Comments on: Decline of the Desktop Mac

By: Revolutionary: iPads are for Places, not People

Revolutionary: iPads are for Places, not People — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:32:22 +0000

[...] difference between a Mac Pro and an iMac is getting harder to distinguish. And based on continuing sales trends, the usefulness of a desktop compared to a laptop is tipping the scales in favor of laptops by a [...]

By: tommco

tommco — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:48:30 +0000

Thank you for the voice of reason. I do large-format print graphics (trade shows), and HD video work, neither of which are conducive for a laptop. Even if you had a laptop of equivalent power (which is impossible due to heat issues, expandability, and so on, what am I going to do, bring my 3 monitors (yes, quite common in video and high-end graphics work) to Panera Bread? Aside from schlepping all the stuff around, I would still need all of my project folders, and a studio in which to think and preview my work.

So yes, it’s nice to be able to take a laptop somewhere to write on your blog or whatever, but for a lot of artists, producers, and scientists, this simply isn’t an option for their work. I doubt Apple will be abandoning this relatively small but important part of their market any time soon.

By: Newton Poetry — iPad: Back to the future

Newton Poetry — iPad: Back to the future — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 12:07:54 +0000

[...] Newton MessagePad, has essentially come to fruition in the form of the iPad. Jobs mentioned (and reports back him up) that Apple is primarily a mobile device company. It’s the powerful combination of a [...]

By: Erik

Erik — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 08:44:47 +0000

It seems that Apple isn’t concerned about the mac pro. Personally, I think within 3 years from now Apple is going to pull the plug on the mac pro, leaving the imac, and mac mini and 36 different laptops to supercede it.

I can say with certainty that the mac pro’s future is not very bright – If you see the latest ipad and other electronics where Apple makes most of its money, you can see that Apple really isn’t rushing to bring out a new mac pro. I don’t see it coming anytime soon.

I am happy with my 2008 mac pro.. wouldn’t trade it up for the world.

By: iPad and the Mobile Computer: Will the iPad Boost Desktop Sales? « Tech News

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:35:05 +0000

[...] a long time now desktops have been in decline, both in the overall computer industry and for Apple. Laptops have become much more powerful and [...]

By: iPad and the Mobile Computer: Will the iPad Boost Desktop Sales?

iPad and the Mobile Computer: Will the iPad Boost Desktop Sales? — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:47:56 +0000

[...] a long time now desktops have have been in decline, both in the overall computer industry and for Apple. Laptops have become much more powerful and [...]

By: Philscbx

Philscbx — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:49:14 +0000

It didn’t take long to see my 05 maxed out Powerbook was no match for RAW image processing 15Mb images from full frame digital Dslr Canon gear, let alone video.

Currently using early 08 MacPro 8 core, 8Gb Ram, 4- 1Tb drives.
I can still bog it down watching live the activity monitor crunching a RAW 15Mb image to a jpeg.
Like an oil pressure gauge on your car, without one you have no real-time clue how it’s performing.

Any machine can page through images of Aperture, now crunch em.

You would not know it was running, without the gentle warm air venting out being the only clue.
Access 700 movies on one drive. Stream to Apple Tv is a treat.

Heavy research, 15 browsers open is nothing.
Granted a Macbook Pro is overdue, but by the time I it’s maxed out, I’m at second MacPro.

iMac would be perfect mounted in the kitchen or shop for instant
access to project info.

By: iheartpie

iheartpie — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:56:42 +0000

Mac Pro’s … as the name suggests, aren’t really for the home market. I use one at work, and I suspect most people that use one do so at work.

By: almostinfocus

almostinfocus — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 11:56:02 +0000

How could it be argued that a MacPro and iMac have higher margins than a non-existant product, of which we don’t know the cost or selling price?

I never understood the cannibilzation argument. If a company prices two products to have similar profit margins, then why would they care which you buy?

Yes, there are R&D costs to be considered, and the costs of marketing, selling and supporting another product line. But there are R&D costs to the iMac as well, and more is needed (and unique problems arise) every-time the monitor changes. A mid-tower would change much less over time, just as the MacPro and MacMini have remained virtually unchanged for years, resulting in lower costs in the long-run.

Also, I would think the R&D costs of a tower design are relatively low to begin with considering it’s a conservative design that doesn’t require any radical changes.

By: Zac

Zac — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 11:48:04 +0000

The Mac Mini is a wonderful computer. It is one of those gems that doesn’t get much attention. It is small, quiet (even in 35℃ room temp), excellent wifi range, low power, reasonable performance, and extremely well made. For 90% of general computer users this is all they need.

This is certainly a well hidden gem of a product.