22 replies to this topic

[rolin]

I do not know if this will help or change anything,
but I do think Apple should hear our voices at the very least…

https://www.facebook.com/MacProsPlease

[jan]

facebook is dead. As the mac pro. get over it.

[C.Smith]

facebook is dead

They just need to shed those last pesky 845 Million users

Personally I would prefer Apple just officially support OSX on PC hardware.

[daveglanz]

facebook is dead. As the mac pro. get over it.

I sure hope not.

[destro]

Thank you for submitting your petition. We attempted to deposit it into our bank account but unfortunately it was rejected.

[SFBurning]

I'll sign the daylights out of this, but I've seen reports of Hackintoshes far out-speccing Mac Pros and it seems to be a viable option for the higher-end market. I personally run C4D and CS6 on my Hackintosh (although it's closer to an iMac than a Mac Pro in terms of performance) and it's as stable as any Apple-manufactured system out there.

[Aaron Scott]

I will never understand why people build Hackintoshes when building a PC would be even cheaper (because you don't need specific parts) and more stable (because you're not running a hacked-up OS with unofficial drivers). Unless you hyper-specifically need a Mac to do your work, or you have some weird bias against Windows.

I understand the appeal of Mac Pros -- they're damn nice machines, and they use sever-grade parts to keep them as rock-solid and reliable as possible. It'd be a shame to see them go. But not that much of a shame. There are better and cheaper alternatives.

[C.Smith]

I don't think the hubbub is about the MacPro itself. I gather it's more about having the next gen way to run OSX. If Apple said, "Hey nerds! Here's a new version of OSX that runs on any ol' PC hardware", I think you would see everyone scatter to NewEgg and places like that to build a new machine for themselves. I think the MacPro as a machine is fine, but a bit like AlienWare in that it's great stuff, but also with a huge amount of jacked up price.

I think the feeling with Mac users is a lot more strong than "weird bias against Windows". Personally, I would rather switch to Ubuntu than Windows full time. I have a machine running Windows solely for the AVID DS and another I built for gaming. On both, I keep the icons on the desktop so I don't have to "jump" into Windows at all. If I need to do anything outside the AVID DS software , I immediately network it to a Mac so I understand what the hell is going on

If one grew up with Windows and understands all of it's crazy quirks than it seems fairly normal to them. But if you come from a Mac background, none of it makes sense It's a whole different methodology. On the surface they both just seem like an OS, but underneath you have completely different systems for video, images, etc, etc. Some overlap for sure, but quite a bit different way of getting things done. And for Mac users, I think it would be a major leap to turn away OSX and start halfway back learning the Windows way. As much as I want to be the guy that says, "It doesn't matter what you use as long as you get results", I also would like a good experience GETTING to those results.

I...M...O

[ianfreeze]

+1

[AromaKat]

I understand the appeal of Mac Pros -- they're damn nice machines, and they use sever-grade parts to keep them as rock-solid and reliable as possible. It'd be a shame to see them go. But not that much of a shame. There are better and cheaper alternatives.

In terms of hardware - meh. You make server builds on any platform. In fact, if you go non-Apple, you exceed their specs for about 70% of the cost. Besides overall aesthetic design on the outside, no real cudos can be made for Apple in terms of hardware.

What seems to be keeping everyone clenching on is the OS. It is an absolute beauty of an operating system. In a heartbeat I would convert my machine into running OS X (hackintosh style) if it ever were to be officially supported. But is the OS worth buying, at 30%-70% more without the ability to incrimentally upgrade in the future, into lesser hardware from a closed company that has abruptly pulled the rug out from devoted pro users before? A proper build is too expensive for me personally to take that gamble, and I really enjoy being able to upgrade my hardware incrementally. It makes me sad to see someone settling for a lesser machine that fits in their budget just because its a mac.

If more software developers supported linux everyone would win.

[Aaron Scott]

I prefer the Windows 7 GUI, but I prefer the OSX terminal -- for me, building a nice computer, installing Windows 7, and then installing Bash has resulted in my favourite (and most reliable) computer to work on ever.

The Windows 7 GUI vs the OSX GUI is totally personal preference, though. I don't prefer Windows 7 by a wide margin at all. Just enough of a margin that I'd never, ever consider paying extra to run OSX.

[AromaKat]

What do you use for bash? I have been using PUTTY and pretty much hate it. The OSX terminal and that Coda application alone make me want to get a mac mini for maintaining my web stuff. Right now I am using a combination of putty and komodo edit.

[Aaron Scott]

I run a bash terminal inside Console2 (using the bash binaries from cygwin). It works really, really well, though it takes a bit of tweaking when you first install (the default settings don't let you select text with your mouse, which is super weird -- it's easy to change, though).

The combination of Windows 7 + Console2 + bash + XAMPP + Notepad++ has been blissful for programming and web development. Though I'm playing with Sublime Text, and it might eventually replace Notepad++ for me. I've really liked what I've seen so far.

[pixel_pimp]

It seems once shops reach a certain size, using a shared storage workflow, having render farms and proper back-up/archiving. Windows seems to become a better solution. Most places will have OS X workstations, but then have Windows file servers and render-farms. Then you get into server lag and file problems. Then you mix in Xsan, RAID and band-aids when the company grows quickly.

Apple Inc. should spin off a a company and just call it Apple Computer. Then Mac Pros, Servers, Xsans, Final Cut Studio and Pro stuff can be sold.

They claim Thunderbolt will be the way all future Pro stuff will be used.

[AromaKat]

They claim Thunderbolt will be the way all future Pro stuff will be used.

Remember, Thunderbolt is an IBM product - not Apple. Apple were just the first ones to integrate them into products in an introductory deal.

[C.Smith]

I don't think a protocol or standard needs to be invented by a company to give them props for their implementation or vision in it's best use. If you look at protocols in the last couple decades they are often a group effort anyways. Firewire is generally attributed to Apple, but included those tech whores IBM as well as some others. I'm sure just like FW and USB has been, Thunderbolt will be on every cheap PC mobo out there soon.

In my dreams, OSX is anywhere you want artists involved in an artistic workstation, then everything else should be linux. It's free and smart. If more mainstream production apps ran on Linux, I'm not sure I would be typing this on OSX.

While we're dancing in my dreams, here's my vision for the future of "Pro" stuff:

Everything becomes modular like legos. CPUs are all little blocks you mix and match or add as you want power on a Thunderbolt chain. GPUs are the same. All new peripherals come in these "blocks". New video output cards, etc are all just blocks you stick into block holders on Thunderbolt chains. The more blocks of stuff, the more powerful your system is. You can stick your laptop on this chain and tap into all the CPU and GPU and video card , etc power that is in that chain. When the computer is connected it becomes as capable as the chain, when it goes free, it is as capable as it normally is. You can have multiple "terminals" connected to this chain and they can share power and resources from the blocks. Maybe even RAM come in blocks and SSD storage are blocks as well.

All modular and immediately adaptable.

[tcastudios]

"Everything becomes modular like legos.."

That dream would be my nightmare…
Bits and pieces screaming, "What could possible go wrong?"
Now when I -finally- can have all my power and assets in a single box,
hook it up to the display and keyboard and start working within minutes
of arrival. All transported by air and my laptop is actually a real backup machine.

2004 I "carried" 20 G5's to the gigs, transport and hook up logistics another
nightmare.

And to anyone being kind with suggestions (PC, Windows, hackintoch etc),
as I can only speak for my self, I'm fully aware of the world outside OSX/Apple Hardware.
But it's a decision taken by a grown man for reasons covering my business.

The situation is very similar to when the G5's "never" came and I did have quotes
from several companies to do the switch to Windows. It was actually only a couple
of days from happening.

We'll see what the future brings, this petition is all legit as a possible EOL
would make pretty big changes to my business.

Cheers
Lennart

Edited by tcastudios, 28 May 2012 - 11:02 PM.

[levante]

https://www.facebook.com/MacProsPlease

Hell yes, i want a new MacPro - but not on Facebook...

[parallax]

Remember, Thunderbolt is an IBM product - not Apple. Apple were just the first ones to integrate them into products in an introductory deal.

Intel.

[AromaKat]

oops