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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

New MacPro predictions? Hopes? Fears?

Scot Yount said:
...I don't think they are gonna close up shop and lay off all the people in Austin without a solution.
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I hear you. I'd welcome (and buy) an updated nMP even if it was just an incremental update w/ Broadwell-EP, TB3, and newer AMD GPUs

Unfortunately, I have my suspicions Apple will put focus on an "iMac Pro" model moving forward - which could potentially be assembled in Austin.
 
Daniel Reed said:
heh, I was the one who originally posted the Amazon link of the discontinued Mac Pro page to MacRumors - and that screen grab was from my iPhone!
:badputer:
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Small world brother!
 
I think there were adverts for refurbished 6 cores Mac Pros 2013's that came out at the start of August with deep discounts.
My guess is this is the first step in the lead up to a line 'refresh'.

1) lower price of refurbs
2) reduce stock of new 6 core to a minimum (and even allow a sellout so that people don't get miffed than they are buying technology Just before a refresh)
3) Allow the public to 'demand' new Mac pros (i.e. Create demand)
4) Sneak peak of new Vertically integrated device (Replace demand with desire)
5) Pre-order date for new computer (so that you don't have to build them all on day one).

Personally, I don't expect that (4) will happen until APFS (apples new file system) is compatible with Time Machine, is proven to be fault tolerant, and that transition from HFS+ (current file system) to APFS has zero issues.

The design of a replacement Mac Pro will want be turned around the dramatic reducing in latency afforded by the latest wave of SSD (and Intel latest sold state). And the OS will most definitely want to be in this new APFS drive to boot into.

Apple are launching APFS as a bootable partition in '2017'. For me the significance of that is that MacOS Sieria will at some point be Shipped booting from AFPS .. And my guess is that this would be the ideal time to reveal a new machine .. And therefore the time to expect a new 'Jet Black?' Mac Pro.

:-)

AJ

Jarek Zabczynski said:
According to Amazon and a supposed insider, the Mac Pro is being discontinued.

https://www.amazon.com/Apple-MD878L...d-Manufacturer/dp/B00747Y9C2?tag=macrumors-20

This can mean many things. It could simply mean the Trash Can is being discontinued. It certainly doesn't rule out a new Mac Pro with a new design. Let's hope.
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They can, but will they?

They can, but will they?

Good notes Antony. Apple has a history of combining several architectural inflection points into one "leap forward" so whatever challenges are inherent in that move are part of one - hopefully brief - pain point. I sure prefer that to the drip, drip, drip of incremental steps that each require multiple vendors to accommodate the changes with dot releases, patches and other kludges.

I'm actually a big supporter of Apple's move toward more compact, efficient form factors. If Apple really wants to, they have the resources/engineering talent to leverage the latest tech to make the MacPro 7,1 a fantastic tool for content creators. Process shrink is a golden opportunity. They could just as easily push out an overpriced, underpowered "update" that squanders whatever goodwill they have left...

Cheers - #19
 
Interesting points about APFS; however, I see it more related to long term hardware unification goals.

I'm still holding out hope, but if we only see updated MBPs and iMacs by end of 2017, I'll be forced to migrate everything to Windows
 
Daniel Reed said:
I'm still holding out hope, but if we only see updated MBPs and iMacs by end of 2017, I'll be forced to migrate everything to Windows
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I'm in that same (sinking) boat. I don't want to switch to Windows, but if Apple doesn't make a move in the next six months, I think a lot of users will be jumping ship.
 
Marc Wielage said:
I'm in that same (sinking) boat. I don't want to switch to Windows, but if Apple doesn't make a move in the next six months, I think a lot of users will be jumping ship.
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Trying to keep my 2012 alive. Just put in a 980ti and got 12 core 3.33ghz upgrade.
 
Blair S. Paulsen said:
If Apple really wants to, they have the resources/engineering talent to leverage the latest tech to make the MacPro 7,1 a fantastic tool for content creators.
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Sure, financially they allegedly have the resources to build a city. Or re-plant a few deserts. So the task of designing a proper computer case with existing higher specs components and finding folks on the other side of the planet who will work more for less to make it shouldn't be a problem.

Though the wanting part is highly questionable.
 
+1 for jumping ship.

I Would dreadfully hate to dump all my Apple gear but I need to make a decision next year as to what my next workstation will be. I hate clutter and that's one of the things that I think most of us love about Apple. For me it's not the cool factor. It's the fact that the OS doesn't distract me from my work. But if my machine is struggling to keep up with all the new tech RED keeps churning out then I will have no choice but to switch to Windows. I made the decision to invest heavily into FCPX years ago and it works for me ... for now. But loyalty only goes so far. I really hope and pray that Apple has something amazing up their sleeve and they've been really good about keeping it a secret.

They are already making their own processors for mobile devices. Maybe they are developing their own desktop processor. Maybe they are waiting for the space ship to be completed before they release it. Who knows? But it would be nice to have some kind of idea.
Hint hint RED... Hint hint Scarlet-W update? :)

They revolutionized the entire computer industry. It would be great if they did it again.
 
I think Flextronics employed around 1,700 to build Mac Pro's using components from the robotic production line in Austin.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbWOQWw1wkM

Flextronics GAAP for this year, and projections for 2017 look sound, and I have not heard about any potential layoffs in this area.

Lead time to change the Robotic mac-pro build process & lead time for a Custom GPU package from AMD (assuming Apple has has not brought this in house) is an unknown that only Apple (and likely Flextronics know).

Global Foundaries might have experienced yield issues the 'Samsung 14nm Recipe' that they were using to create their own 14nm chips (The recipe that Sammy 'borrowed' from TSMC without their permission!). AMD have Just made a deal with GF to be allowed to use Non-GF parts (due to GF inability to create chips in volume).

TSMC are expecting 'production volume' revenue from their 10nm process in 2017 Q1.

One suggestion that comes to mind is that might 'fit' the above set of informations is that:

1) AMD will build a GPU for Apple that will make use of a TSMC 10nm process (Vega?)
2) Apple will incorporate the the changes in the robotic production line (Q1 2017)
3) Flextronics will switch over to the new (mass) production line.
4) WWDC 2017 time I would be (completely) guess would be Apple announcement time ... and until then, more messages from Tim that all is well in the world of Mac.

AJ
 
Adam Rook said:
+1 for jumping ship.

It's the fact that the OS doesn't distract me from my work.
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I hear that a lot, but I never understand it.
If you work in Resolve, Premiere, AE, or any other program, you don't even see your OS.
The only time you actually use a OS, is when you copy files - which works basically the same on Windows.

So how can a OS distract you from your work?
 
Once in your specific app the OS usually isn't a bother. But the multitude of other tasks that are handled within the OS GUI or reliant on interfacing with the OS and its underlying abstraction layers still comes into play constantly. The way I look at is this... Windows is a steaming pile of sheep manure, lumped together by committee with an affinity for the preservation of outdated hardware that should have been deprecated years ago and all twisted up by bending the paradigm to fit the corporate whims of Fortune 500 purchasing departments.

I know Windows is a pile of shit and feel qualified to make these statements because, well, I've used it on multiple systems... Every day... For over 20 years.

Unfortunately, our current alternatives are lacking in configuration options and computing power... Too many compromises on that side of the coin as well. So we're predominantly Windows these days. Just no other way around it. Maybe if Apple decides to actually make content creation, and not just consumption, a priority again.
 
I too have used Windows machines quite a lot but I for one am much more comfortable in a Mac environment.
Windows feels cluttered and obtrusive. That's just the way I feel about it. I'm not trying to start another, tired, OS war. Maybe I don't work on Windows enough to know how to turn off all the freakin notifications and updates but OMG I don't want to know every time the computer takes a dump or does something. My wife and I got into a debate over the Galaxy vs. iPhone. I told her, after having owned a Galaxy for a year, that I hated how every time I tried to do something I was interrupted with some kind of notification that something had been updated or needed to be updated before I could even use it, or this task was happening or that task was happening. She said oh so you just want to go about your day blindly aloof to what all your phone is doing? I said yes, that's why I bought the darn thing to do all that crap I don't want to be bothered with.

I feel the same with Windows. But it soon may become a cross I just have to bare. I pray not.

So as for my previous comment I guess I mis-spoke. I was referring to the UX not specifically the OS.
 
It's quite easy to shut up all that notifications (also getting rid of the ludicrous tiles on Win 8 is just a mouse click away, and you never see them tiles again - ever).

Besides that, what exactly are you guys doing in your OS?
All I do is copying files and pushing the shutdown button.

And yeah, I'm totally with Jeff and the pile of shit under the Win hood - but it actually doesn't really bother me at all.
My system and my programs are running just fine, usually I don't have to look under that hood.
 
What really, really irks me about Windows is the background processes. As I'm writing this, TiWorker.exe just spun up and started using 60% CPU for like 20+ minutes. Don't get me started on the way Windows 10 does updates.
Seriously, keep an eye on your Task Manager and you'll be amazed at what happens behind your back.
With my Mac, I know that the CPU is 0% (or darn close) unless I'm actually using the machine (I disable auto update, backup, etc. in both OSes).
 
Hrvoje Simic said:
Sure, financially they allegedly have the resources to build a city. Or re-plant a few deserts. So the task of designing a proper computer case with existing higher specs components and finding folks on the other side of the planet who will work more for less to make it shouldn't be a problem. Though the wanting part is highly questionable.
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Don't forget that Apple has $200 billion in cash as of a year ago.

http://www.cnbc.com/2015/07/21/just-how-much-cash-does-apple-have.html

It's maddening as to why they wouldn't spend a very small portion of that to make the most powerful desktops and laptops in the world.
 
The current thinking is Apple skipped the 6th gen Intel CPUs because of well known problems with it. The new 7th gen is only a minor upgrade with bug fixes. I think Apple is waiting for next Gen (post Kaby Lake) processors before bringing out new stuff, both laptop and desktop. Plus PCIE gen 4 is coming out next year. If we don't see something by mid 2017, at least good rumors, then yes, probably need to move on. But I think they will come out with at least a new iMac. I would love to see a new tower with expansion slots come out.
 
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