[Herb Sevush] "[Tim Wilson] "if Apple releases another Mac Pro (and I think they will"
is that a hint or a guess, or can you say."
I can say, because it's a guess. :-)
Maybe they've got the next form factor ready to go. The HP Z1 shows that you can pack an awful lot of muscle into an iMac-ish shape, with specs that in some cases compare favorably to a Mac Pro. (Obviously not in every way. I'm just saying....). In that case (haha), let 'er rip.
The thing is, it's been a long time since there's been a reallllly new Mac Pro. Same form factor for a while now, just adding new components as they become available. Plenty of people smarter than me have pointed to new Intel components, and better graphics support from a whole lot of companies, for both GL and CL.
So why not another turn of the crank? Ship some configs with faster/bigger storage, more/faster RAM, faster processors, new IO, better graphics, and buy another 2+ years while the Thunderbolt/iMac-ish/MacBook-ish ecosystem keeps building out, until people say "Who the hell needs a Mac Pro anymore? I can do more with my new Apple (fill in the blank) than my (insert age) Mac Pro anyway."
It just doesn't seem that hard to me for Apple to have it both ways for a little longer: easy manufacturing, easy money. Nothing to explain to customers except, "It's new. It's more powerful. Pay up, suckas."
My general rule of thumb for Apple predictions, though: no matter what you say, you're WRONG. They have a pretty remarkable record for making every pundit look like an idiot most of the time. Which also doesn't seem that hard to me.
Tim Wilson
Associate Publisher, Editor-in-Chief
Creative COW Magazine
Twitter: timdoubleyou
