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You keep getting downvoted because it's unsubstantiated nonsense that defies logical expectations. Why would Mac kill their own development platform? Further,

You keep getting downvoted because it's unsubstantiated nonsense that defies logical expectations. Why would Mac kill their own development platform? Further, look Google as they thrash around desperate to diversify their revenue stream. Do you think it's sensible for Mac to go the opposite direction and pile all their eggs in one basket? Not to mention all the effort that went into creating this new unibody form factor. Should they just throw away all the resources they've put into doing that?

zppx 16y ago
Well, there was an effort in developing the Xserve line as well, apparently it was no problem for Apple to throw the entire Xserve effort in the trash bin. I think Apple will put less emphasis on the Mac in the next years, simplifying the line and reducing the products in the market, not so fast as he wishes, and this will be a trend in the entire industry, not only Apple. But that's my opinion and not a detailed analysis.
- pillsy 16y ago
  They ditched the XServe because people just weren't buying them in any noticeable quantities. Apple sells a lot more Macs now then back when Macs were pretty all Apple made, so why would they decide to leave all that money on the table?
  - matwood 16y ago
    It's a chicken and the egg thing. People weren't buying them because they were not competitive with other rack servers anymore. By using your logic Apple could just not update the MacPro for a few years and then pull line because 'people weren't buying them.' Apple created the people not buying them situation though.
  - Tamerlin 16y ago
    I'm actually a little surprised that they took this long to make the decision to kill off the XServe. Back during the G5 crash-and-burn they stopped publishing separate XServe sales data, merging it into a collective "G5" sales bin, presumably to hide how drastically and quickly G5 sales tailed off after the initial surge of sales, followed by a lot of disappointment when their customers realized that their performance wasn't anywhere near where Apple claimed that it was.
- commandar 16y ago
  >I think Apple will put less emphasis on the Mac in the next years Apple has already put less emphasis on the Mac. OS X has largely stagnated since 10.5 came out in 2007, right around the time iOS started coming into the picture. And if you look at what's coming in 10.7, it essentially reads like they're trying to turn the desktop into iOS. It's not an approach I'm particularly thrilled about; interfaces that make sense of small, touch-driven displays don't make as much sense on huge, high resolution displays, IMO. But Apple is letting their UI development for the former drive their desktop UI development.
CamperBob 16y ago
Why would Mac kill their own development platform? Answered in several other places in the thread. Owning your own development platform is highly overrated.
- ptomato 16y ago
  Apple, in particular, is never (well, while Steve Jobs or anyone similar is in charge) going to rely on other people for essential parts of their platform again. They've learned that lesson many times.
  - CamperBob 16y ago
    As long as nobody comes along and closes your development platform of choice, there's really very little to be afraid of when it comes to cross-compilation and emulation. No man is an island, and certainly no corporation the size of Apple is one, either. Vertical integration shouldn't be considered a religious matter.
    - ptomato 16y ago
      "Vertical integration shouldn't be considered a religious matter." Somewhat irrelevant, as Apple has demonstrated fairly convincingly that they do consider it such.
      - CamperBob 16y ago
        That's great, as long as their stockholders understand that they're investing in a church, rather than a corporation. (A church that actually has to pay taxes, no less.)
      - lsc 16y ago
        Really? I would argue that switching to what amounts to commodity hardware with custom bios in a custom case is a move away from vertical integration. Now, you could say that Apple didn't fab it's own PPC chips, but the x86 mac hardware is sure a lot more similar to everyone else's hardware than mac hardware has ever been before, and it's probably saving Apple rather a lot of money. Of course, you could also argue that this trend is reversing, with the Apple platform now being driven by ARM devices that are far more, uh, custom. but you kind of have to do that right now, because the market for cellphone chipsets/motherboard layouts isn't as mature as the market for desktop/laptop chipsets and motherboard layouts. I'm just pointing out, Apple is perfectly happy to use commodity stuff, when they think that commodity stuff is better/cheaper.

zppx 16y ago

Well, there was an effort in developing the Xserve line as well, apparently it was no problem for Apple to throw the entire Xserve effort in the trash bin. I think Apple will put less emphasis on the Mac in the next years, simplifying the line and reducing the products in the market, not so fast as he wishes, and this will be a trend in the entire industry, not only Apple. But that's my opinion and not a detailed analysis.

pillsy 16y ago
They ditched the XServe because people just weren't buying them in any noticeable quantities. Apple sells a lot more Macs now then back when Macs were pretty all Apple made, so why would they decide to leave all that money on the table?
- matwood 16y ago
  It's a chicken and the egg thing. People weren't buying them because they were not competitive with other rack servers anymore. By using your logic Apple could just not update the MacPro for a few years and then pull line because 'people weren't buying them.' Apple created the people not buying them situation though.
- Tamerlin 16y ago
  I'm actually a little surprised that they took this long to make the decision to kill off the XServe. Back during the G5 crash-and-burn they stopped publishing separate XServe sales data, merging it into a collective "G5" sales bin, presumably to hide how drastically and quickly G5 sales tailed off after the initial surge of sales, followed by a lot of disappointment when their customers realized that their performance wasn't anywhere near where Apple claimed that it was.
commandar 16y ago
>I think Apple will put less emphasis on the Mac in the next years Apple has already put less emphasis on the Mac. OS X has largely stagnated since 10.5 came out in 2007, right around the time iOS started coming into the picture. And if you look at what's coming in 10.7, it essentially reads like they're trying to turn the desktop into iOS. It's not an approach I'm particularly thrilled about; interfaces that make sense of small, touch-driven displays don't make as much sense on huge, high resolution displays, IMO. But Apple is letting their UI development for the former drive their desktop UI development.

CamperBob 16y ago

Why would Mac kill their own development platform? Answered in several other places in the thread. Owning your own development platform is highly overrated.

ptomato 16y ago
Apple, in particular, is never (well, while Steve Jobs or anyone similar is in charge) going to rely on other people for essential parts of their platform again. They've learned that lesson many times.
- CamperBob 16y ago
  As long as nobody comes along and closes your development platform of choice, there's really very little to be afraid of when it comes to cross-compilation and emulation. No man is an island, and certainly no corporation the size of Apple is one, either. Vertical integration shouldn't be considered a religious matter.
  - ptomato 16y ago
    "Vertical integration shouldn't be considered a religious matter." Somewhat irrelevant, as Apple has demonstrated fairly convincingly that they do consider it such.
    - CamperBob 16y ago
      That's great, as long as their stockholders understand that they're investing in a church, rather than a corporation. (A church that actually has to pay taxes, no less.)
    - lsc 16y ago
      Really? I would argue that switching to what amounts to commodity hardware with custom bios in a custom case is a move away from vertical integration. Now, you could say that Apple didn't fab it's own PPC chips, but the x86 mac hardware is sure a lot more similar to everyone else's hardware than mac hardware has ever been before, and it's probably saving Apple rather a lot of money. Of course, you could also argue that this trend is reversing, with the Apple platform now being driven by ARM devices that are far more, uh, custom. but you kind of have to do that right now, because the market for cellphone chipsets/motherboard layouts isn't as mature as the market for desktop/laptop chipsets and motherboard layouts. I'm just pointing out, Apple is perfectly happy to use commodity stuff, when they think that commodity stuff is better/cheaper.