t there for you to get it even though you want it badly isn’t going to get you what you want when you want it because you simply can’t have it because it just isn’t available, not just for you, but for all the other people who are also waiting for something they’ve been waiting for for a long time.

And as I used to say to my children many years ago when they were 3 years old and throwing tantrums over not being able to get what they wanted even though they really, really, really wanted it, ‘You will just have to patient and wait a little longer and its not because we don’t love you it’s just simply that you can’t always get what you want when you want it !’

[Charlie Austin]

🙂

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~”It is a poor craftsman who blames his tools.”~
~”The function you just attempted is not yet implemented”~

[Aindreas Gallagher]

Oh my god when is this going to end. I can’t stand looking at that mr. incredible avatar anymore either. I’m reading this endless bilge pipe of drivel and staring at that grinning mr incredible and the whole thing is turning into nails across the blackboard at this point.

Tim Wilson if this is you playing with our tiny minds, stop, I’m begging you please stop.

https://vimeo.com/user1590967/videos http://www.ogallchoir.net promo producer/editor.grading/motion graphics

[Jeremy Garchow]

And here I thought we’d have a modular 4k Panasonic Varicam that was teased two NABs ago. So far, na-da.

It is still December. The MacPro says “coming in December” on the tin.

Why is there a problem here?

https://www.apple.com/mac-pro/index1.html

[Mitch Ives]

[Mark Dobson] “Helmut, not being able to get what you can’t get because it isn’t there for you to get it even though you want it badly isn’t going to get you what you want when you want it because you simply can’t have it because it just isn’t available, not just for you, but for all the other people who are also waiting for something they’ve been waiting for for a long time.”

Here’s my issue. It isn’t with Apple and when they can deliver the new Mac Pro. It’s their baby and they get to release it whenever they want to.

No, my problem is with the influence (read interference) that they engage in with third party suppliers. I have a use for a new TB disk array… that need is here now (actually, it’s been here for over a month). Given that TB2 is the new interface and is really a requirement for the Mac Pro if you want to get all its performance, it makes sense at this point to buy a TB2 disk array… especially since they are backwards compatible with the original TB.

The new TB2 arrays have been available for shipment for some time now. By available, I mean they are in the warehouse sitting in boxes (collecting dust)… and not on my desk. Why is that? Because Apple won’t allow these third party suppliers to sell anything with TB2 until Apple says so… since TB2 is their baby. We can only assume that their approval for the release of non-Apple equipment will come when the Mac Pro ships. I say “assume” because Apple can’t possibly give us any other explanation for blocking the shipment of equipment that can be used today, regardless of when the Mac Pro ships.

Once again, the marketing and message hype equation gets in the way of what is best for the consumer. What damn difference does it make if I’m using a TB2 array on a slower TB1 interface and getting some work done while I wait for Apple to release the Mac Pro so I can finally get the full benefit? None… absolutely none, except that the customer would come first over Apple’s perceived “splash” factor.

Honestly, sometimes Apple acts like Sony… the company we all love to hate.

Mitch Ives
Insight Productions Corp.

“Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfills the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things.” – Winston Churchill