[Bill Davis] "I've learned to take all the "it's NOT for PRO use" talk with a huge grain of salt since I've watched countless times as the market decided that something totally inadequate for "professional" work - swept the market and eventually became the darling of the same pros who dismissed it most loudly upon inception."
I think we should make a distinction between "suitable for professional use" and "built for professional use." iMacs, which Apple used to explicitly position as the consumer line, are the former; Mac Pros, which contain features and technologies that are ridiculous overkill for both consumers and now many professionals, are the latter.
[Bill Davis] "It seems SO old fashioned when compared to my MacBook Pro that does nearly everything the MacPro does, but without all the attached crap."
This is where the discussion gets personal and we must all stop speaking in generalities.
You may be able to do nearly everything on your MacBook Pro that you do on your Mac Pro. I am
not able to do nearly everything on my MacBook Pro that I do on my Mac Pro, though. Since Thunderbolt can't help me add RAM or processing cores, it won't anytime in the future, either.
You're probably doing mostly video editorial; I'm doing mostly animation, motion graphics, and compositing at larger-than-HD resolutions. We have different goals, different workflows, and different needs.
Chris Kenny is right when he says that most people who used to need a Mac Pro don't need one anymore. Frank Gothmann is right when he says that some people cannot get their work done on an iMac as well as they can on a Mac Pro. I think they both agree that the workstation market among video pros is a shrinking niche, though they seem to differ on their opinions about whether Apple should cater to that niche.
In other words, if you're an editor, chances are that you just plain don't need a workstation anymore, and an iMac or laptop with Thunderbolt expansion will meet all your needs nicely. However, this does not mean that there's no one in the video industry who would still be willing to pay for more power on the desktop.
The question of Apple abandoning "pro" users is still germane for anyone who can't reasonably get their work done today on "consumer" hardware.
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
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events
