Comment by droithomme | Hacker News Reader

Comment by droithomme | Hacker News Reader

This is big news because it means the machine will be nearly 4 years between updates. The current machine, its huge physical size, yet its weak configuration, and its absurd pricing, are insulting to professional users.

Apple is either clueless or is having serious problems maintaining competent hardware engineers despite them being the second wealthiest corporation in human history and sitting on a massive war chest. Instead of hiring the talent they need, obscene bonuses are delivered to executives since Jobs died.

The question is, why are they having trouble finding designers? I have heard various accounts from people, as well as rumors, that their pay is below industry standards. Also, certain jobs are not stable with Apple hiring people for consultant like specialized positions at employee wages, tying them to insidious contracts, and then dismissing them when their niche skills are no longer needed. It is also reported to be an abusive place to work where employees are belittled and insulted and their contributions not acknowledged.

Actually, it hasn't been four years between updates: http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#Mac_Pro

The Mac Pro had updates in 2008, 2009, 2010, and yesterday. They may not be the type of pie-in-the-sky updates you might want, but that's another discussion.

Mid 2010 to the announced next update in late 2013 is 3 and a half years:

mid 2010 - mid 2011 : 1 year

mid 2011 - mid 2012 : 1 year

mid 2012 - mid 2013 : 1 year

mid 2013 - late 2013 : 1/2 year

Hence, my statement "it will be nearly 4 years".

You still missed yesterday's bump. It'll be less than a year.

Not an update, it's a change in default configuration. They reduced the price of one model, slightly increased hard drive. Same chips, same motherboards, same everything. Even Apple has retracted the "new" tag.

For a company supposedly kicking their professional customers in the face again, and again, and then again just now, they really aren't doing too badly. My personal theory is simply that they just don't make all that much money from them...

Perhaps they don't want to just rehash the same old tower form factor.

Apple being as wealthy as it is implies, to the contrary, that it is not clueless.

Your statement sounds sensible, yet I can't seem to reconcile it with the fact that Justin Beiber is one of the wealthiest musicians of his time.

Even if Justin Beiber himself is clueless (and I don't think he is), the people around him are experts at creating a product that appeal to their target demographic. The most successful stars that, to you, seem to create shitty music are those that actually have the most clever people handling them.

I would classify his handlers as manipulative, not clever. I would classify Justin himself as clueless, largely due to his apparent immaturity that he constantly exhibits, but I'm sure he'll be pretty sharp when he grows up. We were all young and clueless at one time.

As for my previous statement, it was mostly a joke.

And this is why my statement was "either clueless or is having serious problems maintaining competent hardware engineers", and then proceeded to talk seriously only about the latter case.

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