Marcus Moore
Forum Replies Created
-
I recommended that a friend of my buy an iMac. and if when the MacPro gets released, he finds it compelling enough an improvement to warrant it, then his iMac will still be current generation and he can probably recapture a lot of it’s value.
-
[Christian Schumacher] “Do you expect the same if the Macmini goes the way of the dodo? REALLY? Or iMac for that matter? If they offer a 4K display along with a 2,000 dollar computer everybody will be “happy”and that’s it! Don’t have the money? Buy an Air, you’ll be fine with that. You can even connect to the new panel when you grow up.”
It seems like whatever Apple does there’s always a group for which it was the most important thing in the universe. But I think MacMinis have proven to be a popular machine, whether it’s for small business server use, or for people looking for the cheapest “entry” Mac. And if Apple unceremoniously dropped the iMac? i ABSOLUTELY believe there would be an uproar. 20% of people clearly want an iMac. Apple doesn’t just toss that away.
[Christian Schumacher] “A bit of a problem with the Apple desktop is that both we here and people in Apple know that in a very near future that percentage will drop to 20, then 15, 10, you get the idea…If they manage to offer a powerful yet simple desktop computer they might outlive its demise and make a quick buck out of their audience. The real money is in the consumer market anyway, so throw them a bone and they’ll shut up.”
I think there is a bottom to that number [who knows what that is]. Laptops have scooped up more users as they’ve become powerful enough for more users. Just like how less people now need a MacPro than before- an iMac is enough for a majority of desktop users.
In the near term, I doubt we’ll see any significant changes in the lineup.
-
I agree with you, Craig.
Though I would say the expanded mobile offerings are temporary in the near term. As soon as Apple can bring the cost of the rMBPs in line with the legacy offerings- count on the non Retina machines to go away.
Then we’ll be back to MacBook Air and MacBookPros.
-
Well, we’ve already seen the response when Apple neglects even the narrowest percentage of it’s Mac lineup [the MacPro].
Apple doesn’t break down sales of Macs in their earnings reports, but in the quarter ending in January- Apple reported sales of 4.1 million Macs, which was down from 5.2 million the year before. Apple made a point of justifying this discrepancy by stating that because the iMac wasn’t available in any real quantities until January, they figure they lost out on 700,000 sales.
That means that we know that aprox 20% or 1 out of every 5 Macs sold is an iMac. When you count in MacMinis and Mac pro’s, that number is probably at least 25%. 25% of Mac buyers are consciously choosing a desktop option. And those people aren’t all doing it for the same reason.
This new machine has been said to be for the MacPro crowd, that irreconcilable with the needs of most desktop users who aren’t looking for the extra power or expandability that a MacPro provides as it’s key selling features.
-
Wait. So we’re talking about reasons for the delay of a product that we haven’t been given any time frame on other than “later in 2013”?
Oliver, a ven diagram will reveal a large overlap between the sphere’s of “later in 2013” and “in the fall and all across 2014”. In fact, I think you’ll find the first circle exists ENTIRELY in side the second.
-
So being the most profitable computer company in the world is a business they’re just going to walk away from?
-
I think people need to look at this statement from Tim in it’s context.
Apple has been taking it in the shorts from people throwing out wild, unsubstantiated rumours. And when those rumours DON’T come to pass, it’s seen as a “delay” or “failure” by Apple. Cook has been more aggressive than Jobs about trying to kill some of this stuff quickly, but obviously he can’t answer every idiotic rumour that comes along.
All you have to do is look at Apple news over the last month to see tons of “people in the know” reports by bloggers saying there’s going to be new iPhone or iPads launched this spring or perhaps at WWDC. I think Tim Cook’s statement is a direct stab at those rumours, “No new iPhones iPad until the fall, jackasses!”
Of course, it will never be clear enough for some people. I remember reading an article from a guy who came away disappointed that there wasn’t a new product announcement at the SHAREHOLDER’S MEETING!
Of course WWDC would be a great time to announce the new MacPro. But as I’ve said before, it’s all about the guts. If the MacPro is still going to tie itself to Xeons, then Intel’s roadmap says FALL. So it will be Fall.
If they have something else up their sleeve, then anything can happen.
But Apple isn’t going to wait for the next-gen TB. Why? Cause they’ve already had to wait 2 years for Thunderbolt I/O to make it to the Xeon processors. Who knows how long it will be before the next version would appear on the server-class chips.
If the new MacPro is a big refresh for the device, then I think we can reasonably expect the refresh cycle to go back to something more in line with the rest of the Macs. So if this year’s MacPro ships with 10Gbps, then so be it. And if they can offer 20Gbps next year, then they will.
-
The iOS’ificaion of OSX has been largely overblown in my estimation. It’s basically about sharing good ideas in both direction, and creating a more cohesive identity between the two. iOS has basically brought the appStore (which has been in many cases a great success), and Launchpad (which you can choose to ignore), and option for tighter security restrictions (which again you can choose to ignore). Beyond that it’s making sure the same apps have the same names across both platforms. Nothing that’s ever worried me.
Microsoft seems to be on a faster path to UI convergence than Apple- unless they back right off their Windows8 initiative.
As for gestures, in that same presentation was when they launched the multitouch trackpad, and shortly after the magic trackpad. That seems to be their solution to touch on the Mac side for now.
Until it becomes a complete commodity feature to add touch to a screen, I don’t see it. And even then, I don’t see Apple adding it until it makes sense- and it doesn’t make sense with the UI of OSX.
-
I think it was at the “Back to the Mac” event from a few years ago when they intro’d the 2nd generation MacBookAirs. Steve Jobs stated implicitly that they’d done tones of testing on this and just found that ergonomically, touch screens on desktops and laptops didn’t make any sense.
And while Apple has been known to downplay something then adding it later (video on iPods), here I think they’re correct in their assessment- and I’d be very surprised to see a touchscreen Mac anytime soon.
The ONLY configuration I can see it working is in a “Drafing table” style iMac. But again the OS just isn’t set up for broad touch input.
In a drafting-table style configuration with a iOS style UI, I can see it- otherwise… nope. It’s just a gimmick.
-
Apple should divorce itself from the stock market as well. I don’t see what good it does them.
They get beaten up on rumours which get published because anti-Apple articles bring in page hits.
They get beaten up not because they’re not profitable, but because they miss profit targets from idiots who not only have no idea what they’re doing, but also potentially profit from Apple stock drops.
Apple’s stock goes down on record profits, but Amazon’s go up when they loose money. I think the stock market is as divorced from reality as Hollywood gossip is.
I wish I could be in as much “trouble” as Apple is.