gregnv
Mar 28, 12:29 PM
Unless there is a pre-WWDC hardware announcement, it seems like a perfect time to introduce "Thunderbolt" on the MacPro or maybe even on the iMac. It seems absurd that a laptop will remain the machine with the highest I/O speeds and capability for Apple.
Al Coholic
Mar 29, 01:09 PM
Hilarious that companies are copying Apple rumors now.Right. Like Apple invented everything.
lol.
You fanboys crack me up.
lol.
You fanboys crack me up.
TennisandMusic
Apr 5, 01:04 PM
Kind of weird, Apple should not be meddling in that stuff. Way way too domineering.
LoganT
Mar 26, 10:28 PM
Stop focusing on the number 3 people.
Ping Guo
Mar 29, 10:50 AM
I was excited about this at first but... this just seems like an incredibly stupid fad. Instead of spending time to put the music on my PMP, I sync to the digital cloud, then stream the music to said player. Yeah, in an era where unlimited data is becoming more not less scarce, that's just what I need, data surcharges. This just appears to be yet another fad intending to push consumer technology in the wrong direction.
You're making too much sense and will be branded a heretic. ;)
You're making too much sense and will be branded a heretic. ;)
Wolfpup
Jan 12, 10:56 AM
It's not ignorant at all.
Yes, a handful do, and they can be easily avoided with a reasonable dose of common sense.
That's true, but it's true of Windows too. If you're sensible, you probably won't get infected. But given these things have no real overhead, and there is a real risk, it's just sensible to use it.
There is no problem running on an admin account, if you're even moderately aware of what you're doing.
It still prompts if something's trying to use your admin/root privileges, right?
The market share myth is ridiculous and has no basis in fact.
Of course it does. A quick Google finds multiple Mac hackers saying that actually OS X is easier to hack. Market value of doing so or effort required to hit a much smaller target are the reasons cited for generally not bothering.
You already know Apple's software has exploits too, if you've ever run any Apple software and not disabled updates.
This is just the reality of the modern world-our computers are connected. Our software is insanely complex. Put the two together, and you end up with all sorts of issues being discovered.
Yes, a handful do, and they can be easily avoided with a reasonable dose of common sense.
That's true, but it's true of Windows too. If you're sensible, you probably won't get infected. But given these things have no real overhead, and there is a real risk, it's just sensible to use it.
There is no problem running on an admin account, if you're even moderately aware of what you're doing.
It still prompts if something's trying to use your admin/root privileges, right?
The market share myth is ridiculous and has no basis in fact.
Of course it does. A quick Google finds multiple Mac hackers saying that actually OS X is easier to hack. Market value of doing so or effort required to hit a much smaller target are the reasons cited for generally not bothering.
You already know Apple's software has exploits too, if you've ever run any Apple software and not disabled updates.
This is just the reality of the modern world-our computers are connected. Our software is insanely complex. Put the two together, and you end up with all sorts of issues being discovered.
DHagan4755
Jul 22, 03:07 PM
Why does everyone want Apple to change the enclosure of the MBP when it's already perfect?
It's time for a new enclosure. The one used right now is from the PowerBook G4 days and goes back to 2003.
More importantly, the MacBook Pro's hinge design limits how far the display can open. Just about every other laptop has a screen that can open 180�. Secondly, while it's not horrible, the MacBook Pro display needs to have a wider viewing angle. It's VERY HARD to replace the MBP's hard drive. I don't want to see a magnetic latch. I would prefer to see something more in-line with the clamshell iBook, which snapped shut.
Those are just a few things.
Apple needs to create a whole new MacBook Pro to deal with heat issues alone. Having that battery inset in the middle must be a nightmare on the logic board designers. And Apple must be paying a fortune to repair the MBP because it's so intricate and hard to get into.
It's time for a new enclosure. The one used right now is from the PowerBook G4 days and goes back to 2003.
More importantly, the MacBook Pro's hinge design limits how far the display can open. Just about every other laptop has a screen that can open 180�. Secondly, while it's not horrible, the MacBook Pro display needs to have a wider viewing angle. It's VERY HARD to replace the MBP's hard drive. I don't want to see a magnetic latch. I would prefer to see something more in-line with the clamshell iBook, which snapped shut.
Those are just a few things.
Apple needs to create a whole new MacBook Pro to deal with heat issues alone. Having that battery inset in the middle must be a nightmare on the logic board designers. And Apple must be paying a fortune to repair the MBP because it's so intricate and hard to get into.
KnightWRX
Apr 11, 07:17 AM
are we still debating over this?
Yes, because the uninitiated that claim this is ambiguous keep popping up. Oh wait...
if we stay to basic math, it depends on how you read the / sign
If you read it as anything other than a division, you need to go back to school.
it is poorly written (or more likely purposely ambiguously written)
Only for those with a lack of understanding of basic math. Again, the problem is not the equation per say, it's the people that don't understand mathematics.
Central Park No70.jpg. Aerial
Central Park West Aerial View
View available units at
M17 at Central Park West
55 Central Park West,
Central Park West Flagstaff
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West view during Temporary
Central Park West at 81st
VIEW FROM CENTRAL PARK.
View over Central Park and the
Yes, because the uninitiated that claim this is ambiguous keep popping up. Oh wait...
if we stay to basic math, it depends on how you read the / sign
If you read it as anything other than a division, you need to go back to school.
it is poorly written (or more likely purposely ambiguously written)
Only for those with a lack of understanding of basic math. Again, the problem is not the equation per say, it's the people that don't understand mathematics.
Multimedia
Aug 11, 10:49 PM
I disagree with you on this. I agree with you on the MBP. Apple just revved the specs of their displays and they also released the education iMac. I think the iMac is a homerun for Apple on the desktop. Obviously the strongest Apple product right now is the MacBook. But while I think you're right on with the MBP, I think they will find a way to update the iMac for new, faster processors while retaining the current design/enclosure. Even if it has Merom inside. After all they could rev it to Merom 2.1 and 2.3 and some nice new features and I don't think many people will complain. (Alright some will complain, they always do, but that's beside the point).
I would bet Conroe is the single processor option for Mac Pros to fill out the mid-range desktop line. The Mac Pro starts at $2,499 and that's way too expensive. I'm thinking there's going to be something to fill the gap between $1,499 and $2,499. That's where Conroe comes in.I hope you're right. My scenario is excluding the idea Apple will fill in that sub $2k tower hole they seem to be neglecting a LOT. :eek: Would make a lot of sense for them to simply extend the Mac Pro enclosure down into that space with Conroes. Mac Pro expandability is really fantastic. A Conroe motherboard in that same case would be the ticket. Or a cheaper enclosure with the same expadability capacity would work. I would hate to see them offer a Conroe Mac with less expadability inside.
I would bet Conroe is the single processor option for Mac Pros to fill out the mid-range desktop line. The Mac Pro starts at $2,499 and that's way too expensive. I'm thinking there's going to be something to fill the gap between $1,499 and $2,499. That's where Conroe comes in.I hope you're right. My scenario is excluding the idea Apple will fill in that sub $2k tower hole they seem to be neglecting a LOT. :eek: Would make a lot of sense for them to simply extend the Mac Pro enclosure down into that space with Conroes. Mac Pro expandability is really fantastic. A Conroe motherboard in that same case would be the ticket. Or a cheaper enclosure with the same expadability capacity would work. I would hate to see them offer a Conroe Mac with less expadability inside.
Lesser Evets
Apr 21, 02:38 PM
Having dug around in my Mac liberally over 4 years, I was surprised they didn't crunch down the design yet. It's got a lot of room in there. Though the sleds and space aren't unwelcome, there are ways to compact all that and still have a great machine which is easy to access.
rlhamil
Mar 30, 07:16 PM
Dear Apple
PLEASE can we have a UI update, even if it's a minor one (for instance, iTunes 10 scrollbars rather than the blue aqua ones). Just some extra polish really.
Signed
iFanboy
The blue scrollbars look like the blue glow on the warp nacelles of NCC-1701D.
I like them.
Signed,
nerdy as ever
PLEASE can we have a UI update, even if it's a minor one (for instance, iTunes 10 scrollbars rather than the blue aqua ones). Just some extra polish really.
Signed
iFanboy
The blue scrollbars look like the blue glow on the warp nacelles of NCC-1701D.
I like them.
Signed,
nerdy as ever
bella92108
Apr 5, 02:09 PM
That ad should be pulled for one reason, it's ugly as sin.
Then pull 90% of themes from cydia... 75% of the wallpapers are some asian chick sitting on the hood of some car the users will never be able to afford. hahaha
Then pull 90% of themes from cydia... 75% of the wallpapers are some asian chick sitting on the hood of some car the users will never be able to afford. hahaha
nuckinfutz
May 7, 11:44 AM
As amazing as free MobileMe sounds, I find this HIGHLY unlikely.
Why not? The Pros outweigh the cons.
Pros:
Ends developer confusion on the app store about whether to support MobileMe, Wifi or roll their own Cloud sync.
Benefits mainly Mac users (nice iLife tie in) but also benefits those running Windows and Outlook with Windows MobileMe Control Panel
Will clearly sell more iPhone/iPod Touch/iPads because consumers know their data will be in sync across the devices.
Cons:
Cost - free means a LOT more users which means a need to beef up infrastructure. Apple does have a new large data center being built.
Current members - do I get a refund or does Apple announce a free version of MobileMe and boosts the features of the paid account creating a Free/Paid tier?
There are certainly plusses and minuses about the strategy but make not bones about it people want Mobileme they just don't want to pay for it. A free "lite" version satiates those people.
Let's face it the popularity of Google stems from the fact that their tools are free to the end user.
Why not? The Pros outweigh the cons.
Pros:
Ends developer confusion on the app store about whether to support MobileMe, Wifi or roll their own Cloud sync.
Benefits mainly Mac users (nice iLife tie in) but also benefits those running Windows and Outlook with Windows MobileMe Control Panel
Will clearly sell more iPhone/iPod Touch/iPads because consumers know their data will be in sync across the devices.
Cons:
Cost - free means a LOT more users which means a need to beef up infrastructure. Apple does have a new large data center being built.
Current members - do I get a refund or does Apple announce a free version of MobileMe and boosts the features of the paid account creating a Free/Paid tier?
There are certainly plusses and minuses about the strategy but make not bones about it people want Mobileme they just don't want to pay for it. A free "lite" version satiates those people.
Let's face it the popularity of Google stems from the fact that their tools are free to the end user.
cav23j
Nov 28, 01:06 AM
TBH, probably wasn't the AV.. when you dual boot there are so many bugs that go on w/ OSX. I never dual boot anymore because it would always lock my Mac up..
I saw a lady today at the Apple Store, and goes to the Genius Bar.. and the first thing she says "Hi, I am having troubles with my iMac, I dual booted through Boot Camp w/ Windows 7, and it crashed my Mac." I LOL'd and the genius's confirmed it was the cause of dual boot. I don't trust it... not one bit.
what do you mean by dual boot?
I saw a lady today at the Apple Store, and goes to the Genius Bar.. and the first thing she says "Hi, I am having troubles with my iMac, I dual booted through Boot Camp w/ Windows 7, and it crashed my Mac." I LOL'd and the genius's confirmed it was the cause of dual boot. I don't trust it... not one bit.
what do you mean by dual boot?
rmwebs
Apr 21, 05:05 PM
I think the next Mac Pro refresh will be a huge milestone. Not only will it be the first case redesign in nearly a decade and add all the latest tech (USB3, sata III, thunderbolt, etc) but I believe Apple will take this opportunity to finally revise the pricing structure. Over the past few years, Apple has been making a clear shift towards the consumer market. Part of that is arguably negative ("dumbing things down") but the positive is more reasonable prices. The Mac Pro is the only computer left that hasn't been revised. My hope is that Apple will create a few models of the new Mac Pro, at least one of which is an affordable mid-range consumer tower starting under the the $2,000 mark.
Unfortunately, they will probably wait to use the new performance desktop/server sandy bridge CPUs which Intel won't have ready until Q4 2011 (or later). If that's true then we won't see these new beauties until 1H 2012. :(
If anything the pro will increase in price as its very much close to the price of the 27" iMac, which is hampering its sales. Also, don't hold your breath for USB3 - as far as Apple's concerned, USB3 is a dead technology.
Unfortunately, they will probably wait to use the new performance desktop/server sandy bridge CPUs which Intel won't have ready until Q4 2011 (or later). If that's true then we won't see these new beauties until 1H 2012. :(
If anything the pro will increase in price as its very much close to the price of the 27" iMac, which is hampering its sales. Also, don't hold your breath for USB3 - as far as Apple's concerned, USB3 is a dead technology.
ravenas
Mar 29, 08:54 PM
I like the competition, and the cloud concept is definitely promising, but I don't think this is a solution I want. Call me pessimistic, but I don't want to rely on another entity for access to my own information. I don't want to store all my music and movies "in the cloud" and hope there is no complications. Rather, what I want is to be able to access my home computer via the cloud, but if all else fails, it's still saved on my home computer, not some remote server I can't access
The idea of cloud storage is that you have another copy of your data on external servers with much more bandwidth and server maintenance and backup than you can manage at home. Then you can access that cloud from a multiple of devices that may or may not have the local storage space for all that data.
I routinely use 3 different laptops (have access to 5) and 3 mobile devices. I've backup up my content at home on multiple external HDD (the bigger AC powered 3.5" drives and more portable 2.5" drives). But to get my content on my devices I was forever syncing and resyncing having to pick & chose what content I wanted to access on the device.
Amazon's music cloud allows me to create one backup resource for my music on an external server farm. They worry about maintaining the HDD and connectivity to the net. I can access my music and playlists on my memory-challenged mobile device or that netbook I only take along on trips and always forget to sync.
Since adding Dropbox and Evernote to my arsenal of tools I've been able to eliminate the need to carry around USB HDDs entirely. I can work on projects with whatever computer I happen to be using.
The reason for sour grapes here (I suspect) is that Amazon beat Apple to the punch. Apple's been sitting on Lala for 2 freaking years!!!! To take music with you syncing is mandatory and storage space comes at a premium on Apple devices. Even the new Home Sharing features of iOS 4.3 pale in comparison to StreamToMe and a DYNDNS account.
I love Amazon's move. I routinely chose them for music downloads over iTunes anyway due to better pricing. And best of all Amazon will be taking on the music industry's insane demands that consumers have multiple licenses to listen to their own music!!! Someone's gotta take RIAA down to reality or else we'll all get sued for 75 trillion dollars just for making copies of our own music files.
I think people forget it was Amazon that successfully pushed for DRM-free digital music. Before then everything you bought was by subscription or made invalid if you switched HDDs and forgot to back up your licenses. Including the vaunted iTunes library.
The idea of cloud storage is that you have another copy of your data on external servers with much more bandwidth and server maintenance and backup than you can manage at home. Then you can access that cloud from a multiple of devices that may or may not have the local storage space for all that data.
I routinely use 3 different laptops (have access to 5) and 3 mobile devices. I've backup up my content at home on multiple external HDD (the bigger AC powered 3.5" drives and more portable 2.5" drives). But to get my content on my devices I was forever syncing and resyncing having to pick & chose what content I wanted to access on the device.
Amazon's music cloud allows me to create one backup resource for my music on an external server farm. They worry about maintaining the HDD and connectivity to the net. I can access my music and playlists on my memory-challenged mobile device or that netbook I only take along on trips and always forget to sync.
Since adding Dropbox and Evernote to my arsenal of tools I've been able to eliminate the need to carry around USB HDDs entirely. I can work on projects with whatever computer I happen to be using.
The reason for sour grapes here (I suspect) is that Amazon beat Apple to the punch. Apple's been sitting on Lala for 2 freaking years!!!! To take music with you syncing is mandatory and storage space comes at a premium on Apple devices. Even the new Home Sharing features of iOS 4.3 pale in comparison to StreamToMe and a DYNDNS account.
I love Amazon's move. I routinely chose them for music downloads over iTunes anyway due to better pricing. And best of all Amazon will be taking on the music industry's insane demands that consumers have multiple licenses to listen to their own music!!! Someone's gotta take RIAA down to reality or else we'll all get sued for 75 trillion dollars just for making copies of our own music files.
I think people forget it was Amazon that successfully pushed for DRM-free digital music. Before then everything you bought was by subscription or made invalid if you switched HDDs and forgot to back up your licenses. Including the vaunted iTunes library.
ender land
Apr 10, 01:19 PM
using Pemdas or the correct order of operations in the first problem
we first add whats in the parentheses (9+3)= 12
second step we multiply 2(12) =24
final step 48/24 = 2
the people who are getting 288
are adding (9+3) =12
then they are skipping an order of operations and going straight to division 48/2 =24
24 * 12 = 288
Does division come after multiplication in order of operations? I had always thought you treated both multiplication and division the same and executed those operations sequentially, reading left to right.
I'm calling BS on you being a math teacher.
McGiord - "Mac OS X cannot be wrong on this: [refering to picture showing 2 as answer]." Perhaps you do not remember saying this? What about "Mac OS X cannot be wrong"? I know reading your posts results in fail, but associating that fail with someone else failing at reading is a bit of a stretch.
And for what it's worth, I guess I am quite happy if my current position is "failing at math" considering I make a fair bit of money for "failing at math" in a technical field.
we first add whats in the parentheses (9+3)= 12
second step we multiply 2(12) =24
final step 48/24 = 2
the people who are getting 288
are adding (9+3) =12
then they are skipping an order of operations and going straight to division 48/2 =24
24 * 12 = 288
Does division come after multiplication in order of operations? I had always thought you treated both multiplication and division the same and executed those operations sequentially, reading left to right.
I'm calling BS on you being a math teacher.
McGiord - "Mac OS X cannot be wrong on this: [refering to picture showing 2 as answer]." Perhaps you do not remember saying this? What about "Mac OS X cannot be wrong"? I know reading your posts results in fail, but associating that fail with someone else failing at reading is a bit of a stretch.
And for what it's worth, I guess I am quite happy if my current position is "failing at math" considering I make a fair bit of money for "failing at math" in a technical field.
EDH667
Jan 6, 03:27 PM
So I've played with the TomTom iPhone Car Kit for a couple of days and here's my initial observations.
* I do not like the bluetooth speaker phone built-in for phone calls. It is far inferior to my BluAnt, but luckily it seems I can have both connected and easily switch back and forth.
* Lastly, this is the thing that may make me return it...it rattles, as it is not built very well!! Where the car kit spins to landscape, it is just a little too loose of a setup. Does everyone else have this problem or do I have a defective unit? Would love to know if its worth bothering to exchange it. Thanks!
I had two different TomTom iPhone Car Kits that I returned because of the bluetooth speaker phone. It would keep breaking up and I was unable to hear all of the other party's conversation. I had mine in the vertical position so I did not notice any rattle. I have ordered the Magellan Premium car kit which from early indications performs better for the bluetooth and positioning.
* I do not like the bluetooth speaker phone built-in for phone calls. It is far inferior to my BluAnt, but luckily it seems I can have both connected and easily switch back and forth.
* Lastly, this is the thing that may make me return it...it rattles, as it is not built very well!! Where the car kit spins to landscape, it is just a little too loose of a setup. Does everyone else have this problem or do I have a defective unit? Would love to know if its worth bothering to exchange it. Thanks!
I had two different TomTom iPhone Car Kits that I returned because of the bluetooth speaker phone. It would keep breaking up and I was unable to hear all of the other party's conversation. I had mine in the vertical position so I did not notice any rattle. I have ordered the Magellan Premium car kit which from early indications performs better for the bluetooth and positioning.
dr Dunkel
Apr 25, 09:45 AM
Why should God allmighty (Steve) not lie to his minions?
xPismo
Jul 21, 10:25 PM
Regarding hot laptops:
Tell me about it!
Add a pro book that lasts ~5hours and I'd be one happy man. Lets hope Apple can crack the heat / battery / weight triangle of pain this time around.
Tell me about it!
Add a pro book that lasts ~5hours and I'd be one happy man. Lets hope Apple can crack the heat / battery / weight triangle of pain this time around.
kalsta
May 3, 08:57 PM
You missed my point; it isn't progress because it's an enormous step backward. It's not the "learning something new" part, it's the "throwing away everything you already know."
Semantics. Your argument boils down to the pain of change.
I would see your point if switching everything to metric would actually make things more efficient, but it wouldn't. People who use Imperial units are already comfortable with it - the system already works, and isn't broken.
Again, the real crux of your argument is that people are 'comfortable' with what they already know. If you were to put that aside and judge between the two systems objectively, I can't see how anyone would actually choose imperial over metric. Metric is the future. No, check that — it's actually the present. You're living in the past Tomorrow.
Semantics. Your argument boils down to the pain of change.
I would see your point if switching everything to metric would actually make things more efficient, but it wouldn't. People who use Imperial units are already comfortable with it - the system already works, and isn't broken.
Again, the real crux of your argument is that people are 'comfortable' with what they already know. If you were to put that aside and judge between the two systems objectively, I can't see how anyone would actually choose imperial over metric. Metric is the future. No, check that — it's actually the present. You're living in the past Tomorrow.
Jett0516
Mar 28, 12:38 PM
I think the reason why there is no new iphone this year is because maybe apple wants to come out with both at&t and verizone iphone at the same time next year. which would be less of a headache for both carrier and fans.
Blakeco123
Apr 23, 04:51 PM
LOL was going about it the hardware in CoreServices/Finder.app (which has all the sidebar icons btw). Didn't think it would be the obvious in the Contents of the app. DOH!
Thanks!
Wait, so the desktop wallpaper should be 3200x2000? I'm only seeing 2560x1600. Hmmmm.
The only wallpaper that currently show this resolution is the default lion wallpaper, So even if your in lion none of the other wallpapers are this resolution, anyway no problem im happy to help.
Thanks!
Wait, so the desktop wallpaper should be 3200x2000? I'm only seeing 2560x1600. Hmmmm.
The only wallpaper that currently show this resolution is the default lion wallpaper, So even if your in lion none of the other wallpapers are this resolution, anyway no problem im happy to help.
Makosuke
May 6, 05:10 AM
I'm not so much joining in the discussion as publicly recording what I think is going to happen in a few years based not really on this prediction, but the way things are going in general, so that I can point to this post in a few years and either say "I told you so" or "look how clueless I was."
I think this prediction is right, at least in general terms, and while to hardcore geeks it may sound like a terrible idea, I doubt it is, and it makes a great deal of sense to Apple. That said, I expect Apple will continue to sell "pro" systems of some sort based on Intel chips for the foreseeable future, to cover the developer/Photoshop-jockey/video-editor market. They're just not going to sell all that many of them.
This is why the ARM transition will not be like the Intel transition (and remember we're not talking about something happening tomorrow):
For one thing, two years is a lot of time at the rate the ARM architecture has been advancing. Predicting anything about how fast the chips will be in 2013 (or how much Intel will have advanced by then) is difficult.
In the quarter the G5 Power Mac first shipped, back in Apple earned $44M on $1.7B in sales, and shipped 787K Macs. In the quarter the first Intel iMacs shipped, in Apple earned $410M on $4.36B, and sold 1.1M Macs.
In the most recent quarter, Apple's profit was $6B--more than their gross in and almost as much as the entire company's gross for all of 2003--on gross income of close to $25B. They sold 3.76M Macs, and more notably 4.69M iPads and well over 20M small-screen iOS devices. They also have something like $65 billion sitting in the bank, which is ridiculous.
Contrast this with Intel, which in the last quarter was doing extremely well, with gross of $12.8B and net of $3.16B. Or, for that matter, IBM, which had revenue of $24B and earnings of $2.9B.
In Apple was a relatively small-time player that got IBM to design a wicked-fast custom desktop CPU. In 2006 they were a somewhat larger company mostly on account of selling a lot of iPods, and weren't in a strong enough position to get IBM to do what they needed with the PPC architecture to the point it could compete with Intel's upcoming Core architecture. Today their Mac business alone is three times what it was then, it's the only segment of the PC industry actually expanding, and the company is HUGE--twice the size of Intel, in terms of financials. Heck, they could buy a controlling stake in Intel based purely on that company's market cap with cash on hand.
Further, of all those 25M+ iOS devices last quarter, every single one was running an ARM processor. While nearly 4 million Macs is nothing to sneeze at, Apple's bread and butter is iOS and ARM-based systems. They know them, they control the whole package, and they have an in-house CPU team for the architecture. One that, based on performance comparisons with the Xoom, is doing its job quite well. They've also managed to sell these devices at prices so low other companies are having serious trouble matching them, while maintaing very healthy profit margins.
As far as Apple is concerned--and with good reason--iOS on ARM is their future. There's no reason to stop selling Macs, but the market for console-style computers is not likely limited to handhelds and tablets--there's almost certainly a lot of demand in the bigger-laptop-with-a-keyboard space as well as large-screen desktops. With the rate of CPU power increase in ARM chips, within a couple of years they're likely to be powerful enough to comfortably handle desktop tasks, particularly considering that the average user really doesn't have any use for anything more than a basic dual-core system--everything else is for pros and bragging rights.
So, by way of prediction, I'd assume that Apple will continue to beef up its in-house ARM team, and once the desktop-grade chips are in place leverage that to replace what we currently think of as consumer Macs with beefier, larger-screen iOS based devices (or perhaps some iOS/MacOS hybrid thing to better handle indirect input, since pointing at a 27" touchscreen is ridiculous for more than a few minutes).
After all, Apple could--and very will might--dump a few billion dollars of their hoard into advancing the ARM architecture in some way that competitors can't match, and/or building out chip fab capabilities to keep prices low and availability high. Intel's entire R&D budget for 2010 was in the range of $6B, AMD's wasn't much over $1B, and Apple likes to control their own destiny, so it's not out of the question if they can hire good enough people.
I also bet that they will keep some "pro" machines--perhaps even those that'll keep the "Mac" moniker--in the lineup, for people who want more traditional workstation software, since there's still a lucrative market for that. These will presumably use Intel chips, but then who knows--even Microsoft is working on a version of Windows for ARM.
And outside the gamer market or the relatively small number of people who need or want a virtualized Windows environment, I seriously doubt most people will care. After all, it hasn't stopped them from lining up to buy iPads, and I have NEVER heard even the most ardent Windows fanboy rant about Windows with the same fervor as a half-dozen non-technical people I know personally who love their iPad.
Geeks and old-school Macheads like myself will wail and moan, and Apple won't care. If they did, the iPad would have run the MacOS.
In related news, Microsoft is in trouble.
I think this prediction is right, at least in general terms, and while to hardcore geeks it may sound like a terrible idea, I doubt it is, and it makes a great deal of sense to Apple. That said, I expect Apple will continue to sell "pro" systems of some sort based on Intel chips for the foreseeable future, to cover the developer/Photoshop-jockey/video-editor market. They're just not going to sell all that many of them.
This is why the ARM transition will not be like the Intel transition (and remember we're not talking about something happening tomorrow):
For one thing, two years is a lot of time at the rate the ARM architecture has been advancing. Predicting anything about how fast the chips will be in 2013 (or how much Intel will have advanced by then) is difficult.
In the quarter the G5 Power Mac first shipped, back in Apple earned $44M on $1.7B in sales, and shipped 787K Macs. In the quarter the first Intel iMacs shipped, in Apple earned $410M on $4.36B, and sold 1.1M Macs.
In the most recent quarter, Apple's profit was $6B--more than their gross in and almost as much as the entire company's gross for all of 2003--on gross income of close to $25B. They sold 3.76M Macs, and more notably 4.69M iPads and well over 20M small-screen iOS devices. They also have something like $65 billion sitting in the bank, which is ridiculous.
Contrast this with Intel, which in the last quarter was doing extremely well, with gross of $12.8B and net of $3.16B. Or, for that matter, IBM, which had revenue of $24B and earnings of $2.9B.
In Apple was a relatively small-time player that got IBM to design a wicked-fast custom desktop CPU. In 2006 they were a somewhat larger company mostly on account of selling a lot of iPods, and weren't in a strong enough position to get IBM to do what they needed with the PPC architecture to the point it could compete with Intel's upcoming Core architecture. Today their Mac business alone is three times what it was then, it's the only segment of the PC industry actually expanding, and the company is HUGE--twice the size of Intel, in terms of financials. Heck, they could buy a controlling stake in Intel based purely on that company's market cap with cash on hand.
Further, of all those 25M+ iOS devices last quarter, every single one was running an ARM processor. While nearly 4 million Macs is nothing to sneeze at, Apple's bread and butter is iOS and ARM-based systems. They know them, they control the whole package, and they have an in-house CPU team for the architecture. One that, based on performance comparisons with the Xoom, is doing its job quite well. They've also managed to sell these devices at prices so low other companies are having serious trouble matching them, while maintaing very healthy profit margins.
As far as Apple is concerned--and with good reason--iOS on ARM is their future. There's no reason to stop selling Macs, but the market for console-style computers is not likely limited to handhelds and tablets--there's almost certainly a lot of demand in the bigger-laptop-with-a-keyboard space as well as large-screen desktops. With the rate of CPU power increase in ARM chips, within a couple of years they're likely to be powerful enough to comfortably handle desktop tasks, particularly considering that the average user really doesn't have any use for anything more than a basic dual-core system--everything else is for pros and bragging rights.
So, by way of prediction, I'd assume that Apple will continue to beef up its in-house ARM team, and once the desktop-grade chips are in place leverage that to replace what we currently think of as consumer Macs with beefier, larger-screen iOS based devices (or perhaps some iOS/MacOS hybrid thing to better handle indirect input, since pointing at a 27" touchscreen is ridiculous for more than a few minutes).
After all, Apple could--and very will might--dump a few billion dollars of their hoard into advancing the ARM architecture in some way that competitors can't match, and/or building out chip fab capabilities to keep prices low and availability high. Intel's entire R&D budget for 2010 was in the range of $6B, AMD's wasn't much over $1B, and Apple likes to control their own destiny, so it's not out of the question if they can hire good enough people.
I also bet that they will keep some "pro" machines--perhaps even those that'll keep the "Mac" moniker--in the lineup, for people who want more traditional workstation software, since there's still a lucrative market for that. These will presumably use Intel chips, but then who knows--even Microsoft is working on a version of Windows for ARM.
And outside the gamer market or the relatively small number of people who need or want a virtualized Windows environment, I seriously doubt most people will care. After all, it hasn't stopped them from lining up to buy iPads, and I have NEVER heard even the most ardent Windows fanboy rant about Windows with the same fervor as a half-dozen non-technical people I know personally who love their iPad.
Geeks and old-school Macheads like myself will wail and moan, and Apple won't care. If they did, the iPad would have run the MacOS.
In related news, Microsoft is in trouble.