To say the “new” Mac Pro is controversial among the enthusiast Macintosh fan scene would be an understatement. For as many people are out there who can say positives about the machine, there are just as many who have quite a bit negative to say, usually focusing on the price more than anything else. That’s not to say there aren’t other complaints, and that those may be valid in a given situation, but this perspective generally always comes from the “prosumer” level – the tech enthusiast, the YouTube video maker, the high end computer hobbyist. Those people who do push machines to their limits and certainly produce content with them, but still are not the high-end business types which “professional” has traditionally meant.
As a point of contrast I thus present this particular take on the “new” Mac Pro from, as the video puts it, “a filmmakers perspective.” This group, Tiburon Film Studios, appears to take things quite seriously and while I’ll leave it up to you to judge the opinions expressed for yourself, I considered this a good expression of counterpoints to the common complaints about the new hardware. I’ll share my thoughts following the video.
Yes, the title is a bit harsh, but when you get past that the video really does touch on quite a bit about the machine, complaints and criticisms included. It doesn’t beat around the bush with aspects of the original presentation which seem quite strange, but at the same time puts many of those oddities in perspective from a professional standpoint — something I considered when I talked about the machine recently.
I’m really impressed by how this video touches on things, and how positive the outlook is. More over, the fact that this does focus on the machine from a truly professional environment — those where the machine will be a critical tool for high end work.
As is stated in this video and by many, the machine isn’t made for the average user. It isn’t made for me, or you, or anyone else in the hobbyist scene. It’s a true high end workstation, just as the previous generations of Mac Pro computers have been over the past nearly 15 years (give or take, of course.)
I agree that the term “pro” has been used by Apple (and others) way too much, diluting its meaning. To that end, this machine isn’t made for the kind of “pro” that many hobbyists are. It’s made for the high end studios that want or need top end Macintosh hardware. Official hardware, not hackintoshes. They need it to be cutting edge (within the ecosystem, anyway) and as capable as possible, and they have the money to invest in the hardware.
It’s a high end investment, really, for a system which will be critical in production of content, and thus income, for larger creative ventures over the span of many years. In 10 years these machines will be on the secondhand market just like previous Mac Pro systems (like my 2008 3,1 machine) have been, and those of us who want to toy around with this hardware to create will have affordable access to them.
They weren’t made for us though. That simple. Perhaps it’s better that way for the entire ecosystem. For now, us hobbyists can still push late model 4,1 and 5,1 Mac Pro systems to their limits and get amazing results.
That’s really all I have to say, for now, on this subject. More to come when the machine is available for purchase.