Time of Macs is over ...
 

Hi all

I think we have to say good-bye to our macs - sooner or later. Apple is only iphone, a little iPad and nothing else. So they changed their name from Apple Computers to just Apple to make that clear to everyone

There are facts:

No new iMacs
No new Mac Pros
No USB 3

Service for mac-users becomes lousier and lousier
- wait for Java Update OSX more than two hours
- same for itunes 10.7
- update of ML 10.8.2 works only via combo update

Now new mac-related features of OSX since snow leopard
Applescript is atrophying

Quality: More and more it is not a good idea to install .0 software, now even OSX

This list is not complete
Mac-frustration grows every day

Lazy

Unfortunately, you may be right

Check your facts. The Mac I just bought has USB 3.

iMacs suck anyway.

why would this matter?

Now this, I agree with.

Frankly, I wish I had adopted Windows in 1989 instead of the Mac. My Computer Life now would be more pleasant in general.

Not facts. Couple of new models came out this year. The Mac Pro hasn't been updated *recently* because there is no pressing need - it's plenty powerful as-is and in no way dated.

You're whining because your internet connection is slow?

You have apparently been living somewhere without basic infrastructure like electricity?

So is the user base. No demand -> no supply. Automator plus users who simply cannot handle the concepts of scripting....

That's been true almost since the beginning of version numbers.


No, I doubt that very much.

That's funny - wishing that you had changed 23 years ago. You could always dump your mac now and move on to the whole different world of "Windows".

I wish you well with it, if you do decide to take that plunge.

Yes, it is love or hate.

I'd be starting over from scratch. Kind of late in the game for that.

Of course, what I REALLY should have done is spend the $5500 or so I spent on a Mac IIci setup on AAPL stock. I'd be set right now (:

C'mon! This year's "update" bumped the RAM and processor, but only by a small amount. They don't even include Thunderbolt or USB 3. These are supposed to be Pro machines. It's been over 2 years since they've seen a real refresh. That's ancient.

I don't think 2 years is "ancient", but I do agree they should have been updated with Thunderbolt and USB-3 by now.

Processors have not increased speed by very much in the same time period. The Pro currently has options for 12 cores and a rather ridiculous amount of memory. Want USB3? Expansion slots. Don't have any USB3 accessories? Then get something else.

I dunno why at this point, but it's just amazing to me the extent to which people will justify pretty much anything Apple does.

The whole idea that it is in any way reasonable to offer your most expensive computer without features offered in your own products that are a fraction of the cost, while at the same time touting those features as the greatest thing since sliced bread and the "next wave" of whatever, is utterly ridiculous.

If Apple doesn't want to bother to redesign the thing with TB and USB3, it should at least INCLUDE THEM via expansion cards, at no extra cost.

AppleScript is certainly fading. As Acme.Mail.Order points out:

I've been associated with MacScripter.net for nearly 10 years now (since it was bbs.applescript.net) and a regular reader of several groups that devote themselves to AppleScript. I can say unequivocally that the population of AppleScripters is steadily declining, but that AppleScript itself has been gradually improving (under the direction of Apple's Chris Nebel). Bugs are being squashed and the language has been empowered with access to core processes via AppleScriptObjC.

Do you see the existence, growth or decline of AppleScript as a big deal either way?

Just curious.

Personally, I've never been a big fan of platform-specific development models, relative to multi-platform models.

I find Apple's growing indifference to Java troubling.

I expect that these options will appear reasonably soon. However:

If I am spending $10,000 on a desktop machine (a maxed-out Pro) I *DON'T* want every conceivable interface. I want the ones I have accessories for and intend to use. The others are just taking up space. The cost of the interface cards I want is less than the sales tax on the main box, and if budget was an issue I wouldn't be buying the thing in the first place. What if I prefer eSATA or FibreChannel to interface with the $25,000 worth of storage I already have? Or I really need a pile of regular USB ports to collect data from legacy scientific devices that use serial ports? What if I have two perfectly-good $1,000 displays with DVI connectors? Thunderbolt isn't doing any good there.

You should apply for a job at Apple. I'm sure they'd be happy to hear your opinions about their product direction.

Wow....just....wow. Drink up!

Which means......?

Interesting that when it comes to software, onceagain doesn't want features he doesn't use, but on hardware, he is arguing against AMO's position -- which is that he doesn't want features he doesn't use.:D

Personally, I do find the lack of updated MacPros and iMacs lamentable. It is bizarre that Apple should introduce Thunderbolt, but not include it on the high-end boxes that are most likely to want TB displays and TB RAID storage devices.
I would expect a machine of that price to carry most of the common interfaces. I would feel perhaps cheated at having to buy an extra card, even if it's just a few pence in comparison. (A bit like all the Apple adapters one has to buy.)

I can only assume that there is a shortage or lack of relevant components, or some trouble in the manufacturing process that has delayed better machines coming out. I don't believe that Apple would deliberately let the products stagnate -- that's just poor business. Either kill the product or update it.

I'm waiting for an updated iMac, as I find they don't suck. I've got a big pile of cash that Apple isn't getting until there's a new model or they announce the end. There would seem to be thousands in the same boat.

As for AppleScript, I suspect that it has declined as more people have moved to shell scripting or other languages. I find the "english-ness" of AppleScript actually makes things worse. (E.g. the script where "count of things" wouldn't work, but "number of things" would. Or vice versa.)

number of items of {1, 2, 3} --> 3
count of {1, 2, 3} --> 3

Other than that, I agree that the Englishness of AppleScript is more confusing than helpful. What it does is make AppleScripts easier to read, but harder to write.

Not at all.

THAT was my point.

Yes. Apologies for agreeing with you and concurring.

Seems like if sales of Mac Pro are slow - they should give people a reason to get one. Given that processor upgrades are not really the answer (as indicated above), and Apple isn't going to budge on price, some other features need to provide that incentive.

My take on this issue is that Mac Pros are becoming unnecessary for most mac users who find that they're getting adequate performance for $500 less with a fully expanded iMac.

Maybe - which gets back to the "update it or kill it" comment that someone posted earlier.

I've got no interest in an iMac (for a variety of reasons), but I wish Apple would make something like a "Mac Mini Pro" - a compact, quiet, attractive, headless machine suitable for desktop use, and sized to fit multiple units in a 1U rack space efficiently. Make them capable of driving two monitors with no extra hardware, and build in all "Apple TV" capability. They could even do two models:

Mac Mini Pro: $1199
1 3.5" drive bay, 4 memory slots, no expansion slot, 2 USB-3 ports, 2 TB ports, FW800 port, eSata port, ethernet port, SD card slot. 2.7GHz. Quad-Core Intel Core i5, 4GB memory, 1TB hard drive, AMD Radeon HD 6770M with 512MB. Build in (or make as a $100 CTO option) "time capsule" capability.

Mac Mini Pro Plus: $1699
2 3.5" drive bays, 6 memory slots, 1 expansion slot, 4 USB-3 ports, 2 TB ports, FW800 port, eSata port, 2.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i7,8GB memory, 2TB hard drive (7200 rpm), AMD Radeon HD 6770M with 1GB. Have a $500 CTO option for Fiberchannel. Build in "time capsule" capability.

If they were available today, I would DEFINITELY buy a Mac Mini Pro and would seriously consider a Mac Mini Pro Plus.

In June Tim Cook responded to an email from a Mac Pro owner. Apple confirmed that this email reply was genuine. A quote:

"Although we didn’t have a chance to talk about a new Mac Pro at today’s event, don’t worry as we’re working on something really great for later next year."

Note that he doesn't say anything specific about what they are working on. I think it's a good guess that it will be physically smaller than a Mac Pro and have up to date ports. Other than that, it's hard to guess.

I do think that high end iMacs have taken a lot of business away from Mac Pros. Some of my graphic artist clients made the switch from Power Mac to Intel iMac with ease, some of them still wanted separate, 30 inch displays. Now Apple's external display is smaller than an iMac display, which is one more reason to buy an iMac instead of a Mac Pro. If the Pro is more of a niche product instead of the flagship product the Power Mac used to be, that explains the lag in getting new features to it.

Furthermore (following on from post #24), even if you have a large screen connected to your current box, an Apple converter (mini display port to dvi d) will allow running it from one of the Thunderbolt ports on an iMac. I do this now to connect a 22" Samsung to my 27" iMac.