Re: Working Over the weekend... NOW: Back to Mac Pro speculation

[Jeremy Garchow] "Like what? Release a MacPro with a 6Gb/sec Sata/USB3 connected mac that is going to have even further outdated processors in 6 months?"

I'm arguing for a shorter release cycle precisely to avoid having "further outdated" machines.

Apple chooses to allow the processors to become outdated. Other World Computing will pop the latest Xeons [link] in your Mac Pro processor tray for you -- and they apparently just work!

I know you keep saying that Mac Pros aren't built for speed, but at launch, they really are. They are fast, and they are cheap compared to the competition. The value for a Mac Pro starts out high, then drops off until Intel's next microarchitecture. Other vendors update more frequently to keep the value curve flatter.

We agree on this: Apple chooses to let the Mac Pros languish after release.

The workstation market isn't actually dying [link]. Apple could update the Mac Pros more frequently if they wanted to -- or if they thought it would be more profitable to. They could raise prices as bit and still be competitive [link].

Apple is a sporadic competitor in this space. It's weird. They're only showing half a commitment. If Mac Pros are not built for performance, what are they built for?

Who actually buys Mac Pros? It used to be largely creative pros, researchers, education, and enterprise, right? Apple has explicitly exited the enterprise market, shifted their focus away from education sales, and dramatically slowed if not stopped their advanced computing research. Are we the last market left for Macintosh workstations?

Walter Soyka
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