Right, it's not cheaper to externalize everything, but people with expensive external SAS/NAS/RAID setups will not see an increased cost (well theoretically, anyway... currently the TB RAID/SAS adapter options are insanely overpriced), simply because they would've externalized everything anyway.
Both statements are grossly wrong. First, for some people it
is cheaper to externalize everything. There are humongous , mid-size, and small storage gear selling companies that clearly prove otherwise. It is a fact you acknowledge in the start of the second statement but then start hand waving about how it isn't true.
It isn't theoretical. Nobody is required to buy any new external storage if they already have it. So TB RAID/SAS options are entirely immaterial to whether the costs change or not.
Is Apple targeting the folks with pile every last drop of data into a single box? No. Were those folks the majority of the profitable part of the Mac Pro target market? Probably not.
External storage is not just super expensive SAN set ups. The folks doing 'poor man' NAS/SAN with DAS solutions that migrated from desk to desk fit the new Mac Pro also. So need to subtract out both the higher and lower ends of the collaborative and/or hyper growth capacities storage requirements from the targeted Mac Pro market to see what is left.
Yes, eventually everything will be SSD or something like it.. I agree.
If you read that as I think all HDDs are being replaced then I messed up. SSDs are replacing HDDs in more areas than before. Do I think SSDs will make a clean sweep of HDDs everywhere? No.
Inside of PCs/Workstations where users have relatively static capacity working space storage requirements then yes. There will still be a subset of users with very modest growth where a fixed set of HDDs internal drives will be able to keep up. For SSD sized problems though... not so much.
Flash storage is going to hit a brick wall in a couple of years. They aren't going to catch HDDs in terms of $/GB.
Replacing everywhere? No, not there yet because it is never going to happen.
There yet for systems that have heavily shifted to NAS/SAN for bulk storage. Yes, already there.
Will it change the fact that including no room for internal expansion will cost more for users? Absolutely not, in fact, it'll make it worse, which brings me to my next point.
There is room for internal expansion. The GPU card could possibly optionally have a SSD slot. That would provide two which is an expansion.
Is there SATA HDDs expansion? No. But there is expansion both in the sense of possibly more drives and in the sense of replacement with a future cheaper, larger capacity drive in a couple of years.
Apple has chosen to allow one or two proprietary SSDs which will likely not be enough room for any of their users.
Any (i.e., All) users. False. Sweeping generalizations based on hand waving are typically like a broken-clock; correct about twice a day (for the wrong reason).
I'm sorry, not an army, a squad--it will take a SQUAD of external accessories each with their own power supply to replace the functionality of a PC with PCIe slots, on-board audio, and room for internal storage.
The huge flaw here is not every Mac Pro completely packed their box to the gills with stuff. How many boxes you need to buy depends upon needs-feature match between the boxes and users.
There are lots of folks who do external audio. Frankly lots of higher end set-ups have an external box that the auido equipment is plugged into. What thunderbolt brings to the table is the question why did those vendors decouple the PCI-e card from that box ( which already needed power supply) ?
Great. So I can have fewer boxes on my desk, all I have to do is replace my monitor which has been awesome since the day I bought it 4 years ago.
Thunderbolt doesn't obviate using a legacy monitor. minDisplayPort-> dual dvi dongle and ready to go just as well as any 2-4 miniDisplayPort discrete full size GPU card would do. There is really zero difference here in what the design would have been at all. None.
Why didn't I just buy an iMac if I wanted to just throw away my monitor with every upgrade?
You don't have to throw away the monitor. Once on track of
fewer cords/connectors between monitor and Mac host unit you actually get a net reduction in cables/connectors.
For more than several years monitors have been trying to absorb non display duties as well. Even high end displays come with USB hubs , audio bars , web cams , etc. All of that actually drives
up the number of cables. It is funny when that happens there is not a peep, but if there is a power cable to a TB device the world is going to end.
What if I bought a 30" ACD?
it doesn't have a miniDisplay Port. You were going to need the DP->dual link DVI adapter no matter what Mac you bought.
Besides the Apple Cinema Display 30" was designed in 2003 (and shipped in2004). That there is a disconnect with the latest Mac model that came out 9 years later is a surprise? Apple isn't living in the last decade. This Mac Pro is designed for the
next decade not the last one. if have one or two decade old equipment then yes you are not going to have the cheapest integration problem with the new system. That is the price for living in the past.
So to have the same expandability as a $40 PC case, I have to buy a separate PSU, jam it into a rectangular box, and put it on my desk. How is that a smaller footprint?
There is nothing to requires the external box to be a bigger footprint that the old Mac Pro. It won't be hard to sit the cylinder and a somewhat taller, but not as large as current Mac Pro box behind it in the exact same desktop footprint.
Some may complain because the Mac Pro isn't on the floor anymore. That is the substantive bigger desktop footprint change than this internal storage thing. This Mac Pro is clearly designed to be a desktop Mac. The current one can sit on the desktop, but it isn't particularly designed for that.
If going to stick the new one under the desk going to need a new box to put this on top of. That box could be where the stuff goes and same zero desktop footprint.
Was it really worth it to shrink the form-factor?
It isn't a sure thing but time will tell. Apple doesn't require a 2-4 quarter complete pay off on this. If this design optimally workds over next 2-4 years I suspect Apple and a larger number than the Mac Pro buyers over the last 2-4 years will be happy with the result. If that happens it will be worth.
Will those next 2-4 years set of people be the same as the people from last 2-4 years? Extremely likely no.
Your summary (if I may put words in your mouth): Price is clearly no object for "professionals", so therefore paying way to much for fewer options (provided they can technically provide the same functionality) is just fine.
Please stop perpetrating the fraud that I say anything like that. Those are your words not mine.
Also, you can have all the expandability you want! All you have to do is purchase and hook up a bunch of boxes--clearly this is more space efficient and economical.
Utter BS. There is nothing in TB that says have to keep boxes small. Size and number is based on needs and function. Nor is this new design approach solely aiming at all the external storage being in Thunderbolt devices themselves.
