I've been flamed pretty hard over my recent Mac Pro comments, and the space of a reply just wasn't enough to say everything that is wrong about this computer.
This computer does not represent an "innovation", and I strongly believe that Steve Jobs would have never let this thing see the light of day, much less hit the production floor.
I will explain why, but first let me begin by responding to the most common reply to my original post: "Obviously you don't understand Apple's design philosophy" / "obviously you've never been an Apple fan"
My history with Apple goes back to when I was about three years old... back to the first time I ever used a computer. In school, I was ridiculed by my classmates for being a Mac user/supporter. I have issues of Macworld dating back to before Steve Job's return. I watched keynotes live from Apple Stores. I've even built an HTPC into a PowerMac G4 Cube, and a hackintosh into a Powermac G4 Quicksilver because I was so obsessed with Apple's designs.
But do I understand Apple's design philosophy?
If I were to sum it up in three words, it would be "It just works."
But what, exactly, does that mean?
Back in the late 90s, computers were still needlessly confusing and that operating systems were unnecessarily complex. Jobs knew that there was an appetite for a computer that you could just take out of the box, plug it in, and start using. He knew that there was a market for a user-experience that appealed to those who wanted a no-frills computer. Thus the iMac and OS X were born. It was the right computer for the right time... And suddenly computers were accessible to everyone!
But Apple still had a contingency of users who knew what they were doing. They wanted more power, and more flexibility. For these people "it just works" meant having a robust computer which made being a power-user simple. Why do you think they built the swing-down door on the G3s and G4s? For looks? No, because power-users needed to get inside their computers regularly enough that such a design feature was useful.
"It just works" means different things for different classes of users... but for EVERYONE, it means having exactly what you need out of a computer - no more, no less.
The manifestation of this design philosophy was much more noticeable for basic users. In being cautious not to give them more than they needed, Apple often took what seemed like drastic measures. (Cutting ODDs was a prime example of this.) A reduction in the size and complexity of Apple's hardware was an inevitable result of their design philosophy... but it was never the outright goal!
Somewhere along the way, I think some Mac-users (especially the more recent ones) began to think of it this way... that Apple's philosophy was minimalism.
Let me say it again: minimalism is the outcome of thieir philosophy applied to what basic users need in a computer.
Now what about pros?
While imbedded flash-based storage is nice, you'll be hard-pressed to find a pro-user who won't need mass storage for the gobs and gobs of disk-space consumed by media files. And when video editor has a sample cut he wants to showcase, it'll most likely be played back on a DVD player, which - last I checked - aren't compatible with a USB stick.
This computer - for a good majority of pros - won't "just work". This computer will inevitably need more. And when it needs more, you have one option: external add-ons.
Pro users have the knowledge and the capability to perform their own internal upgrades. For them it's PREFERABLE! Where as most external periphs will have two cords (a power cord and a comm cable), internal periphs have ZERO! And they take up no additional space! (And no additional outlets!)
To suggest that external peripherals are preferred by pro-users is just totally uninformed. That may be the case for the occasional basic user who may require an external ODD, but in the case where nearly every pro user will require external mass storage... it just makes no sense.
It DOES NOT just work.
Steve Jobs was passionate about simplifying the simplify-able.
What Cook & Co. have done to the Mac Pro was simplification for simplification's sake - devoid of any actual inspiration from what pro users needed. They, like many of today's Apple fans, are caught up in the belief that Apple's mission is minimalism, while completely missing the point of what Steve Jobs actually set out to accomplish.
-Clive
This computer does not represent an "innovation", and I strongly believe that Steve Jobs would have never let this thing see the light of day, much less hit the production floor.
I will explain why, but first let me begin by responding to the most common reply to my original post: "Obviously you don't understand Apple's design philosophy" / "obviously you've never been an Apple fan"
My history with Apple goes back to when I was about three years old... back to the first time I ever used a computer. In school, I was ridiculed by my classmates for being a Mac user/supporter. I have issues of Macworld dating back to before Steve Job's return. I watched keynotes live from Apple Stores. I've even built an HTPC into a PowerMac G4 Cube, and a hackintosh into a Powermac G4 Quicksilver because I was so obsessed with Apple's designs.
But do I understand Apple's design philosophy?
If I were to sum it up in three words, it would be "It just works."
But what, exactly, does that mean?
Back in the late 90s, computers were still needlessly confusing and that operating systems were unnecessarily complex. Jobs knew that there was an appetite for a computer that you could just take out of the box, plug it in, and start using. He knew that there was a market for a user-experience that appealed to those who wanted a no-frills computer. Thus the iMac and OS X were born. It was the right computer for the right time... And suddenly computers were accessible to everyone!
But Apple still had a contingency of users who knew what they were doing. They wanted more power, and more flexibility. For these people "it just works" meant having a robust computer which made being a power-user simple. Why do you think they built the swing-down door on the G3s and G4s? For looks? No, because power-users needed to get inside their computers regularly enough that such a design feature was useful.
"It just works" means different things for different classes of users... but for EVERYONE, it means having exactly what you need out of a computer - no more, no less.
The manifestation of this design philosophy was much more noticeable for basic users. In being cautious not to give them more than they needed, Apple often took what seemed like drastic measures. (Cutting ODDs was a prime example of this.) A reduction in the size and complexity of Apple's hardware was an inevitable result of their design philosophy... but it was never the outright goal!
Somewhere along the way, I think some Mac-users (especially the more recent ones) began to think of it this way... that Apple's philosophy was minimalism.
Let me say it again: minimalism is the outcome of thieir philosophy applied to what basic users need in a computer.
Now what about pros?
While imbedded flash-based storage is nice, you'll be hard-pressed to find a pro-user who won't need mass storage for the gobs and gobs of disk-space consumed by media files. And when video editor has a sample cut he wants to showcase, it'll most likely be played back on a DVD player, which - last I checked - aren't compatible with a USB stick.
This computer - for a good majority of pros - won't "just work". This computer will inevitably need more. And when it needs more, you have one option: external add-ons.
Pro users have the knowledge and the capability to perform their own internal upgrades. For them it's PREFERABLE! Where as most external periphs will have two cords (a power cord and a comm cable), internal periphs have ZERO! And they take up no additional space! (And no additional outlets!)
To suggest that external peripherals are preferred by pro-users is just totally uninformed. That may be the case for the occasional basic user who may require an external ODD, but in the case where nearly every pro user will require external mass storage... it just makes no sense.
It DOES NOT just work.
Steve Jobs was passionate about simplifying the simplify-able.
What Cook & Co. have done to the Mac Pro was simplification for simplification's sake - devoid of any actual inspiration from what pro users needed. They, like many of today's Apple fans, are caught up in the belief that Apple's mission is minimalism, while completely missing the point of what Steve Jobs actually set out to accomplish.
-Clive
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