Apple WWDC 2013
I don't usually follow the Apple WWDC. I don't usually follow much about Apple. The last Apple product I actually used was the first generation iMacs (the bubble shaped ones with the bunch of colors) when my elementary school dropped what had to have been a ton of cash on them right after their launch.
It's not that I have anything particularly against Apple on the scale of the Apple vs. Microsoft fan wars. But basically it comes down to cost. Entry price for Apple has often been higher than PC, which I think has hurt Apple in that sector in its past. Those on the lower end of the market in terms of price actually make up a large part of the market in terms of numbers. Not having a cheaper alternative from Mac, many went with PC by default. Price vs. quality may narrow or negate some of that margin, but most computer buyers have not traditionally been so sophisticated to care about that. Many of those who are, tend to be sophisticated enough to put together a PC on their own, therefore can manage savings by piecing together a PC that fits their needs, something that cannot be done with a Mac.
Sorry about the tangent, but I think that it serves as a good framework for the discussion to come.
Anyway, I don't normally pay much attention to Apple's conferences because I don't use anything Apple. That changed when my good buddy started college, more precisely when he graduated.
Who is this good buddy? His name is CGBloke. He has a website; cgbloke.com.
As you can see, he is a computer graphics artist. I highly encourage looking at it from time to time.
His school gave him a Macbook Pro. They give all new students Macbook Pros. That was as you may or may not know, a lot of computer graphics software costs a lot of money - like multiple thousands of dollars. Many times this software is not ubiquitous in terms of the OS it works with; you either buy the Mac or Windows version and they don't give you both discs. So, unless you have thousands of dollars to re-buy software that costs thousands of dollars a piece, you wanna stick to a single platform as much as possible.
Unfortunately for some like the CGBloke, Apple hasn't exactly been on the ball when it comes to refreshing the Mac Pro line. With the need for more powerful hardware to make complex projects and render animation sequences, it helps to be able to use more powerful hardware. The Macbook Pro was okay for school, not that great for more intense work. Problem was that by the time he graduated last year it'd been years since Apple released a new Mac Pro desktop.
Well, they made a new one this year... and it looks a little odd.
It's definitely not what you normally expect from a computer tower, and give its shape and size, it's easy to see why there are already so many joke about it looking like an ashtray, trash can, and other not-so-PG things.
It is likely to be an acquired taste in terms of aesthetics, but the real factor will be performance. That's not just the 12-core Zeon or dual AMD FirePros, but cooling. They've utilized a central channel turbine system. That essentially means that heat is supposed to travel upwards through the center of the unit, exhausting at the top trough that opening. It is essentially the same theory as any other case, though average cases have added fans at the side, front, and back to help this out.
But, it exists, which is already an accomplishment in some regards. No word on price yet, but ballpark estimate wouldn't put it very far below current Mac Pros. All that can be done now is wait to see how the end-product does. Should be interesting.
It's not that I have anything particularly against Apple on the scale of the Apple vs. Microsoft fan wars. But basically it comes down to cost. Entry price for Apple has often been higher than PC, which I think has hurt Apple in that sector in its past. Those on the lower end of the market in terms of price actually make up a large part of the market in terms of numbers. Not having a cheaper alternative from Mac, many went with PC by default. Price vs. quality may narrow or negate some of that margin, but most computer buyers have not traditionally been so sophisticated to care about that. Many of those who are, tend to be sophisticated enough to put together a PC on their own, therefore can manage savings by piecing together a PC that fits their needs, something that cannot be done with a Mac.
Sorry about the tangent, but I think that it serves as a good framework for the discussion to come.
Anyway, I don't normally pay much attention to Apple's conferences because I don't use anything Apple. That changed when my good buddy started college, more precisely when he graduated.
Who is this good buddy? His name is CGBloke. He has a website; cgbloke.com.
As you can see, he is a computer graphics artist. I highly encourage looking at it from time to time.
His school gave him a Macbook Pro. They give all new students Macbook Pros. That was as you may or may not know, a lot of computer graphics software costs a lot of money - like multiple thousands of dollars. Many times this software is not ubiquitous in terms of the OS it works with; you either buy the Mac or Windows version and they don't give you both discs. So, unless you have thousands of dollars to re-buy software that costs thousands of dollars a piece, you wanna stick to a single platform as much as possible.
Unfortunately for some like the CGBloke, Apple hasn't exactly been on the ball when it comes to refreshing the Mac Pro line. With the need for more powerful hardware to make complex projects and render animation sequences, it helps to be able to use more powerful hardware. The Macbook Pro was okay for school, not that great for more intense work. Problem was that by the time he graduated last year it'd been years since Apple released a new Mac Pro desktop.
Well, they made a new one this year... and it looks a little odd.
It's definitely not what you normally expect from a computer tower, and give its shape and size, it's easy to see why there are already so many joke about it looking like an ashtray, trash can, and other not-so-PG things.It is likely to be an acquired taste in terms of aesthetics, but the real factor will be performance. That's not just the 12-core Zeon or dual AMD FirePros, but cooling. They've utilized a central channel turbine system. That essentially means that heat is supposed to travel upwards through the center of the unit, exhausting at the top trough that opening. It is essentially the same theory as any other case, though average cases have added fans at the side, front, and back to help this out.
But, it exists, which is already an accomplishment in some regards. No word on price yet, but ballpark estimate wouldn't put it very far below current Mac Pros. All that can be done now is wait to see how the end-product does. Should be interesting.
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