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Mac Pro WWDC ?
- Thread starter Washac
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My impression is that Apple deems such use cases as too few and far between to give them any attention. Too specialized for Apple to make money with it. They rather skip such a - by their standards - small opportunity.
I just hope we hear something. Even if it's just a few words after the event to the press. We've not heard a thing for months, and they said they wanted to be transparent and communicate with their pro users. Yeah right...
I believe we will get a full Announcement (Details, Pricing, Ship Date), Preview (a lot of details with a ship-by-end-of-year promise), or a date for an upcoming Mac Pro Launch Event. Apple doesn't want negative Mac Pro Vaporware articles to dominant their press after WWDC and overshadow their other announcements. It doesn't matter that the product is for a small customer base, any Apple failure is bigger News than new OS features, or tweaks to other products.
If the Mac Pro was slipping past the end of this year, and they had no intention of discussing it at WWDC, they would have said so about 2 months ago to get the Bad Press Flack over with before WWDC.
If the Mac Pro was slipping past the end of this year, and they had no intention of discussing it at WWDC, they would have said so about 2 months ago to get the Bad Press Flack over with before WWDC.
Is it strange for me to want 3.5" hard drive bays? That's one thing I LOVE about the MacPro 5,1. I do video editing and need terabytes of storage for my video files and I hate having to use external hard drives. And SSDs are just not up to the capacity of mechanical hard drives and cost WAY too much compared to HDDs when you're just storing files.
I suppose I could get an external thunderbolt hard drive bay but it would be another thing that will have to sit next to the Mac Pro and most of them are so damn ugly. Could somebody recommend me one?
I suppose I could get an external thunderbolt hard drive bay but it would be another thing that will have to sit next to the Mac Pro and most of them are so damn ugly. Could somebody recommend me one?
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Around two months ago they had to admit that AirPower was a vapourware product. Even after putting it on the box cover of the new AirPods that did ship. In that context, that context they were quite unlikely to stand up and say that they had exhibited rather poor Project Management and Engineering insight and have yet another product that was way off schedule and/or Engineering caught flat footed and stumped.
Apple pretended up until the late minute that they were going to "fix' AirPower and then punted. If there is a problem they are likely going to want to put a gap because that inept attempt at a product and another that had a problem. They'd wait until the last possible minute on that next one. Probably with a "dog ate my homework" excuse and kick the expected date range off further into the future.
Some folks may say "Just rip the band aid off" all at once ( screwed up AirPower and less screwed up Mac Pro in one big blow). That ignores they had this laptop keyboard thing also hanging over their head. And just finished a 'solution' for that. Two screw ups and didn't have the keyboards 'fixed' and months until they could attempt take the keyboard thing off the table.
i suspect it is combination of multiple issues. Some components slipping on dates ( e.g., the CPU both AMD and Intel are now in Q3 (or worse) for new workstation products ). That part Apple doesn't control. So it isn't a question of no intention of talking about it at WWDC. it is that they don't have dates. So trying to do a gymnastic dismount onto the keynote of WWDC is dubious when the ground is moving.
Probably also some issues ( big or maybe small) that aren't locked down and management isn't buying the kinds of excuses they got with AirPower ( "we can knock that out in another couple of weeks... the thing-bob isn't hooking to the whatchamcallit but if we flap our arms harder that will cause a fix to fall out of the sky. ). Again management might think it would be nice if Mac Pro 'fit' into a WWDC timeframe, but if it doesn't .... then it doesn't.
IMHO, it is the opposite situation of where they should have said something a couple of months ago. If the Mac Pro was solidly on schedule and no significant deviations from last April ( 2018 when they essentially said it was not off schedule) then they should have said something. Going into a hole is indicative that they are holding onto 'bad' news , not 'good' news. It is the same behavior that MP 2013 product got when got to 2015-2016 ( said nothing and hide. ). A Mac pro that was on schedule and with "no big surprises" would be different enough from AirPower to talk about as counter example; not yet another 'oops, we got surprised at how hard it is'.
Missing 11:00 am June 3rd isn't the end of the world or that they have to wait until last week in October or whatever. If insight on the logistical schedule clears up mid June then they can run a small info session about a week later and set a timeframe for a more formal announcement. What they could do that doesn't violate their policy about talking about future products is kill off some of the looney toon alternative path rumors that they are not actually pursuing. ( If they have no intention at doing Lego block workstation then kill it. )
If they are finished and passed the vast majority of engineering verification testing and are primarily waiting on parts they should show it... but they should do that whenever they got to that status. If they hid that for months just to get to certain hour on a relatively arbitrary day ( WWDC keynote ) that is extremely dubious.
We'll see where they are on Monday. I expect they have chosen what they believe to be the best introduction process and timing to maximize Apple's image. Unless they are are dramatically changing their market priorities, the Mac Pro is as much, if not more, about image as it is profit.
I'm feeling a Xeon dual two slot dual SSD midi tower with Radeon 590, 48, 56, 64, and VII options coming. Otherwise I cant explain why 590 and VII are being included properly in drivers now except for the external graphics guys.
I would love a threadripper MacPro. I think it's a superior chip compared to Xeons. But, overall I think we are all going to be disappointed with whatever MacPro Apple shows.
Heavily influencing the current Mac Pro's design ( 2013 model) to maximize its effect as a prop in a dog and pony show is one of the major contributing factors of why Apple "designed themselves into a corner". It would be very puzzling to see them repeat that very same mistake after relatively openly admitting that was a screw up.
If Apple had spent more time in early evaluation of how that device was engineered and checked to see if it worked in a broad set of workloads, they could have avoided the problem.
If the Mac Pro wasn't profitable, Apple wouldn't do it. The notion that Apple would do the Mac Pro even if it didn't make money because it "good imagery for Apple" is flawed. The stagnant, good looking Mac Pro 2013 hasn't been propping up Mac sales for the last 4 years. That is just pure utter fantasy. The previous design version didn't primarily serve that role either.
MacOS is going to get a fixed amount of stage time of the WWDC Keynote.
macOS is lined up to:
Kill off 32 bit apps ( how many users have completely cleaned up and prepare for this? )
Kill off QuickTime.
Intro Marizpan.
As partially an representative example of Maripan, kill off iTunes as
a name ( this may get spread over multiple OS. )
https://www.macrumors.com/2019/06/01/apple-wipes-itunes-facebook-instagram-pages/
the fact that early before the keynote, Apple is poking a stick in the hornets nest that is old school, hard core iTunes users means they'll have some explaining to do. That will occupy some substantive time. Probably
one of the major bullet points of the keynote if pre-triggering like this. )
Plus new stuff that isn't Marzipan. (e.g., perhaps new driver framework (more stuff folks will need to migrate/upgrade) , etc.)
So, some large empty void of extra time for a Mac Pro extravaganza ...... doesn't look promising. Multiple Apple software and service moves that impact tons of Apple users (and developers ) probably will get priority. If all Apple is doing is 'kicking the can' to the end of the year they could do that outside the keynote.
macOS is lined up to:
Kill off 32 bit apps ( how many users have completely cleaned up and prepare for this? )
Kill off QuickTime.
Intro Marizpan.
As partially an representative example of Maripan, kill off iTunes as
a name ( this may get spread over multiple OS. )
https://www.macrumors.com/2019/06/01/apple-wipes-itunes-facebook-instagram-pages/
the fact that early before the keynote, Apple is poking a stick in the hornets nest that is old school, hard core iTunes users means they'll have some explaining to do. That will occupy some substantive time. Probably
one of the major bullet points of the keynote if pre-triggering like this. )
Plus new stuff that isn't Marzipan. (e.g., perhaps new driver framework (more stuff folks will need to migrate/upgrade) , etc.)
So, some large empty void of extra time for a Mac Pro extravaganza ...... doesn't look promising. Multiple Apple software and service moves that impact tons of Apple users (and developers ) probably will get priority. If all Apple is doing is 'kicking the can' to the end of the year they could do that outside the keynote.
Does not need a big 'extravaganza'; just a 5 to 10 minute preview with some 'pre-orders on' & 'shipping by' vagueness...
Neither the new Xeon W nor the TR3 is coming until Q3 (much closer to the end than the beginning. For apple volumes probably Q4). So the likelihood of "pre-orders" is about pretty close to zero unless Apple has been squatting on a TR2 for most of this year.
If it is only really about "shipping by vagueness" then it may not get stage time. a picture attached to the press release saying "by end of Fall 2019" . Because, basically that would be all they'd be doing anyway ( look don't touch not coming for a substantial amount of time. ) There is a ton of other stuff that is coming before that and will ship in beta form by the end of the keynote. Both shipping and coming quicker. So those get keynote time.
A brief preview, pre-orders for Sept, shipping in Dec...
Marketing ramp-up a month before pre-orders, demo units in Apple stores 'by appt' when pre-orders go live, more marketing push running up to shipping, including a bunch of stuff from the pro workflow group thing...
No, it isn't - I have 5 HDs, along with a Blu-Ray player in mine.
Look at the ones from OWC - I have a Mercury Qx2 for my back up and I love it.
Yes! That's another thing, the Blu-ray drives! I wish they'd keep at least one of them but I don't think that's going to happen.
The OWC Mercury Qx2 looks cool!
For context, the 2013 Mac Pro when not done or logistically ready when they showed it at WWDC. Apple was just reasonably confident there weren’t going to be any product-redefining changes.
The logistical concerns will really be irrelevant for if they decide to show at WWDC.
They didn’t even have any on the floor running at WWDC 2013. There was one on stage demo with a prototype.
I actually love this idea. But I don't think Apple would ever go for that, unfortunately.
Pretty much. Apple is taking away Quicktime 7/Pro but still offering Quicktime 10.
https://support.apple.com/quicktime
Not saying it works for everyone however quite a few people now have nas boxes.
What I’d do is have the files that working on locally and then have the archives off on nas box over the network.
Nas box sleeps when not being accessed, wakes up reliably when access etc
Has plenty of capacity and you can buy pretty expandable nas boxes which being on the network can be hidden away so can easily expand way beyond what would accommodate internally in a Mac Pro case.
You can get 10gbe nas and with the iMac Pro having 10gbe then would believe that the Mac Pro will come with 10gbe as well so transferring a project too and from the nas really shouldn’t be a huge bottleneck. And if you can afford a decked out Mac Pro then 10gbe shouldn’t be a huge stretch either.
Already a number of people talking 10gbe at home.
This would give you plenty of network storage available for archives (do people really NEED terabytes of archive locally) that would be out of site but readily accessible, with reasonable transfer times.
Am replacing my 5,1 Mac pro in sig with a new i9 9900k/vega VII hack and is now plan to operate.
Mac mini 2018 also has 10GbE option. However, 10GbE components are still pretty expensive, so - unless you earn a living with your machine - a TB3-DAS may make more economical sense.
Not sure that anybody expects more than a "preview" at WWDC with a late 2019 launch date (probably meaning you won't actually get one until 2020). Apple's current policy seems to be to launch hardware by press release (see: 2019 iMac, 2019 MBP) although those were fairly dull-but-worthy speed bumps. For the Mac Pro, though, they're really in the Last Chance Saloon when it comes to convincing people that they care about the 'real pro' market, and WWDC is an important psychological watershed.
Unfortunately, I think the Mac Pro is already dead - Unless you're one of the niche for whom the 2013 MP Cylinder "FCPX appliance" hit the spot, you've now gone since 2012 without a viable, up-to-date Mac Pro product - and in the Mac Pro market a lot of customers will be on a compulsory 3-5 year lease or tax-driven upgrade cycle.
If they don't at least preview the MP at WWDC then, seriously, who beyond a few ultra loyalists are still going to be waiting? The inconvenient truth is that a lot of 'Pro' users spend the day running software that is also available on Windows, and the only difference they'll notice between Mac and PC is that the PC was built-to-spec has exactly the CPU, GPU, RAM and storage combination that they wanted.
Thing is, Apple could have picked up the phone to Foxconn in March and there would be a container ship full of Xeon PCIe towers in natty Apple-branded cases pulling into San Fransisco bay today (figuratively speaking, at least). I'm sure they could have sold them for a 20% premium over a Dell workstation and they would solve problem #1 for pro/power users/serious hobbyists: a powerful, expandable desktop that could take hot-running CPUs and GPUs and run MacOS on them...
The delay strongly suggests that either (a) they're not going to make a Mac Pro and are just going to keep kicking the issue into the long grass of next quarter or (b) they're desperately trying to invent a problem to solve with some exotic shard of brushed aluminium .
The Mac Pro is not going to sell in huge volumes - it should be there to fill a strategic purpose of keeping developers, power users, creative pros etc. on the platform. Nor does it have to be the 'flagship' product - the MBP should be that. Its a 'wildcard' product for people who's needs aren't met by a MBP or iMac Pro. Its a 'pickup truck' for people who don't want a gull-winged sports SUV to haul bricks. If you actually have an idea for a truly innovative new pro machine then fine - but innovative = risky so get the basics covered first.
I agree, I was thinking $5K AU, $3.5K US, but it could be almost as much as an imac pro at a worst case starting point.
I don't really care for max CPU cores anymore because nearly all that type of rendering and compute stuff is going on GPU. Things changed a lot since the cMP release. I just want maybe 8 cores with a high clock speed, two slots for full size graphics cards, two m.2 slots for storage, really compact silent design.