I am referring to the wider market. Sure, you manage 600+ Mac workstations. But on the grand scale of things, thats not worth anything to Apple.
Put it this way:
Why spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on redevelopment for an audience of, lets say 50,000 customers when you can spend the same amount on an audience of 1million+ customers. See my point? The server market for Apple is clearly not worth it. Yes, it sucks big time for people like yourself who rely on it, but at the end of the day Apple will focus on products that bring in cash, not products that break even at best.
Have you ever heard the phrase "all your eggs in one basket"? Diversification at Apple is very needed at the moment. Half of their profit comes from the sale of one device. Say that the iPhone 6 was a flop, imagine having to tell your investors you're losing 50% projected profit nearly overnight. Something like that can crush a company. You want diversification, and apple has the resources currently to really invest in some fairly stable markets such as enterprise. Currently their inroads are IOS in the enterprise, if they can leverage that to sell servers for management it will feed back on itself and support more mutual growth between mac and iOS in these coveted markets. Apple should have struck harder in this area during the vista debacle, but their mac team brushed off the opportunity.
A machine like this with dual purposes is a godsend for us. It means apple only needs production lines for one case, and we get a more flexible server and workstation in one. True hot swap bays on a mac?! F-yeah! I can convince my clients to hook up a rackmount mac pro server in their data center or server closet. LOM is nice, but I don't think it's going to be a make or break deal in most businesses. I don't see why it either couldn't be an optional module with the Server preconfig, or on all of them with the prices apple charges.
The server market is the backbone of the business market. Macs will be niche in enterprise as long as the backbone isn't there, and stronger than last time.
This is not about iOS vs Android. Both are doing well. It's the others who need to worry like RIM and MS. Where RIM was trying to beat the iPhone 2 years ago, now they have two platforms kicking their butt.
However, it's really not a fair comparison when you compare the iPhone vs Android. One is a phone and the other an OS. Wake me up when one single model of an Android based phone out sells the iPhone, then you can say Apple is in trouble.
Rodimus Prime
you forget a lot of apps really are designed for things that will always be with you and need data connection so the phone is more relevent. You forget that a lot of people own both iPod and an Android phone.
I will be one of those people soon. My iPod will be reduced complete down to just a music devices. I do not use the apps much on it for killing time as I do not always have it with me but my phone I will have with it
In my opinion, this is just another nail in the coffin for Apple resellers. Not content with giving single-digit margins on hardware, Apple is now actively removing another method of generating revenue. Software has better reseller margins (~15-20%) than hardware, but Apple's progress with the App store has seen key applications (iWork, iLife) on there for a substantial discount.
There are no reseller/affiliate arrangements for the App store, and resellers can't compete with their discount offerings (as Apple set both wholesale and retail pricing). As a result, resellers business will be affected, and continue to be affected if they continue down this path.
</rant>
*Disclaimer: I'm an Apple reseller
I never understand these things.
It's like asking a burger "did you steal anything?"
The answer will either be silence or it will be no.
Even if Apple were using and collecting tracking locations to build up databases of customer movements, they are not going to shout "YES WE ARE TRACKING PEOPLE"
It's just a silly question to ask, what do you think they will say?
If Apple want to be seen to be squeaky they have a simple answer, put a setting in the iDevices options to turn off location tracking/storage.
Simple.
Pretty much sums it up. I knew these companies would be gathering information for advertising or marketing purposes long ago. I dont care what snarky answer SJ provides, I will assume they are collecting the data and move on with my life. Apple and Google are both for profit corporations so I Im not foolish enough to think one is more honorable than the other.
The new iPhone will be a WIFI iPOD with Skype (or something alike) build in. A high quality camera and Bluetooth Stereo Wireless will complete the hardware.
The software will allow "on the go" chat, blogging, videocasts, RSS and a mobile safari browser.
Strategy: Replace the need for an iPOD�s and provide the best personal communication tool
- Eliminate traditional phone contracts with MobilePhone operators.
Apple will aquire "FON" and build the largest hotspot community in the world where every iPhone user can communicate for free.
This is my prediction. :)
Jens
P.S. Too bad for palm, but it is not enough just to build the best smartphone. You need to win the community...
the processor must be at least 1.2ghz to make it a winner.
harddrive and ram would probably run off the same memory.
got to remember both would be flash. :)
I don't think it would appeal to that many people, to have an Apple MP3 player. I mean, the existing ones aren't great sellers.
See the problem here? The reason the iPod took off was because it wasn't like the existing MP3 players.
Take a look at a group of current products:
1. The UMPC. Seems like a good idea, but not successful so far. Why not? Here's Gartner:
An Apple tablet would beat content bundles problem, the shell/interface problem, and the synchronization problem. Inkwell and a bluetooth keyboard option would help; and built-in WiFi will certainly help. If Apple can do something about the battery problem . . . I also think the form factor needs work.
2. The PDA. Right now the PDA market is growing, not shrinking - mostly thanks to the Blackberry and the PocketPC and at the expense of Palm. The magic combination seems to be email + cell wireless: if you can get your email anywhere you can use your cellphone, a PDA becomes a more compelling device. This ties in closely with
3. The cell phone. Everyone is in agreement that the cell phone is a target area for Apple; the question is who Apple's carrier will be. A GSM-based device that does EDGE could be used with many different networks.
4. The eBook reader, like the Sony Reader. The good side of the Sony Reader is low battery consumption and a very readable screen. The bad side is that it has to have a pretty low-consumption, low-use processor, no color, and the screen update speed is abysmal. The underlying tech of eInk isn't going to help with an Apple tablet, but the form factor might be a very good choice for a UMPC/Blackberry killer.
5. The tablet computer. The reason the tablet computer has been a failure is because the writing interface isn't very good yet, and because the damned things are the same size and weight as a notebook, so there's little point in dumping the notebook for a tablet. A smaller form factor with the same power, but one that it a little more usable and compelling than the UMPC might be very successful.
6. Video device, like the iPod with video or its competitors. A lot of folks complain that it's too small a screen, and the battery power isn't so hot. If you could have a larger screen that is not much heavier, and just a little more battery power . . .
7. Web pad / web appliance (Nokia 770, Audrey, Pepper Pad, etc.) The problems with these so far have been form factor and OS quality. Most web appliances have run either PocketPC/Windows CE or customized Linux distributions. The Linux distributions that have been used haven't had a good enough UI for a general computing, general audience environment - the needs of a web appliance are too complex to be handled the same way embedded interfaces (like TiVo's) have been handled. Windows CE isn't designed for a general computing environment, either, and makes too many compromises. I also think the Nokia 770 is too small, the PepperPad is overwhelmed by its case, and the Audrey isn't flexible enough.
A successor to the Newton that was a true OS X device, in a form factor similar to the Sony Reader, with .Mac synchronization, Airport Extreme and Bluetooth, a FireWire 400 and two USB 2 connectors, a mini-HMDI socket (with HDMI and DVI converters), a dock connector, an iSight, and an optical-capable audio plug, with some of the on-screen navigation tech we've seen in Apple patents, would be fantastic.
But I'd be surprised if the tech is there yet: the processors aren't small enough and cool enough, the flash memory (you'd want flash and not a hard disk drive) doesn't have enough capacity yet, and the batteries don't have a long enough life. I'll bet there is a prototype device like this in the Apple labs, but it might have mediocre stats: say
700 MHz processor equivalent
16 GB storage
256 MB ram
3 hours of battery life (1.5 playing an iTunes movie)
estimated cost to consumer $999.
I think a successful device would need
1.2 GHz processor equivalent
80 GB storage
1 GB RAM
8 hours of battery life (5 playing an iTunes movie)
estimated cost to consumer $699.
Machead III
Sep 16, 09:44 AM
If they don't update the MacBooks by the 25th, they've got to drop the price.
chrmjenkins
May 4, 04:30 PM
Also, if it isn't clear, we'll be alternating narratives. I'll finish up the heroes' second action here, and then it will be ravenvii's turn. He'll also track stat keeping. These duties may shift/change but if either of us posts a narrative, don't be surprised.
Moyank24
May 4, 04:00 PM
According to the OP, we should be setting up our turns like this:
The team can use the "Explore" action to discover, and disarm, the trap harmlessly. This means the team will be advised to manipulate their turns so that they enter, AND explore, a room before their turn ends.
Also, I'm with Aggie. We shouldn't split up until we are more powerful.
The team can use the "Explore" action to discover, and disarm, the trap harmlessly. This means the team will be advised to manipulate their turns so that they enter, AND explore, a room before their turn ends.
Also, I'm with Aggie. We shouldn't split up until we are more powerful.
wclyffe
Nov 20, 07:48 AM
Looks like they just flagged the Tomtom car kit as discontinued at BLT and are no longer carrying the item. Looking for a new place to order it around this price. Any thoughts?
netdog
Jul 30, 05:22 AM
Without even getting into new things, they could just do it well. Cell phones have interfaces like goats. Every single one of them.
David:cool:
I'm klnd of scared to ask how you interface with a goat Dave. I didn't know they allowed that kind of stuff in Canada.
David:cool:
I'm klnd of scared to ask how you interface with a goat Dave. I didn't know they allowed that kind of stuff in Canada.
milozauckerman
Jul 21, 11:05 PM
Apple can't not update at least the top-end MacBooks. Dell & Co. will be putting Core 2 in comparably priced machines - $1299/1499 - as the price breaks down similarly to Core Duo chips.
Apple doesn't want switchers going "hmmm, I can get a MacBook for <x> or a Dell with a better newer processor for the same."
Apple doesn't want switchers going "hmmm, I can get a MacBook for <x> or a Dell with a better newer processor for the same."
marksman
Mar 29, 03:56 PM
It is funny the same people who would have blasted Apple to the moon for doing something like this not only don't call Amazon out on it, but actually blame Apple for it.
It is silly yet predictable.
It is silly yet predictable.
iLunar
Apr 5, 02:25 PM
I don't see what the big deal is. Of course Apple is going to try to minimize the risk of the jailbreak community. They want to avoid headlines about spyware and such that creep out of the jailbroken community. It's just good PR.
Mr_Ed
Nov 22, 10:23 AM
...
Apple could change the way phones are made as well, but only if they rethink the device from the ground up. Most phones have too many features that it takes too long to figure out how to use, don't have enough battery life, and are too painful to get hooked up to your computer so you can transfer photos and songs back and forth. Apple has the synchronization stuff down. If you can sync it like an iPod - and charge it in the process, its already leaps above most phones out there. But they cannot miss the interface.
If they want a camera on it (optional in my opinion) they have to make it dirt simple to use (scroll wheel to zoom, middle button to snap) and to get the photos taken on it into iPhoto. Otherwise, skip it altogether. And please don't make me fumble around to find the right button to hit to answer a call. Open it to answer the call, close it to hang up. And if you aren't going to put the number buttons in a tranditional layout - don't put them on there at all. I don't have the time or energy to learn some idiotic circular arrangement. I'd rather you put the numbers up on a touch screen and let me smudge up my phone than deal with a non-standard button arrangement. It also has to be hearty - I don't have time for a phone that stops working if I drop it 3 feet onto a carpeted floor.
...
I couldn't agree more. I still think a cell phone should be, first and foremost, a decent telephone! If it stops working after I drop it on carpet, or the person at the other end sounds like they are taking through a "tin can", or if the reception "goes down more frequently than a five dollar hooker" and it drops calls, I don't really give a rat's ass about a built in camera, video, music player, fancy ringers, or any of the other "bells and whistles" that seem to be a marketing priority these days. Then there's the whole battery life issue. I don't want to caught off guard with a dead phone late one night because I happened to be in the mood for music that day and used the phone as a music player all day. Give me a good telephone, and decent features that enhance that function (BT hands free, sync, etc.) first. Then worry about the other gimmicks.
Apple could change the way phones are made as well, but only if they rethink the device from the ground up. Most phones have too many features that it takes too long to figure out how to use, don't have enough battery life, and are too painful to get hooked up to your computer so you can transfer photos and songs back and forth. Apple has the synchronization stuff down. If you can sync it like an iPod - and charge it in the process, its already leaps above most phones out there. But they cannot miss the interface.
If they want a camera on it (optional in my opinion) they have to make it dirt simple to use (scroll wheel to zoom, middle button to snap) and to get the photos taken on it into iPhoto. Otherwise, skip it altogether. And please don't make me fumble around to find the right button to hit to answer a call. Open it to answer the call, close it to hang up. And if you aren't going to put the number buttons in a tranditional layout - don't put them on there at all. I don't have the time or energy to learn some idiotic circular arrangement. I'd rather you put the numbers up on a touch screen and let me smudge up my phone than deal with a non-standard button arrangement. It also has to be hearty - I don't have time for a phone that stops working if I drop it 3 feet onto a carpeted floor.
...
I couldn't agree more. I still think a cell phone should be, first and foremost, a decent telephone! If it stops working after I drop it on carpet, or the person at the other end sounds like they are taking through a "tin can", or if the reception "goes down more frequently than a five dollar hooker" and it drops calls, I don't really give a rat's ass about a built in camera, video, music player, fancy ringers, or any of the other "bells and whistles" that seem to be a marketing priority these days. Then there's the whole battery life issue. I don't want to caught off guard with a dead phone late one night because I happened to be in the mood for music that day and used the phone as a music player all day. Give me a good telephone, and decent features that enhance that function (BT hands free, sync, etc.) first. Then worry about the other gimmicks.
aldejesus
Mar 30, 10:38 PM
I don't know why but my MBP 13 i7 2011 is showing "Intel HD Graphics 3000 512 MB graphics" on the About this mac screen on Display tab.:eek:
BTW I'm using an External Display.
BTW I'm using an External Display.
nanofrog
Apr 23, 03:14 PM
It makes a lot of sense. Quietly cooling two CPUs, a high-end GPU, 8 DIMMs and multiple drives in such a form factor makes me a little dubious. That and it seems pure hearsay on the part of 9 to 5 mac.
Mods please don't lock this, discussion of Mac Pro related articles in the main news section is really hard to have as 90% of the posts are by people who have little interest or knowledge in the topic.
I like the idea (exists with other cases, and the one's I'm thinking of, such as offerings from SuperMicro, work very well).
My concern though, seems to be the same as yours. Specifically packing a workstation into a 3U enclosure. 4U or even 5U, fine, as there's sufficient space for full height PCIe cards and cooling (3U seems to tight though for a workstation that has to be planned thermally speaking with all slots filled).
Yet another sign Apple is going to kill the Mac Pro.
You'll see! With Final Cut Pro on it's deathbed there is no way the Mac Pro is sticking around!
/s
I get the sarcasm. My issues aren't with the concept of the case that's usable as both a tower or rackmount though.
As far as the MP's continuation, it's to do with the direction Intel's going to meet enterprise customer requirements/requests that I've noticed (more cores than most workstation software can utilize, and the price is going up as a result). Add in Apple's margin on smaller unit sales vs. other workstation vendors, it doesn't look good.
TB further complicates the issue, particularly when a single die consumer desktop CPU releases with 8 cores (not to far away), as the iMac could be considered as a replacement (not ideal, but functional enough for quite a few users).
Keep in mind, creative professionals don't actually need ECC as the software's not based on recursion (worst case, flipped bits due to radiation cause a bad pixel here and there, not the entire image).
doubtful, this is a key switcher market... it would be crazy to axe the very thing that will continue to switch the PC builders/gamers over the next 5 years... this is a key ingredient to apple taking the industry over with time.
Not so much lately, given the pricing since 2009 (enthusiast users are being forced out due to costs). Even professionals (i.e. independents and SMB's <particularly S for small>) are feeling the pinch as well, going by posts here on MR.
I think the iMac will take care of gamers...
This is what Apple expects them to buy from what I can tell (i.e. SP MP is ~$1000USD more than a PC equivalent).
You are essentially now using a PC with EFI firmware and OSX operating system. The only advantage over a hackintosh is that it's all fine tuned, modified and tested under one roof ....
Exactly.
From an electronics POV, the MP is made of the same equipment used in PC equivalents. Apple uses the case to distinguish it physically, and the firmware to lock OS X to the machine.
The desktop market has been exhausted and its time passed anywhere, so now it's all about mobile and portable computing.
This has been claimed for awhile, and in developed nations, it has its validity.
But when you look to less developed nations, desktops still out-sell laptops due to more bang-for-the-buck (i.e. look at China; they're less likely to have more than one system, so they choose the desktop for more power at a lower cost = higher desktop sales currently). This will change over time, but by then, citizens of developed nations may be so poor, that we have to dump laptops and devices for desktops again. :eek: :D :p
- Dust filters
Definitely, given the cost of the MP.
How does having the PSU on the bottom keep it cool?...
Hot air rises, so the heat generated by the PSU will just rise and fill up the case.
Unless I'm missing something or the laws of physics have changed in recent years?
The PSU doesn't run as hot as the CPU or GPU (hot air from the boards rising into the PSU doesn't do it any favors). Hot air off of the PSU heat sinks can be exhausted before it ever rises to the boards. More of a win-win.
Of course, by using baffling (separating the case into chambers), it won't matter that much anyway thermally speaking.
But even with baffles, the layouts are improved with PSU's located on the bottom IMO.
Mods please don't lock this, discussion of Mac Pro related articles in the main news section is really hard to have as 90% of the posts are by people who have little interest or knowledge in the topic.
I like the idea (exists with other cases, and the one's I'm thinking of, such as offerings from SuperMicro, work very well).
My concern though, seems to be the same as yours. Specifically packing a workstation into a 3U enclosure. 4U or even 5U, fine, as there's sufficient space for full height PCIe cards and cooling (3U seems to tight though for a workstation that has to be planned thermally speaking with all slots filled).
Yet another sign Apple is going to kill the Mac Pro.
You'll see! With Final Cut Pro on it's deathbed there is no way the Mac Pro is sticking around!
/s
I get the sarcasm. My issues aren't with the concept of the case that's usable as both a tower or rackmount though.
As far as the MP's continuation, it's to do with the direction Intel's going to meet enterprise customer requirements/requests that I've noticed (more cores than most workstation software can utilize, and the price is going up as a result). Add in Apple's margin on smaller unit sales vs. other workstation vendors, it doesn't look good.
TB further complicates the issue, particularly when a single die consumer desktop CPU releases with 8 cores (not to far away), as the iMac could be considered as a replacement (not ideal, but functional enough for quite a few users).
Keep in mind, creative professionals don't actually need ECC as the software's not based on recursion (worst case, flipped bits due to radiation cause a bad pixel here and there, not the entire image).
doubtful, this is a key switcher market... it would be crazy to axe the very thing that will continue to switch the PC builders/gamers over the next 5 years... this is a key ingredient to apple taking the industry over with time.
Not so much lately, given the pricing since 2009 (enthusiast users are being forced out due to costs). Even professionals (i.e. independents and SMB's <particularly S for small>) are feeling the pinch as well, going by posts here on MR.
I think the iMac will take care of gamers...
This is what Apple expects them to buy from what I can tell (i.e. SP MP is ~$1000USD more than a PC equivalent).
You are essentially now using a PC with EFI firmware and OSX operating system. The only advantage over a hackintosh is that it's all fine tuned, modified and tested under one roof ....
Exactly.
From an electronics POV, the MP is made of the same equipment used in PC equivalents. Apple uses the case to distinguish it physically, and the firmware to lock OS X to the machine.
The desktop market has been exhausted and its time passed anywhere, so now it's all about mobile and portable computing.
This has been claimed for awhile, and in developed nations, it has its validity.
But when you look to less developed nations, desktops still out-sell laptops due to more bang-for-the-buck (i.e. look at China; they're less likely to have more than one system, so they choose the desktop for more power at a lower cost = higher desktop sales currently). This will change over time, but by then, citizens of developed nations may be so poor, that we have to dump laptops and devices for desktops again. :eek: :D :p
- Dust filters
Definitely, given the cost of the MP.
How does having the PSU on the bottom keep it cool?...
Hot air rises, so the heat generated by the PSU will just rise and fill up the case.
Unless I'm missing something or the laws of physics have changed in recent years?
The PSU doesn't run as hot as the CPU or GPU (hot air from the boards rising into the PSU doesn't do it any favors). Hot air off of the PSU heat sinks can be exhausted before it ever rises to the boards. More of a win-win.
Of course, by using baffling (separating the case into chambers), it won't matter that much anyway thermally speaking.
But even with baffles, the layouts are improved with PSU's located on the bottom IMO.
No comments:
Post a Comment