My uncle is a published poet and avid Mac-user for some reason. Last month at high elevation he asked me for advice on his next Mac purchase. His wife works with Windoze all day at a company everyone reading this has probably dealt with, but she seems noncommittal when it comes to a home computer.

My uncle — let’s call him RP since that’s what I call him — had the idea of a 17″ MacBook Pro for its large screen and portability. At first this sounded extravagant and silly to me, but I began to realize the benefits.

When the new iMacs came out on August 7th, he latched onto them and we recently got an email asking whether he’d be better off with a Mac Pro? Well that’s crazy talk so I had to drink a few beers and lay into the idea. Here I go:

Begin forwarded message:

From: xxxxx@xxxxx.com
Date: August 27, 2007 6:00:44 PM CDT
To: xxxxx@xxxxx.com
Subject: macs

It struck me after I hung up that I never did get a detailed opinion as to why you thought we might be best off buying an iMac rather than a MacPro. Care to fill us in?

And is Mac likely to offer a new System in September or October, making it smarter to wait until the new machine already has it as part of its package??

best//rp

Hey, RP. Holland forwarded me your question about why not a Mac Pro.

The gist is that nowadays an iMac or a MacBook can easily be a main family computer.

The Mac Pro is not a machine for most people. I would never buy a Mac Pro for my personal use and most people wouldn’t. Especially since the Intel transition (when high-powered processors returned to the rest of the product line), the Mac Pro has turned into a high-end workstation for professionals to buy on someone else’s dime. The reason for this is the rest of the lineup has caught up to a level beyond most people’s needs. It used to be a Power Mac was the standard computer you bought. But nowadays if you don’t know what you’re going to do with 8 CPU cores, 4 drive bays, and 4 PCI slots, it’s not worth it.

In long terms, here’s some musing…..

Your question about the Mac Pro raises an interesting development in computers that has arisen since I went to college. My computer of choice for going to Wooster in 1999 was a Power Mac G3, of course! At the time the only Apple alternative was an iMac (too wimpy) or a PowerBook (much more expensive for what you got, which was about the equivalent of a wimpy iMac). I had many friends who had gotten iMacs or (one friend) with a PowerBook instead. I didn’t regret my choice. The first iBook was not available until about 4 months after I went to college.

At the time I wanted speed and expandability. I did use the expandability since I had the machine for 5 and a half years until I bought a Mac mini in 2005 (and soon thereafter an iMac that I still use). And I took advantage of upgrading nearly every aspect of the computer except for its case and logic board. But I don’t think most people would have done all that, and those days are dwindling for most consumers, especially Mac users.

I think what has changed is the world has moved to portable computers. This happened because you can finally build a portable computer with a similar processor, features, and display, as you find on a desktop computer. I think the first time this was roughly feasible was with the PowerBook G4, which came out in January 2002. Before that time, you were really sacrificing every feature just for the sake of being compact and portable. The PowerBook G4’s used the same processor as their desktop counterparts, and had comparable features. This is also a reason why Apple switched to Intel processors, since by 2005 it became clear the G5 would never work in a portable Mac (uses too much power, gets too hot).

Nowadays, portables make up a significant portion of all computer sales, and Apple’s portable sales ratio is twice that of the rest of the industry. (Of all Macs, the percent of portables is in the high 40 percents. I believe last quarter was 47%. That means nearly every other Mac sold is a portable.)

The one thing you don’t get with a portable computer is all the slots, drive bays, and swappable processors that a large desktop case like a Power Mac or Mac Pro provides. So it’s looking like most people don’t care about stuff like that. But who can blame them? With mid 90’s portables you’d be lucky to plug in a mouse. But now with high-speed external connections like FireWire and USB 2.0, as well as all the fun stuff being on the internet instead of in peripherals, you can do anything on a portable that you can on a desktop.

There used to be a consumer market for CPU upgrades, and other PCI slot upgrades for Macs. There is none anymore for two reasons. For one, everyone has portables or iMacs which don’t have slots for upgrades. And too, the FireWire and USB ports on those machines can handle much of what used to be resigned to expansion cards. You can get audio interfaces, video encoders, endless hard drives, almost anything, that plugs into a FireWire or USB port now. These things used to force you to crack open the tower, dust it off, plug in a card, and configure it to work.

So Apple has, I think, come to a realization about its Desktops long before other PC manufacturers. The iMac is really successful but when you think about it, it’s just a portable computer without a battery and with a bigger screen and integrated power supply. Since the Intel switchover, the iMacs and MacBook Pro’s have had roughly equivalent specs. You save money and get a bigger screen and hard drive with an iMac, but you can’t take it with you.

They introduced the Mac mini for PC-people with all sorts of peripherals who just want a Mac. (truth be told, Mac mini’s sell verrrrrry poorly. especially since they never get updated)

And the Mac Pro is still the high end. But it’s no longer the flagship mac. I think that title now belongs to the iMac.

So I think it makes no sense for you and Peg to have a Mac Pro. 4 or 8 cores at 3Ghz sounds awesome but it still doesn’t future-proof you. The machine is built for expandability now, not longevity. Computers have become such commodity items that once the three-year AppleCare runs out, you might as well just donate it and get a new one. And that’s easier to stomach with a $1300 iMac (or even $2k plus on a complete setup) than a $2,600 (and more with everything else) Mac Pro.

My distillation is:

20″ iMac:
All-in-one with a big screen and a keyboard you can spill on and replace for $30. Can’t move it around, but it’s really fast/good for a good price.

17″ MacBook Pro:
All-in-one with similar screen, but in a big portable you can easily move around the property (and let’s face it, easy to take traveling). Similar specifications and speed to iMac but more expensive. I’d suggest putting up on a stand with external keyboard and mouse. That keeps it out of harm’s way and puts the screen at a more ergonomic angle. *I personally think this is your best option. *

Griffin Elevator

RainDesign M-Stand

13″ MacBook + external display:
Lesser specs than the others (mostly you lose on hard drive space and graphics card, also less memory and CPU speed) but with an external display, you could have just as big a screen when you’re at your desk, and you can still take a small computer with you for less money than a MacBook Pro.

As far as updates later this year, I think the iMac is set for a while (at least 9-12 months, and even then the first change will probably be minor since the last update was so big). The MacBook Pro’s are probably set until at least MacWorld in January, and their design has updated so slowly since the Aluminum PowerBooks (probably because they’re so nice and Apple can’t think what else to do).

We might see a MacBook update in October just before the xmas buying season. The Mac Pro’s are actually over-due for an update since they are nearly the same models that shipped in August 2006, but nothing in an update will change the situation I described above. One aspect of the switch to Intel processors is that technological updates are easier to predict since Intel publishes a roadmap of its future plans. In contrast with IBM and Motorola, Apple was the only major customer and they kept major updates to themselves.

If you wait until maybe late September or October (I’d bet on Sept 25, the last Tuesday in the month), you might get a coupon for a free Leopard upgrade. If you wait until late October or November you might get Leopard pre-installed. I have no info but based on past experience I’d bet on Leopard going on-sale the last Friday of October, which is the 26th. Any Mac sold after 6PM that day will probably have Leopard. Any sold within a month prior will probably have a “free” upgrade. (which means $10-$20 in shipping and handling). Any Mac you buy today will not come with Leopard and you’ll have to pay the full price for the upgrade, which is $129. On the other hand you do get iLIfe ‘08 for free on any Mac even today.

Let me know what you think. I sympathize with your techno-lust but I want to help you direct it correctly. A Mac Pro doesn’t make sense. really think a solution involving a portable (MacBook or MacBook Pro) is best so that you can wander around and type on battery power, and then come back to a desk with a big screen for editing and etc. Synchronizing data between a desktop and a portable can become quite a hassle, I’ve found.

–Paul

This is regarding Apple Computers.
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