5 ms·

who is actually buying new mac pros? Please speak up

rleigh 10y ago
There are no new mac pros, just old and very old. (Mostly joking, but there's little justification for a "current" outdated mac pro with the competition offering a much better machine for a vastly lower price. At work, we were told last week that we were no longer allowed to purchase Apple hardware because the cost/benefit no longer justified the price premium. That wasn't from the management either, they were just the messengers; it was from the academic funding bodies which finance our research. And to be honest, it's difficult to disagree with their assessment; they aren't wrong.)
- jordache 10y ago
  hmm what if you want to develop in a unix-like environment? Win10 with its bash shell?
  - jrockway 10y ago
    Wouldn't you just use Linux if you want to develop in a unix-like environment?
    - jordache 10y ago
      hmm I also use Adobe Creative Suite so no.
      - jrockway 10y ago
        Similar situation. I just run Linux in a VM. Though I think I regret not inverting it and running Windows in a VM instead.
  - SwellJoe 10y ago
    Dell XPS with Ubuntu (they have Precision workstations with Ubuntu as well).
  - swah 10y ago
    Dual boot into the sadness.
  - rleigh 10y ago
    I sincerely hope not! As a last resort, maybe. But Macs and MacOS X are hardly the only option when it comes to developing in a Unix-like environment. They aren't even the best choice if that's what you care about (much of the FreeBSD core is nearly a decade out of date--it's that long since it was updated). More likely is running Linux or BSD natively with Windows in a VM as needed (exactly what I do at work right now). Or having the Unix platforms hosted on OpenStack or VMware and use them all remotely from a terminal emulator on whatever system I'm using (I do this as well). I have a 2011 MacBook Pro laptop and a Dell desktop at work. When the MacBook dies shortly, it'll be replaced by a reused spare Mac or if there are none left it'll be an HP laptop after our IT dept switched from Dell as their preferred supplier. At home, the next will likely be a Dell XPS13DE running Ubuntu. We already abandoned MacOS X as a server platform for our applications after the demise of Xserve hardware ended Mac as a semi-serious server platform. We're now gradually cutting back the percentage of developer time going into the client side as well. The lack of current OpenGL support, decent graphics hardware, and all the rest, make it decreasingly compelling to support. End users who care about running our stuff will invest in the hardware to run it on, and that's basically got to be Linux/BSD or Windows. Costs a fraction of the Mac hardware and performs vastly better. No matter how nice MacOS X and Mac hardware might be, they have ceased to be remotely competitive on so many levels that it doesn't make much economic or rational sense when it's the inferior option. Sad to say that--I've been using it since I got the first G4 Mac mini, but their current lineup is completely devoid of anything I'd be willing to pay money for.
  - tracker1 10y ago
    If you install git for windows, you get msys built versions of most of the unixy tools you're used to (ssh, bash, etc).. that's what I've been using, mostly, under conemu for a couple years in windows... or, I'll SSH into a linux VM, and edit via samba/cifs share. Or, you can use the ubuntu/bash integration in windows. Or, you can do what I know a lot of people have and run Ubuntu or another Linux environment as your primary OS... it's much better today than even a couple years ago, for most use cases.
linguae 10y ago
I actually just ordered a refurbished quad-core Mac Pro a few days ago at the discounted price of $2119 + AppleCare + tax; it should arrive tomorrow. I bought my Mac Pro for three reasons: (1) I needed a Mac more powerful than my 2013 MacBook Air and my personal needs can't wait until 2018 (and I'm not fond of the 2016 MacBook Pro; I really wanted something like the 2015 MBP but with support for 32GB RAM, some USB-A ports, and upgradeable storage [I could cope with soldered RAM, but soldered storage crosses the line]); (2) It's my response to the promises that Apple's executives made to pro users last week; and (3) I feel that $2119 is a good deal for a Mac Pro, even though it is three year-old hardware. It's still mightily faster than my MacBook Air. Now that Apple has promised Mac users that it still cares about the Mac and that it will start focusing on the needs of pro users again, I'm still invested in the Mac platform (I bought a refurbished ThinkPad T430 not too long after the October MacBook Pro reveal to see what Windows 10 and modern Linux desktops are like; I found Windows 10 very annoying, and while I believe desktop Linux has caught up to Windows or perhaps even exceeded it in terms of usability, it still has a while to go before reaching OS X in my opinion), and I'm patiently waiting for what Apple reveals over the next few years to see if it keeps its promises. Hopefully Apple is truly listening to its customers and Apple releases an expandable Mac Pro and a version of the MacBook Pro that focuses on power and perhaps even upgradeability again (like the pre-Retina MacBook Pro models) instead of exclusively on thinness and lightness. I'd love a Mac version of the ThinkPad P series. I also hope that Apple's competitors don't stand still in case Apple doesn't keep its promises. I would love for desktop Linux to catch up to OS X within the next few years so that way I could take advantage of the wide diversity of PC hardware options. And in many ways desktop Linux is almost there; it just needs some more polish and elbow grease (some nicer fonts would be nice).
kruhft 10y ago
I just bought one two weeks ago. 8 Core, 64GB, 1TB, 12GB GPU Ram.

There are no new mac pros, just old and very old. (Mostly joking, but there's little justification for a "current" outdated mac pro with the competition offering a much better machine for a vastly lower price. At work, we were told last week that we were no longer allowed to purchase Apple hardware because the cost/benefit no longer justified the price premium. That wasn't from the management either, they were just the messengers; it was from the academic funding bodies which finance our research. And to be honest, it's difficult to disagree with their assessment; they aren't wrong.)

jordache 10y ago
hmm what if you want to develop in a unix-like environment? Win10 with its bash shell?
- jrockway 10y ago
  Wouldn't you just use Linux if you want to develop in a unix-like environment?
  - jordache 10y ago
    hmm I also use Adobe Creative Suite so no.
    - jrockway 10y ago
      Similar situation. I just run Linux in a VM. Though I think I regret not inverting it and running Windows in a VM instead.
- SwellJoe 10y ago
  Dell XPS with Ubuntu (they have Precision workstations with Ubuntu as well).
- swah 10y ago
  Dual boot into the sadness.
- rleigh 10y ago
  I sincerely hope not! As a last resort, maybe. But Macs and MacOS X are hardly the only option when it comes to developing in a Unix-like environment. They aren't even the best choice if that's what you care about (much of the FreeBSD core is nearly a decade out of date--it's that long since it was updated). More likely is running Linux or BSD natively with Windows in a VM as needed (exactly what I do at work right now). Or having the Unix platforms hosted on OpenStack or VMware and use them all remotely from a terminal emulator on whatever system I'm using (I do this as well). I have a 2011 MacBook Pro laptop and a Dell desktop at work. When the MacBook dies shortly, it'll be replaced by a reused spare Mac or if there are none left it'll be an HP laptop after our IT dept switched from Dell as their preferred supplier. At home, the next will likely be a Dell XPS13DE running Ubuntu. We already abandoned MacOS X as a server platform for our applications after the demise of Xserve hardware ended Mac as a semi-serious server platform. We're now gradually cutting back the percentage of developer time going into the client side as well. The lack of current OpenGL support, decent graphics hardware, and all the rest, make it decreasingly compelling to support. End users who care about running our stuff will invest in the hardware to run it on, and that's basically got to be Linux/BSD or Windows. Costs a fraction of the Mac hardware and performs vastly better. No matter how nice MacOS X and Mac hardware might be, they have ceased to be remotely competitive on so many levels that it doesn't make much economic or rational sense when it's the inferior option. Sad to say that--I've been using it since I got the first G4 Mac mini, but their current lineup is completely devoid of anything I'd be willing to pay money for.
- tracker1 10y ago
  If you install git for windows, you get msys built versions of most of the unixy tools you're used to (ssh, bash, etc).. that's what I've been using, mostly, under conemu for a couple years in windows... or, I'll SSH into a linux VM, and edit via samba/cifs share. Or, you can use the ubuntu/bash integration in windows. Or, you can do what I know a lot of people have and run Ubuntu or another Linux environment as your primary OS... it's much better today than even a couple years ago, for most use cases.

linguae 10y ago

I actually just ordered a refurbished quad-core Mac Pro a few days ago at the discounted price of $2119 + AppleCare + tax; it should arrive tomorrow. I bought my Mac Pro for three reasons: (1) I needed a Mac more powerful than my 2013 MacBook Air and my personal needs can't wait until 2018 (and I'm not fond of the 2016 MacBook Pro; I really wanted something like the 2015 MBP but with support for 32GB RAM, some USB-A ports, and upgradeable storage [I could cope with soldered RAM, but soldered storage crosses the line]); (2) It's my response to the promises that Apple's executives made to pro users last week; and (3) I feel that $2119 is a good deal for a Mac Pro, even though it is three year-old hardware. It's still mightily faster than my MacBook Air. Now that Apple has promised Mac users that it still cares about the Mac and that it will start focusing on the needs of pro users again, I'm still invested in the Mac platform (I bought a refurbished ThinkPad T430 not too long after the October MacBook Pro reveal to see what Windows 10 and modern Linux desktops are like; I found Windows 10 very annoying, and while I believe desktop Linux has caught up to Windows or perhaps even exceeded it in terms of usability, it still has a while to go before reaching OS X in my opinion), and I'm patiently waiting for what Apple reveals over the next few years to see if it keeps its promises. Hopefully Apple is truly listening to its customers and Apple releases an expandable Mac Pro and a version of the MacBook Pro that focuses on power and perhaps even upgradeability again (like the pre-Retina MacBook Pro models) instead of exclusively on thinness and lightness. I'd love a Mac version of the ThinkPad P series. I also hope that Apple's competitors don't stand still in case Apple doesn't keep its promises. I would love for desktop Linux to catch up to OS X within the next few years so that way I could take advantage of the wide diversity of PC hardware options. And in many ways desktop Linux is almost there; it just needs some more polish and elbow grease (some nicer fonts would be nice).

kruhft 10y ago

I just bought one two weeks ago. 8 Core, 64GB, 1TB, 12GB GPU Ram.