5 ms·

It's not an either/or proposition; Why couldn't Apple have provided a tower that had both internal and external expansion? Because new Mac Pro 'needs' to be 1/8

It's not an either/or proposition; Why couldn't Apple have provided a tower that had both internal and external expansion? Because new Mac Pro 'needs' to be 1/8th the volume of the old Mac Pro?

nicholassmith 13y ago
The same argument can be made for many of Apple product decisions, why no Blu-Ray? Why no SuperDrive in the MBPr? The simple answer being as always, Apple doesn't think it's necessary. They've clearly designed it for a very specific purpose, I'm interested in seeing what the futures bodes for it.
stinos 13y ago
There's enough people out there that will let the appearance playe a major part in their decision of whether or not to buy it. So yes, from Apple's POV it needs to be smaller and different looking. It's all about pleasing the customers, innit?
evilduck 13y ago
That wouldn't put any pressure on 3rd parties to manufacture external peripherals (which is hypothetically the goal).
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
masklinn 13y ago
> Why couldn't Apple have provided a tower that had both internal and external expansion? The lack of internal expansion means high-end mac pro peripherals have to be TB, which may finally kickstart the the TB ecosystem. And when that happens, these peripherals are compatible with all machines from the mini and air to rMBP and mac pro.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
interpol_p 13y ago
Because it isn't necessary for the future they envision. It's like including a DVD drive on a laptop: some people might use it now, but it's very clearly on the way out. Apple generally make these decisions before it's very clear what direction the industry is heading. Their decision here is to position the Mac Pro as a tiny, powerful computing hub that has the bandwidth and controllers necessary to drive a crazy amount of professional hardware at high speed. This unifies their products relative to external accessories (if everything is Thunderbolt, you can plug your hardware into your laptop when required). It also lets them stay focused on making the best 'pro' computing hub they can build. (That it also happens to be quiet and small is a very nice plus.) Edit: That said, who knows whether this is the right direction for the pro industry.
- dasil003 13y ago
  The other interesting bit of this strategy is how OS X serves as the wedge that forces people to take the bitter pill and recalibrate their idea of pro computing. Any other hardware company wouldn't have the clout to avoid losing massive marketshare in a move like this.
minikites 13y ago
For the same reason the original Macintosh had no arrow keys or why the iMac didn't have a floppy drive or internal slots.

It's not an either/or proposition; Why couldn't Apple have provided a tower that had both internal and external expansion? Because new Mac Pro 'needs' to be 1/8th the volume of the old Mac Pro?

nicholassmith 13y ago

The same argument can be made for many of Apple product decisions, why no Blu-Ray? Why no SuperDrive in the MBPr? The simple answer being as always, Apple doesn't think it's necessary. They've clearly designed it for a very specific purpose, I'm interested in seeing what the futures bodes for it.

stinos 13y ago

There's enough people out there that will let the appearance playe a major part in their decision of whether or not to buy it. So yes, from Apple's POV it needs to be smaller and different looking. It's all about pleasing the customers, innit?

evilduck 13y ago

That wouldn't put any pressure on 3rd parties to manufacture external peripherals (which is hypothetically the goal).

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

masklinn 13y ago

> Why couldn't Apple have provided a tower that had both internal and external expansion? The lack of internal expansion means high-end mac pro peripherals have to be TB, which may finally kickstart the the TB ecosystem. And when that happens, these peripherals are compatible with all machines from the mini and air to rMBP and mac pro.

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

interpol_p 13y ago

Because it isn't necessary for the future they envision. It's like including a DVD drive on a laptop: some people might use it now, but it's very clearly on the way out. Apple generally make these decisions before it's very clear what direction the industry is heading. Their decision here is to position the Mac Pro as a tiny, powerful computing hub that has the bandwidth and controllers necessary to drive a crazy amount of professional hardware at high speed. This unifies their products relative to external accessories (if everything is Thunderbolt, you can plug your hardware into your laptop when required). It also lets them stay focused on making the best 'pro' computing hub they can build. (That it also happens to be quiet and small is a very nice plus.) Edit: That said, who knows whether this is the right direction for the pro industry.

dasil003 13y ago
The other interesting bit of this strategy is how OS X serves as the wedge that forces people to take the bitter pill and recalibrate their idea of pro computing. Any other hardware company wouldn't have the clout to avoid losing massive marketshare in a move like this.

minikites 13y ago

For the same reason the original Macintosh had no arrow keys or why the iMac didn't have a floppy drive or internal slots.