please give me a machine i can use Mr Jobs.

Im a 3d sketchup and 3dMax user.
I dont want 40 kgs of designer heaven on my table.
I love the OS…I hate your range of products.

You are preaching to the choir here.

Will Apple listen? WIth them, you never know.

Peace,
Gene

If Mac offered a mid-range tower I would be first in line. Like many others, the MacPro is more machine than I need, the Mini isn’t enough, and I really don’t need another 20″ screen (iMac) on my already crowded desktop to go with the perfectly good LCD monitor I already have. I think Apple is making a mistake by ceding the “mid-range” market to Windows/PC. There are a lot of people like me who would love to have the reliability and simplicity of the Mac OS in a mid-range form factor and who don’t have the technical skills to build a “Hackintosh.” Never mind the possible legality of installing the Mac OS on such a machine. So how about it, Apple? Goldilocks is still looking for the one that’s just right!

I am a PC user, and have been wanting to buy a Mac for over a year now. The Mac Pro costs more than I am willing to spend on a computer. I do not need or want another display like the one built into the iMac. I would buy Mid-Range Mac like this, and it would be a new sale to Apple.

I am looking for someone to help me trouble shoot a web 2.0 application with MS system requirements on MAC. We do video communication & video/media storage with this application. I have customers that want our application but it is not compatible with MAC. It is my understanding that apps such a offered by Parallels will allow both OSs to be running at the sametime. This may help? Also a compatible web cam. I am not on a MAC. Below is the web address es to see our application. I can forward a free trial for you to trouble shoot with. Compensation negotiable but faster yes pays better! Bradley Glaves

http://www.helloworld.com/planbpartners & http://www.vmdirect.com/planbpartners

VIRTUAL ADMIN CENTER
Admin Home | VM Studio | VM Learning Center | VM Prospect Manager | Contact Manager | VM Video Mail

——————————————————————————–

Operating System Requirements:
· Microsoft Windows 2000
· Microsoft Windows XP Home/Pro SP2

Hardware System Requirements:
· PC with 700 P3 – AMD megahertz or higher processor clock speed
· 256 megabytes (MB) of RAM or higher
· 1280 X 1024 or higher-resolution video adapter and monitor

Internet Connection System Requirements:
· High-speed broadband connection

Web browser requirements:
· Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or later. Click Here for the latest upgrades !

Windows Media Player requirements:
· Microsoft Windows Media Player 9.0 or later
(This version of the player is installed by default on all supported OSes)

Web browser security settings:
· You need to set your security settings to default (medium).
· If custom security settings are used, you need to make sure the following are
prompted or enabled:
Signed ActiveX Controls and Script AcitveX Controls marked safe for scripting.

Video capture devices:
· You need at least 1 recording video device (DirectX device) installed and
available on the system for normal operation.
· We STRONGLY RECOMMEND that you check the webcam manufacturers web site
and download the latest available drivers for the device.

Audio capture devices:
· You need at least 1 recording audio device (Wave-In device) installed and available on the system for normal operation.
· Make sure you have a sound card installed in the computer and that you have the proper audio recording device selected.

System updates:
· We require the installation of ALL service packs and critical updates for your computer from the Microsoft Windows Update Web site, as well as any non-critical updates related to the Microsoft .NET Framework, Windows Media Player and DirectX.
Click here for Windows Updates!
· We also require the latest version of the Macromedia Flash browser plugin.
Click here to download the latest version !

Java Runtime (Version 5.0 Update 6) Download Now

.Net Framework (Version 1.0 and 1.1 Update) Download 1.0 Download 1.1 Download 2.0

I was discussing this matter with a colleague at work only a few days before I came across this article that outlines nearly everything we had identified as desirable in a similar product. As an enthusiast photographer running programs such as Photoshop, Lightroom etc, I would go for this headless iMac (vote for: miniPro) in a heartbeat, especially if it had eSATA too. Can I add a suggestion, include and upgrade option for a quad core processor too. A little bit more processing power adds a little more useable life to my Macs.

I am working fulltime and running a small business with my wife. I made the decision to acquire a MacBook Pro to get the features that we needed. The Mini Tower is badly needed for Mac Business users and for gamers. I am sitting next to a Dell here at work in an engineering group. Probably 95% of the employees in my firm have either a mini tower or 5% laptops at my full-time job. That is something that someone at Apple should understand if their marketing team are on top of their business. Rather than ME TOO, there is a real hole in the Apple product line and it is the Mini Tower with some expansion capability, and lower cost growth for business and home users without going to the Mac Pro. Unfortunately being an engineer requires logical rather than emotional thought. That changes though when I see shiny new tech items like this. If Apple goes for it, we’ll eat beans and rice for a month to pay for one.

Okay, the new Mac Pro comes with iLife and Bluetooth (my mistake — my first-generation Pro came with neither). As for things like Airport and Front Row, sure I know you can retrofit a Pro with this stuff. The point I was trying to make is that Apple didn’t include them in the base unit, as it does with the iMac, because it is envisioning a different kind of purchaser for the Pro, who has other fish to fry and isn’t necessarily interested in using his computer as an entertainment center. In other words, not what Apple likes to think of as your average consumer.

The MacPro doesn’t ship with Air Port and Bluetooth, doesn’t handle Front Row, and doesn’t come bundled with iLife.

Dana, I enjoy and respect your comments on these posts but 60 seconds of web research shows (for maybe the first time) some woeful factual errors:
For the record, I own a Mac Pro and it came with iLife (still does – check the Apple store online).
It can and does “handle” Front Row which ships as part of Leopard (Cmd-esc invokes it). You may recall that when he introduced Leopard Steve Jobs made a point of announcing “Front Row for everyone”. What it doesn’t have is an IR remote, but there is one available from Keyspan for about $30.00.
Airport is a $50 option, although slowing down your network access with inherently less secure connection technology seems a dubious prospect to me. After all, WiFi is originally meant for portability. Trust me, there ain’t nothing portable about this sucker! I know not everyone has their computer where there modem is but it’s not hard to run ethernet cabling and most ISP’s will install your connection to the room of your choice. For the target market this is not usually a needed feature.
Bluetooth was an option on last year’s model (mine) but the current specs http://www.apple.com/macpro/specs.html clearly list is as built in for the current model.

Having said all that, I have been saying for years that Apple needed a mid range tower or “headless” iMac. I had high hopes for the Mac Mini, but that machine was a let-down for me. This is a gap in the product line that needs to be filled.

Cheers!

I find it infuriating that Apple doesn’t offer an upgradable/configurable budget Mac. Many Windows users have mentioned to me that if only Apple made such a machine, they would be willing to switch.

Apple could really boost their market-share if they sold such a machine.

I want a miniProâ„¢ and have wanted one for some time. I have been holding off replacing my dual G4, mainly because I’ve been waiting for Adobe to release an Intel-native version of Director. But that release is imminent, and I need to make a decision. Actually, there is no decision to be made other than when to give up on waiting for Apple to release what I need. I have a perfectly good 24″ monitor, so no iMac for me. I don’t really need 8 or even 4 CPUs, nor do I need expansion beyond an additional hard drive or 2. But I can’t get such a configuration. So my only choice if I want a Mac is a MacPro. It looks like Apple has me right where they want me — I will eventually spend the extra $$ and buy a MacPro. For a customer like me, I guess it’s in Apple’s best interest to ignore what I want and make more money by selling me what they want.

A great idea, which probably has no real chance of coming to pass. There are so many people saying the same thing that Apple surely knows how we feel.

I hate the screens on the new iMacs, and they always seem to run hotter than I like. I really hate the notion that if I have hard drive problems, I have to carry the huge fragile thing, screen and all, to an Apple store, with all my data sitting on the hard drive, and leaving it there. When I had a problem with my old G5, putting in a new drive and re-cloning was a matter of an hour, at home.

Even if I wanted a 40 pound block of aluminum for a computer, I’ve seen so many reports of sleep or graphics issues with the new Mac Pro’s I’d be reluctant to get one at the moment.

I’d buy Mac mid-towers by the dozen for the office. I won’t buy anything with an integrated screen, and the Mac Pro is way too expensive to justify (not to mention too large for the cubicle hardware). Right now I’m buying Minis, but they’re under-performing, mostly due to the slow hard drive.

I agree completely. Give us a “midrange” Mac, either in a traditional flat desktop or minitower configuration (shoot, Mr. Jobs, how about a cube?) with built-in video for those who don’t need the best, two expansion slots (for those who want better video, etc.), and three drive bays – hard drive, optical drive, and a bay that can support either. Sell it cheap with a Combo drive, 1 GB of RAM, and a 160 GB hard drive for maybe $799 at 2.0 GHz. Sell a $999 version with a SuperDrive, 2 GB of RAM, and a 250 GB hard drive at 2.2 GHz. Then add a power user model with a 2.4 GHz CPU, a 500 MB hard drive, and a dedicated video card for $1,199. And add lots of BTO options – 2.6 GHz, quad core, a second SuperDrive, several optional video cards, etc.

With 2 slots, 3 drive bays, and slower CPUs, this would hardly impact Mac Pro sales at all. It would, however, cannabilize Mac mini sales – and be worth a $200 premium. Best of all, by using standard hard drives, etc., Apple could make a better profit from this than from the mini.

YES! I completely agree. Users toting MacBooks or MacBook Pros are missing the point.

I want the 30″ Cinema Display, so that rules out everything except the MBP. But I want a blazingly fast machine, with tons of RAM (10 gig or so), and a giant fast hard drive.

What I don’t want/need/desire to pay for is room for 4 extra slots, 3 extra hard drives and a second optical drive bay. Those are great machines for graphics professionals, but totally out of place for what the advanced home user wants or needs.

I’d also love to see something amazingly small and cool, as nice as the MacPro’s are they are not meant to fit in with home decor. Something the height of a couple of mac minis, awesome graphics card and 6 or 8 RAM slots. Man I’d buy that in a heartbeat!

As it is I’ll probably hold off until Apple gives us new 30″ monitors, and hope against hope for a miracle and Apple providing us with a minitower at the same time.