Posts Tagged ‘Apple’

Microsoft sets sights on Apple’s long lead

April 2nd, 2012

Like the American writer Mark Twain, Microsoft can once again say that the rumours of its death have been exaggerated.

Silicon Valley industry watchers trialling a prototype version of Windows 8, Microsoft’s new operating system, are giving it the thumbs down.

There are dire predictions that when Windows 8 becomes available this year, the once-mighty Microsoft will crash and burn in the era of smartphones and tablet computers such as the Apple iPad. In trying to produce software that can run equally well on desktop personal computers, tablets and smartphones, the company may have fallen between three stools.

Even those research firms that acknowledge Windows 8 to be a creditable upgrade to Windows 7 and Windows NT believe that Microsoft has some tough challenges ahead.

The international research firm Forrester is “bullish” about Windows 8. But, according to Sarah Rotman Epps, an analyst for Forrester: “Since the iPad launched, the market has shifted in several ways that should raise alarms for Microsoft’s product strategists.”

She describes Microsoft as “a fifth mover” in tablet computing, coming not only after the iPad tablet but also after Android tablets such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab, HP’s now defunct webOS tablet and BlackBerry’s PlayBook.

“Apple, Samsung and others have already launched second-generation products and will likely be into their third generation by the time Windows 8 launches,” the Forrester analyst JP Gownder wrote in a blog post.

The danger for Microsoft is that many of its former customers will have already migrated to and become used to rival companies’ products. For example, Apple’s QuickOffice, a new rival to Microsoft Office, which has been the workplace standard for many years, is now the fourth-highest grossing Apple application (app) across all categories. Other Apple business apps such as Salesforce Mobile for iPad are also spurring corporate adoption of the iPad.

Doom watchers point to this encroachment on Microsoft’s traditional dominance as irrefutable evidence of the software giant’s imminent demise. But Microsoft has been down this road before and has often excelled at playing catch-up.

“Windows has long been a fast follower par excellence. Apple launched the graphical user interface … for a mass market with the Mac, but Microsoft perfected it in Windows,” says Ms Rotman Epps.

Some industry watchers also believe that tablet computing does not yet present as great a threat to Microsoft’s core business as some Silicon Valley commentators believe.

“There are some real opportunities for Microsoft and its hardware partners later this year,” according to Richard Edwards, an analyst at the research company Ovum.”The vast majority of corporate users still don’t use a tablet computer like the iPad, and those that do are still left wanting more from their tablet when they are away from their desktop or laptop computer.”

He adds: “The PC still has a lot of mileage in the workplace and Ovum believes that Microsoft’s new upgrade to the Windows operating system reflects this.”

Other experts agreed that Microsoft should not be dismissed.

“With Windows 8, Microsoft is moving closer to Apple’s model, including launching its own App store,” said Tim Coulling, an analyst at the research firm Canalys.”With the market still in its infancy and vendors on Android struggling to take share from Apple, it is too early to write off Microsoft. For Windows 8, application availability and product pricing will be key.”

Microsoft is not only following in Apple’s footsteps by producing an operating system for tablet computers and a Windows Store for off-the-shelf apps, it is also trailblazing products that are still in the pipeline with the introduction of Windows 8 and its new screen interface Metro.

“In addition to being designed for tablets and smartphones, the new Windows interface – Metro – is also being developed for the new generation of system-on-a-chip devices,” says Mr Edwards. These include tablet computers with novel features such as fold-away keyboards and built-in Kinect motion sensors.”

But Microsoft has had difficulty in making any inroads into the smartphone market. With a mushrooming proportion of the world’s computer users relying on their smartphones, this is a market Microsoft cannot afford to ignore. But so far, the software maker’s smartphone success has been limited. Its previous attempt, Windows Phone 7, made little impact on the market leaders.

“Microsoft’s deals with Nokia and Samsung to manufacture Windows Phone handsets will increase visibility for the platform, but as of today, the phone is a lost opportunity to build consumer anticipation for Windows 8,” according to Ms Rotman Epps.

“Windows Phone is a great product, but too few people are buying it … It offers no launch pad for Windows 8.”

But Microsoft has always be a long-term strategist, ever since the young Bill Gates had the then-undisputed world computing leader IBM in his sights. According to Forrester’s research, manufacturers such as Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo and Samsung are already moving towards the adoption of Windows 8 to reinforce long-term partnerships with Microsoft to take on Apple.

Source:http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/industry-insights/technology/microsoft-sets-sights-on-apples-long-lead

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Tags: Apple Microsoft

Incremental Change Wins Apple Big Gains

March 30th, 2012

What’s the value of all the upgraded features in the third-generation iPad? $100. I’ll show my work later in this article, but it’s an important number. Apple is consistently criticized by pundits, bloggers, other firms, and market analysts for either innovating too much with initial releases (the MacBook Air, the iPhone, and the iPad, notably) or too little in subsequent product revisions. There’s a reason for that. I want to defend Apple’s incremental improvements as the basis of its success in the market, something its competitors seem baffled by, because they apparently don’t understand the difference between revenue and profit, and between delighting customers with products that can be used for several years and those that are obsolete before they’re even sold.

Apple isn’t selling the third-generation iPad to those who bought an iPad 2. Rather, Apple is targeting it at both new customers and owners of the first-generation iPad. That’s a key differentiation between Apple and most other hardware companies. Apple has managed to maintain high profit margins on all its products and couple that with recurring revenue from its application and media ecosystems on all those devices.

Apple makes its money over the long term not just by introducing disruption, which would mean flash-in-the-pan products that spark and then fizzle, but by seeing disruption through into stable releases, each with significant improvements that appear to be incremental to a product’s design and capabilities.

In this article, I want to defend the value of incremental improvements as key to Apple’s success, and as one of the key reasons that even its most capable competitors seem unable to duplicate more than a fraction of what Apple does.

The Low Margin/High Margin Battle — Firms like Dell, Lenovo, Motorola (now a part of Google), Nokia, and Samsung, to name just a few, typically make very little money on each device sold, whether a desktop, laptop, smartphone, or tablet. This low-margin approach requires that they restrict expensive innovation on the devices that make up the bulk of their sales, or they might end up losing money on each unit sold. Because these firms have locked themselves into a race to produce the cheapest product (whether sold directly or via a cell carrier), their products are rarely future-proofed with sufficient RAM, storage, processor speed, graphical processing, and displays. You can of course find exceptions — and they cost more than the majority of the products that these companies sell.

(Research in Motion was, for a long time, an outlier. It could charge carriers a premium, as BlackBerry phones brought in high-spending corporate customers. RIM also sells business applications and receives some portion of service fees for handling messaging and other features. Its failure wasn’t in a revenue model as such, but in understanding the sea change wrought by the iPhone. It hasn’t been able to keep up in hardware and operating system design.)

These low-margin companies either need to develop a constant interest among new audiences for their products (which means high marketing and customer acquisition expenses) or convince existing buyers to upgrade frequently. Because their products tend to under-deliver as operating system upgrades appear, or, as in the case of many Android smartphones and tablets, lack the specs to accept the upgrades, performance or upgrade gap is supposed to propel irritated users to purchase the latest and greatest, even if it has been only a year or so since they bought the previous latest and greatest. Without those regular upgrades, these companies can’t make their razor-thin profit margins work.

Put bluntly, Apple will sell you a mobile phone model today that’s more than two years old (the iPhone 3GS) and capable of running its latest operating system, while Google allows its ostensibly independent handset-making partners to release spanking new Android models today that run two- and even three-year-old versions of the operating system. (It’s not all about currency, but newer operating systems tend to be more refined, have more useful features, sport fewer bugs, and are better optimized, especially for multi-core CPUs in newer devices.)

Because Apple stays generally near the top of the hardware feature curve, front-loads future headroom for upgrades, and charges more for its goods, it doesn’t need to cause existing users to lust after each model upgrade. The company certainly doesn’t stint on marketing and hyperbole, but it never, ever tells existing customers that the hardware they own is now so much old trash. (Although, that’s sometimes implicit in requirements for new services — the Mac OS X and iOS requirements for iCloud still rankle.)

Regular Buyers Aren’t Fanboys — This is where most of the non-Apple punditry gets it wrong, labeling all Apple product buyers “fanboys” and talking about how the legions of Mac zealots tromp out to buy the latest iteration of whatever Apple releases. It is, in fact, exactly the opposite, excluding a very small core of early adopters and enthusiasts. (That group must be well under a fraction of a percent of Apple’s current buying population. It’s simply not large, and never was.)

Most Apple users expect that they will be able to use a newly purchased Mac for at least three to five years (see “Apple’s Planned Obsolescence Schedule,” 2 November 2011). AppleCare extends the warranty on computers for three years for a reason: that’s the longest Apple expects to turn a profit by promising to fix service defects and unexpected wear and tear on products. But that three-year assumption also reflects Apple’s view of its customers’ typical ownership lifecycle. (We know that many TidBITS readers have machines that are far older than five years, and still perfectly useful to them, too.) Mobile devices like the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch are both cheaper and suffer the indignities of portable use, so AppleCare lasts only two years there. Plus, a two-year and every-other-model upgrade cycle fits well with the standard two-year cell phone contract, but even more so than computers, iOS devices tend to become technology hand-me-downs.

This has been by and large true for me, despite my occupation and my predilection for the new and shiny. I tend to own desktop Macs for five years and laptops, which get harder wear, for four. I expect to keep my current MacBook Air for three or four years. I use a shorter cycle for iOS devices, partly because I need to own the latest model to write about new hardware features (especially networking capabilities). But even so, I kept the original iPhone for two years until the 3GS came out; I went to a 4 as a business necessity (yeah, right), and then a 4S for the same reason (uh huh). (My wife got my 3GS and then 4. My dad used my original iPhone sans cell service as an iPod touch for some years, another we donated to charity, and the remaining 3GS our kids use around the house, again without cell service.)

This loyalty is hard for people who don’t own recent Apple products to understand. It’s just not that Apple’s designs are cool, and slick, and seamless, and oh-so-fashionable. That is often the case, but it’s not the point. Rather, the reason for staying with Apple gear is that the company’s integrated manufacturing, upgrade cycle, and warranty philosophy is structured around long-term ownership by both the original purchaser and that person’s extended network.

Low Margins Require Faster Upgrades — Those competing with Apple have to advertise every new device and computer as being substantially different enough to justify a quicker upgrade cycle. If Apple makes $400 from a low-end MacBook Air that might be in use for five years, and Dell makes $50 (after paying Microsoft for Windows) for a low-end laptop, how quickly does Dell need to sell that person another device? During those five years, Apple might get $29 two or three times for updates to Mac OS X; Dell gets nothing from any Windows upgrades. Apple may also now reap additional dollars from Mac App Store purchases, too. Dell? Nothing.

The Android ecosystem has the same trouble as desktop and laptop computers. Google gives away the operating system, so no phone maker can earn anything from upgrades. Plus, several major phone makers now must pay Microsoft about $15 per phone for patent licenses. The handset manufacturers have to convince carriers to buy the phones, and outside of the flagship models, like Verizon’s Droids from Motorola and certain high-end Samsung models, carriers reportedly negotiate extremely low prices.

Handset makers are still shipping versions of Android that are as much as 3 years old, and six months after the launch of Android 4, it’s in less than 2 percent of currently active devices. (That will change rapidly later this year.) That’s partly because carriers’ cheapness and manufacturers’ low margins force a very large percentage of Android phones to have insufficient CPU power and/or RAM to handle the latest updates. Google sells apps to end-users in the newly christened Google Play (née Android Marketplace), but sales are relatively low compared to the iOS App Store, and Google splits its share among carriers and handset makers, spreading the already low revenue even more thinly.

There’s also a tension between phone makers and cellular carriers, who don’t want customers to update very often. Carriers have to buy phones from handset makers and recover the difference between their cost and what the user pays over the life of the contract. Carriers make their money in recurring fees, and want upgrades just often enough to keep customers happy. If you keep a phone past the two-year contract, the carrier still charges you the same rate, thus collecting $10 or $20 per month in pure gravy (not to mention the gold-plated profit of text-messaging plans, which cost nearly nothing in per-message expense). That said, carriers don’t want to prevent you from getting a new phone, even though that hurts their profits, because of the risk that you might jump ship to another carrier and a snazzier subsidized handset. (This situation is different in countries in which it’s easy to buy an unsubsidized phone; there the carrier just wants your recurring fees; it doesn’t care when you upgrade.)

Looking through Blurry Specs — This battle over pushing for upgrades more frequently also leads to some computer and smartphone makers awkwardly larding their hardware with features that aren’t ready for prime time or that are overhyped. For instance, smartphones with 4G LTE radios were available a year ago but were roundly panned in the marketplace because of their short battery life. Several smartphone makers offer screens much larger than the iPhone’s, but a bigger screen means a bigger, heavier battery or a shorter, more frustrating battery life. Selling items on specs, like the latest craze of quad-core CPUs in new tablets, is a sure sign that the device’s user experience won’t stand out on its own.

Because the iPhone is such a plain phone in some ways, and because Apple hasn’t competed purely on technical specs with it, competitors seem determined to use hardware specs as a way to stand out. This approach doesn’t seem to work, based on sales, even when many Android smartphones are free with a two-year contract. Apple released the original EDGE-only iPhone when 3G phones were on the market, included a low-resolution camera when higher-resolution ones were available, and avoided adding 4G LTE to the iPhone 4S despite competing 4G LTE phones.

The key exception appears to be, of course, the iPad. At first glance, its first through third-generation models violate a number of rules: it’s cheaper than many competing tablets, it’s ahead on many features (like the Retina display), and it’s not sold under subsidy by carriers, forcing customers to bear the full cost of purchase. (Some competing tablets are sold only with two-year contracts for data service.)

Despite these facts, the iPad still fits into Apple’s incremental product advance approach. You remember I said I’d explain why the third-generation iPad features that differentiate it from the iPad 2 — the Retina display, 4G LTE, improved camera, and voice dictation — cost $100. How do I know this? Because Apple discounted the iPad 2 by exactly $100 compared to the new 16 GB iPad. (All credit goes to Adam Engst for this insight.)

That means that Apple values all the new features at $100, since they didn’t raise the third-generation iPad’s price relative to the iPad 2. Somehow, in the space of a year, Apple managed to use its vaunted sourcing, one of the keys of its success since Tim Cook joined the company more than a decade ago, to purchase a display with four times the number of pixels that still apparently nets it more or less the same as what it made a year ago with a less-dense screen. (This also means that the iPad 2 likely costs Apple at least $70 less now than it did at its year-ago introduction, if we assume Apple is still making money on each sale.)

The “modest” or “incremental” improvements in the third-generation iPad aren’t intended to persuade owners of iPad 2 models to upgrade. Nearly every one of the early reviews of the latest iPad mentions that fact. Everyone loves the Retina display and talks about how marvelous it is. But the reviewers note that the display and the potential for faster networking in parts of the United States don’t provide enough of an advantage to run out and replace an iPad 2. (And we certainly agree.)

But the third-generation iPad has established the new baseline. The Retina display’s resolution is higher than any tablet on the market. The LTE support is as good as any tablet’s. The battery life is phenomenal because Apple was able to engineer enough additional space without increasing the weight proportionately to power the bigger, brighter screen while maintaining the same 9–10 hour battery life. That’s all before we get to the virtues of iOS 5 and available apps.

Thanks to its sourcing prowess, Apple was able to keep the iPad’s price points the same and still make a whopping profit because of the higher margins on 32 GB and 64 GB units. (Memory is cheap.) This fits the Apple pattern. The improvements are incremental, but in this case, keep the product at the front of the market, with the exception of the cameras. The iPad 2, still for sale, will likely be upgradable through iOS 7 two years hence. But those waiting to buy an iPad or looking to upgrade a poky first-generation iPad that can’t even run iPhoto are now primed to see the advances as significant enough to push them over the edge.

Little by Little, Apple Products Just Get Better — The advantage of incrementalism seems clear if you can make products that are outstanding enough to cut through the clutter of the marketplace. Rather than focusing at any point in the last decade on a cheap item that could outsell PC and then handset competitors, Apple has largely focused on releasing hardware that costs more in order to buy more of the future for its purchasers. The iPad is unusual in that it marks the first time that Apple can be both ridiculously ahead on price relative to features and have such an extreme lead over competitors that it can maintain its position while making only incremental improvements.

I can’t say whether any competitor could have done the same without the kind of design eye that guided Apple, a combination of Steve Jobs, Jonathan Ive, and untold others. But it’s clear that no other firms have learned a thing from a decade of competition in which Apple has made hundreds of billions while introducing truly new products only occasionally and updating them regularly.

Source:http://tidbits.com/article/12856

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Tags: Apple computer Hardware

Apple Mac versus Windows PC

March 21st, 2012

Apple’s recent successes have been hard to miss. From a company on the brink of bankruptcy a little over a decade ago, Apple has grown to become the most successful technology companies in the world. In fact, at the time of writing, Apple is the most valuable company in the world, full stop.

While a big part of this triumph can be attributed to newer product lines, such as the iPhone and iPad, Apple also makes the Mac – a range of desktop and laptop computers that has been around since before even Windows. In fact Mac computers have a near-30-year heritage, though they’ve been largely eclipsed by their younger siblings.

But like their smaller stablemates, Mac computers have plenty to recommend them. They’re easy to use and offer something genuinely different to Windows, with all the tools required to be productive and have a lot of fun. Their looks also exude Apple’s eye for good design.

In this article we’ll compare the different types of Mac and also explain what to look out for when buying one. We’ll also explain the implications for running a Mac alongside Windows, or even making the switch completely.

Mac vs PC
There are plenty of differences between PCs and Apple Mac computers but the operating system is the main one. Put simply, most commercial PCs rely on Microsoft Windows while Apple Macs run Mac OS – the latest version of which is called OS X.

Unlike Microsoft, Apple does not license Mac OS X for use on non-Apple computers. So if someone wants to use Mac OS X, they have to buy a Mac from Apple. If you want to use Windows, you can buy a computer from more or less anyone.

Clearly, buying a Mac means placing a lot of trust in Apple – so what can a Mac do that a PC can’t (or indeed, vice versa)?

In many respects the differences are only skin-deep. Windows and Mac OS might appear to have contrasting presentation styles but on closer inspection, the graphical effects and controls are similar: applications can be launched from a ‘docking’ bar at the bottom, appear in movable, resizable windows and multiple program windows can be open at any time.

Indeed, the likenesses have only increased over the years, with both Microsoft and Apple to some extent aping each other’s ideas – a point we’ll explore in more depth soon.

The hardware also has many similarities, internally at least. Up until 2006, Macs used so-called ‘PowerPC’ processors, which set them apart from PCs – most of which did (and still do) rely on Intel chips.

However, for a variety of financial and strategic reasons Apple switched to the use of Intel hardware. This made it easier for software companies to produce versions of their products for Mac OS, resulting in many more attractive releases – everything from office suites to games.

Wave goodbye to Windows?
You might think that opting for a Mac will restrict the sharing of files and information only to other Mac users – but this isn’t the case. For starters, common applications, such as Microsoft Office, are available on Mac: documents from the equivalent PC version of the program can be as easily opened on the Mac edition.
The same is true of photos, music, videos or just about any other type of content.

However, in terms of choice, it is fair to say that Mac OS doesn’t have quite the same breadth as Windows: the big names are all there but if there’s a lesser-known Windows tool or utility that you just love, then there’s no guarantee it will exist for Mac OS (though an equivalent might).

This is a situation that may change in time, not least because Apple recently introduced its App Store concept to Mac OS: the one-stop-shop software store idea that has worked so well on iPhones and iPads is now available in Mac OS X, so users of Mac computers can enjoy the same purchase and installation simplicity.

Even so, for died-in-the-wool Windows users there will always be times when the need to use Microsoft’s operating system arises.

There are a few options here. The aforementioned move to Intel processors saw Apple add a piece of software called Boot Camp to Mac OS. This allows Windows to be installed on a Mac computer: then, the user can decide whether to launch Windows or Mac OS after powering up.

Alternatively – or as well – virtualisation software can be installed to run Windows ‘inside’ Mac OS: this basically means using a program like Parallels Desktop (£64.99), to create a virtual PC that runs in a Mac OS program window. In all cases, a copy of Windows is also required.
The nitty-gritty

However, while it’s possible to run Windows on a Mac – or to run Windows within a Mac OS program window – to do so constantly would rather defeat the object of considering an alternative to a Windows PC. So what’s it like using a Mac instead of a Windows PC, when it comes to the mundane?

While things might look different between Mac OS X and Windows, there are lots of similarities – particularly when compared to Windows 7. Windows users may be used to clicking Start to find and launch programs and it’s possible to do much the same in Mac OS, using the Apple menu at the top of the Desktop area.

However, Apple pushes users instead to the ‘Dock’ – a customisable strip of program icons that runs along the bottom of the screen; this idea has been more or less mirrored in Windows 7, with users now able to ‘pin’ items to the Taskbar. So if you’re familiar with the Windows 7 Taskbar, you already know how to use the Mac OS X Dock.

Finder is the first icon on the Dock. This tool works much like Windows Explorer on a PC: it is used for exploring the folders and files stored on the Mac. It also displays discs, such as CDs and DVDs, and attached devices such as cameras, USB keys and external hard disks. So if you’re familiar with Windows Explorer, you’ll feel at home in Finder.

However, there are also a few differences, some of which can easily confuse hardened Windows users. Mac OS applications generally don’t display a menu bar above the program window, for example – which has become the norm in Windows.
Admittedly there’s a trend among software companies – Microsoft included – to hide or even remove said menu bars from Windows’ applications (we said that the two companies are forever aping each other’s ideas). Instead, Mac OS programs display a menu bar at the top of the screen.

Another difference that can confuse Windows users is the apparent lack of a right-click button on Apple mice. This isn’t an accident – Apple’s design ethos is driven by the mantra of simplification, so fewer buttons are considered better – but many a seasoned PC user would cite the Mac’s lack of a second mouse button as an impediment, as Windows offers handy options with a right-click. In fact, right-clicking is possible with a Mac, even without a right mouse button.

Apple has published a useful video that explains this and some of the other fundamental differences between a PC and a Mac.

Apple Mac hardware
We’ve discussed a fair bit about the graphical and operational differences of Mac OS – but what’s the Apple hardware like? We could be facetious and say ‘expensive’ but actually, such accusations don’t stand much scrutiny. That’s to say that while it is true that Macs aren’t ‘cheap’, their particular hardware specifications and make-up put them firmly at the quality end of the computing market.

There are four models for home users to think about: the Macbook Air, Macbook Pro, the Mac Mini and the iMac. The first two are laptops, while the Mac Mini and iMac are desktops. There’s also a Mac Pro range, but these are aimed in the main at graphics professionals – so needn’t concern average shoppers.

Macbook Air
The Macbook Air is a laptop that majors on portability. It is slim, measuring just 1.7cm at its thickest point (and just 3mm at its thinnest, though strategic curvature of the casing plays a role here) and even the heaviest model – with a 13in display – weights just 1.35kg).

It may help to consider the Air as a kind of cross between laptop, netbook and tablet computers. To wit, it combines the processing power of a good Windows laptop with the minimal dimensions of a netbook, while throwing in features more usually associated with tablet computers like Apple’s own iPad: the Air’s large touchpad recognises a variety of touch gestures, just like an iPhone or iPad.

And, as noted earlier, the latest version of Mac OS X has added the App Store into the mix, providing a simplified experience when buying and installing applications.
The Air also forgoes conventional (mechanical) hard disk technology in favour of a solid-state drive (SSD). Consequently, the Air is ready for use very quickly after powering up – and application launch times are also fast. It can also turn on instantly from standby.

However, there are downsides to the Air’s slimline design. It lacks a built-in Ethernet network connector, for example – so internet activities rely on Wifi (unless you’re prepared to bung Apple £25 to buy an Ethernet adapter). There is also a shortage of USB ports (just two) and forget watching DVDs on the move – the Air doesn’t have an optical drive.

The SSD drives also offer poorer value in terms of storage per pound spent: the cheapest Macbook Air (an 11in model costing £849) has a 64GB SSD drive, which compares badly with similarly priced PC laptops with traditional hard disks.

Macbook Pro
Starting at £999 for the 13in model, the Macbook Pro is the Air’s burlier cousin. It has standard hard disk (though SSDs are an optional – and very expensive – extra) and more connections, as well as a built-in optical drive for using CDs and DVDs.

The Macbook Pro pricing structure is slightly more expensive than that of the Air, but Pro models are substantially more powerful, with superior processors (the cheapest model comes with a 2.4GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 is the starting point, compared to the basic Air’s 1.6GHz), more storage (500GB versus 64GB) and better graphics performance – particularly in the 3D department (so suitable for playing the latest games).

Mac Mini and iMac
The Mac Mini is the cheapest Mac – prices start at £529 for a model with a 2.3GHz processor and 500GB hard disk. However, the main reason for the lower price is that nothing else is supplied: there’s no keyboard, mouse or monitor in the box – just the Mac Mini computer.

This is ideal for people who already have these extras lying around at home and are thinking of making the switch to Mac – just plug in the keyboard, mouse and monitor that you have been using with your old PC and you can enter the world of Mac OS.
The Mac Mini is small. It measures just 19.7cm square and 3.6cm tall. Like the Macbook Air, it lacks a disc drive but otherwise it’s as well appointed – or even more so – as many a workaday Windows PC: there are four USB ports, an Ethernet socket, HDMI, Firewire and Thunderbolt connections and even an SD memory card slot. In short, the Mini is the Mac for the masses.
The final Apple desktop likely to appear on the average buyer’s radar is the iMac. Unlike the Mac Mini, the iMac is a complete package – computer, monitor and wireless keyboard and mouse. In fact, the whole computer is integrated inside the monitor, making it visually striking. It has the same line-up of ports and connections as the Mac Mini. Prices for the iMac start at £999 and it is available with either a 21.5in or 27in display.

Making the switch
Apple Mac computers are both easy to use and fun to work with – and with a range of models to match almost anything available in the world of Windows PC.
Prices are outwardly higher that equivalent PC hardware but, as mentioned, Apple has shown no interest in playing at the bargain end of the market. The company ethos focuses on quality and good design and – as far as the current Mac range is concerned – it is hard to find shortcomings on either point.

Making the switch from Windows PC to Mac won’t be for everyone – and isn’t trouble-free. For example, the Mac OS software market remains small compared to that of Windows; and your existing Windows applications won’t work on Mac OS (although it is possible to run Windows on a Mac in a couple of different ways, as discussed earlier in the article).

Apple Macs are capable, attractive computers that can handle anything Windows can do – and more besides. It’s a slightly different way of computing but one that’s intuitive enough for you to become familiar with quickly. That is if you can afford the initial outlay.

Mac OS Security
There’s a silly, but persistent, myth that it is impossible for Apple Mac computers to be infected with viruses. However, this simply isn’t true.

The reality is that the Mac OS platform has traditionally had a much smaller number of users than Windows and, as such, has largely avoided the sights of virus-writing ne’er-do-wells intent on wreaking havoc: they’ve traditionally aimed at the far-larger target that is the Windows world.

However, while there are certainly more viruses targeting Windows computers, an unprotected Mac is really no more immune to infection than a PC without reliable anti-virus software.

Many of the best-known anti-virus software companies – including Kaspersky, Avast, Sophos and Symantec (Norton) – now produce tools for Mac OS . We’d recommend the Home Edition of Sophos Anti-virus for Mac.

Apple Mac Peripherals
The plethora of peripherals available for PCs dwarfs the number specifically designed for Apple Mac computers (many of which are anyway made by Apple, and carry premium price tags to match).

However, many PC add-ons will work just fine when attached to a Mac. For example, the latest version of Mac OS has hundreds of printer drivers built in, with popular printers from all the major manufacturers supported – so in many cases a printer can just be attached via USB and used right away.

The same is true for mice and keyboards. However, if attaching a PC keyboard to a Mac it is worth noting that there are key and layout differences. Mac computers have no need for the Windows key, for instance, but do make use of a Command (or Apple) key – which doesn’t exist on PC keyboards.

However, this problem can be dealt with using keyboard-remapping software (there are plenty of paid and free tools available from the App Store and elsewhere). Most external hard disks will also work with Macs, although a drive may need to be formatted (wiped and prepared) if it has been used with a Windows PC.
But really, the best advice is to check before buying – manufacturers should know and say whether a particular device is Mac-compatible.

Source:http://www.computeractive.co.uk/ca/pc-help/2142463/apple-mac-versus-windows-pc

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Tags: Apple Windows

New iPad is the ‘epitome’ of what a tablet should be

March 20th, 2012

Two years ago, Apple side-swiped the computer industry by releasing the first iPad. Though dismissed by some critics at the time as an overgrown iPhone, the iPad has proved to be just as disruptive to the PC industry as the iPhone was to mobile. And 55 million tablet sales later — including an incredible 15.4 million last quarter alone — there’s a new king of the tablet hill: the latest iPad.

Unveiled by Apple CEO Tim Cook and other company execs on March 7, the new iPad arrived this past Friday to long lines and sold-out preorders, its popularity surprising almost no one. As was the case last year, the new iPad was available in a variety of retail locations besides Apple stores, including Best Buy, Target, Radio Shack, AT&T, Verizon, and assorted resellers. (Some Wal-Mart stores began selling the tablet just after midnight, eight hours before Apple’s own retail stores opened.)

I preordered my iPad — the 64GB model with Wi-Fi and 4G — for home delivery. As fun as chatting up other Apple fans is, the convenience of not leaving the house beat standing in line. I still got to talk with an Apple fan, though: the FedEx person who delivered my iPad. He immediately struck up a conversation, volunteering the fact that he’d been (enviously) delivering new iPads all day and was excited he was soon to get his own after missing the prelaunch window. (Just a few days after orders began, Apple ran out of stock; current delivery times are two to three weeks.)

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I was struck again about how software encased in a bit of aluminum and glass can engender so much excitement, prompting perfect strangers to chat for hours on end while braving long waits to get the latest Apple hardware. Owners post unboxing photos online, on Facebook and in tweets; videos pop up in forums and on personal sites; and every mainstream media outlet from USA Today to the local neighborhood blogger feels the need to weigh in.

Clearly, the iPad has gone mainstream. But does it live up to this year’s heightened expectations?

The basics

At first glance, the new iPad is virtually indistinguishable from the iPad 2; if you loved/hated the design before, you’re going to love/hate this one just as much.

I’ve always been a fan of the aluminum-and-glass look, so I don’t mind that it’s unchanged. The new iPad, still encased in a 9.5-in.-x-7.3-in. aluminum frame, is just slightly thicker than the previous model. The oil-resistant oleophobic 9.7-in. glass display again comes bordered in either white or black, a minimalist design that’s still as sharp-looking and luxurious in quality and feel as ever. My first choice is always black.

While even the most experienced iPad 2 users would be hard-pressed to distinguish between the new iPad and an iPad 2 on looks alone, the same cannot be said regarding the weight. At 1.46 lbs. for the LTE version — 1.44 lbs. for the Wi-Fi-only models — the new iPad is a couple of ounces heavier than its predecessor; iPad 2 users will notice a difference, though it’s not enough to be off-putting. (For those who are still using the first iPad, this one weighs just slightly less than that model. So if you’re upgrading from version 1 to the new iPad, you should notice this one’s slightly lighter.)

Still, wrist fatigue could be an issue with extended use.

It’s unusual for Apple to take a step back from it’s lighter/thinner/smaller mantra; heavier is the wrong direction for technology, especially one as personal as a handheld tablet. But, and I’ll get to this in a minute, the improvements to the iPad overshadow the uptick in weight.

As before, the iPad comes in 16GB, 32GB or 64GB models and at the same price points: $499, $599 and $699, respectively. Opting for 4G/LTE adds another $130. My advice for buyers remains the same as last year when it comes to storage: While Apple services like iTunes Match and iCloud may offset the need for a lot of on-board storage, it’s always better to have too much than too little. (I would buy a 256GB model in an instant if Apple offered one.) Whether you want LTE depends on how often you need online access away from Wi-Fi networks — and how much you want to spend on data plans each month.

That screen

Unboxing the iPad is a familiar experience: Nothing has changed since last year. Inside the box is the iPad, a wall charger, the USB connection cable and a printed welcome packet that includes a SIM card ejection tool on the 4G models.

You immediately notice the difference when you turn on the iPad. From the startup Apple logo to the Setup Assistant, colors are more vibrant and graphics noticeably sharper. Having used the iPad 2 for a year now — and even though I knew the screen was improved — I was still confounded by how noticeably different the new 2048-x-1536-pixel backlit IPS LED screen is.

Apple calls it a Retina display, which is basically a marketing term for “Damn, that screen is amazing.” (Apple offers an even sharper, but smaller, Retina display on the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S.) The new iPad condenses four times the number of pixels into the same 9.7-in. screen as the iPad 2. The new display also offers 44% better color saturation, according to Apple, and that shows when you play high-def video. Put another way, the 3.1 million pixels packed into the new iPad’s display is a million pixels more than your 1080p HDTV has.

Numbers don’t impress me, but the results do: The display is gorgeous, with on-screen elements looking like backlit photos rather than objects on a computer screen. High-megapixel photos and 1080p videos look fantastic, even film-like, but you’ll notice the difference the most with text: Websites like the New York Times no longer require zooming in to read on-screen text; comic book apps can display entire pages full-screen without the requisite zoom and pans; text-heavy apps like iBooks and Kindle now look like backlit magazine pages.

While watching me compare the iPad 2 and the new iPad, a friend said seeing the Retina display was like “putting on prescription glasses for the first time.” It really is just like that.

To power all 3.1 million pixels, the new iPad offers beefed-up specs: It has 1GB of RAM (double the last model’s 512MB) and, not surprisingly, better graphics from Apple’s A5X chipset.

If you’re like me, specs matter less than the user experience, which is where Apple’s new iPad excels: Despite the massively higher resolution and graphics demands of the Retina display, the new iPad remains as responsive as ever. Games play without hiccups, application load times haven’t increased at all, and scrolling remains as smooth as before.

Most remarkable? There’s no appreciable decline in battery life. Apple predicts nine hours on battery over LTE, and 10 hours for most scenarios. My own (unofficial) tests clock the new iPad’s battery life at a little less than the iPad 2, but that model didn’t have LTE or a Retina display.

Apple pulled off this minor miracle by bumping the battery to 42.5 watt-hours, up from the iPad 2’s 25 watt-hours. What I like most is that Apple didn’t just dump a slightly bigger battery in the new iPad and call it a day. The iPad’s uptime (and standby time) is part of its appeal, and it’s clear that Apple engineers went out of their way to make sure battery life remained consistent with expectations. Besides weight, what’s the other caveat to the 70% increase in watt-hours? The new iPad seems to need more time to reach a full charge.

In short, if Apple took a needed half-step back in terms of weight, charge time and size, it took a full step forward by delivering extremely advanced technology in this iPad without sacrificing battery life.

Setup

If you’re moving from an older iPad, setup has never been easier. After turning on the new iPad, one of the first prompts is for an iCloud username and password. By entering this information, all of my apps, their placement on the Home screen, my iTunes purchases, Mail configuration, contacts, calendars, bookmarks, photos in Camera Roll app and iOS settings all downloaded to my iPad wirelessly. (Before starting this process, you’ll want to make sure to back up your old iPad using Settings> iCloud> Storage and Backup> Backup Now. That way, your cloud backup will be up to date.)

While iCloud imported my previous settings, I completed the process by tapping my way to Settings to enter more passwords for Home Sharing and iTunes Match, FaceTime, iMessages and email.

The out-of-the-box experience couldn’t be simpler. With Photo Stream and iTunes Match on the iPad, you now have quick access to your most recent 1,000 photos and 25,000 songs. In concert with iCloud, getting up and running is embarrassingly easy.

Though the iPad has come a long way in severing the cord when it comes to transferring content from iTunes to the iPad, many users may still want to sync their content using the USB cable. If so, plug in your iPad and use iTunes to select exactly what you want to transfer over. You can also choose to wirelessly sync content after the initial setup; just select the “Sync over WiFi” option in the main iTunes info tab.

A better camera

The new iPad gets a needed upgrade to the rear-facing camera system and the software that powers it. (The front-facing camera — largely designed for FaceTime calls — retains its mediocre VGA quality.)

The new 5-megapixel camera includes an f/2.4 aperture, a five-element lens system and an infrared filter; the results are photos that make the iPad 2 blush. There’s still no built-in flash, but noise in low-light situations is noticeably reduced and the rear camera now yields images similar to the iPhone 4. That’s not surprising, since the iPad now uses the same image sensor.

The video camera resolution has been raised to 1080p, and the built-in stabilization helps a lot when shooting high-definition video. Even better, the Camera app has been optimized a bit more for the iPad. The record button has been moved to the right on the lock screen, making it easier to initiate recording and photo-taking; the button is now located where your right thumb naturally falls when holding the tablet. If you prefer a manual trigger, you can use the iPad’s volume-up button instead.

What has not improved, however, is the inherent awkwardness of shooting videos and photos on a device with the iPad’s form factor. While the software tweaks go a long way to improving the results, you certainly won’t be choosing the iPad over an iPhone or dedicated camera for photos. Given the maxim that the most important camera is the one you have with you, at least you know that if you need a quick shot, the new iPad can deliver.

Connectivity: Welcome 4G/LTE

All new iPads support Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n) access and, for the first time, Bluetooth 4.0, which is important because of its high energy efficiency.

The connectivity focus has been on the arrival of 4G/LTE, which delivers fast wireless transfers over cellular networks. 4G is at the opposite end of the efficiency scale from Bluetooth 4.0, however, and is one of the reasons the new iPad has a bigger battery.

But 4G isn’t free. For $129 more, the iPad WiFi + 4G models offer support for Verizon or AT&T’s LTE networks in the U.S. When connected to an LTE network — Verizon and AT&T are still rolling them out across the country — data throughput increases dramatically, literally quadrupling download and upload speeds. LTE has a theoretical peak of 100Mbps, although, of course, speeds will vary by location.

LTE is not available in most areas, so you should check to see if you have 4G in your area before deciding which iPad to get. If 4G isn’t available, the iPad reverts to the more common 3G network. In some areas, like where I live just outside of downtown Orlando, true 4G access isn’t available; instead, we get something of a hybrid — HSPA+. It’s faster than 3G, and AT&T calls it “4G.” But it’s nowhere near as fast as LTE.

Not sure whether to go with AT&T or Verizon? At the moment, Verizon’s LTE network reach far exceeds AT&T’s, though AT&T is rushing to catch up.

It’s also worth noting that Verizon allows the iPad to be used as a personal hotspot at no extra charge with a data plan; AT&T does not. But there’s a tradeoff: Verizon iPads are not as well-supported internationally, so if you travel abroad often, you should probably consider the AT&T version.

Two other points to note: While all models feature a digital compass, only the Wi-Fi + 4G iPads have an assisted GPS. (The Wi-Fi-only models rely on wireless networks to triangulate their location, which isn’t as precise as having a GPS.) And while Apple did not build Siri, its voice-activated personal assistant, into the new iPad, it added a dictation function: You talk to the iPad as if you were talking to Siri, and your words generate text for emails, iMessages, and so forth. It works quite well.

Conclusions

Before pronouncing judgment on the new iPad, I should explain my experience with the two previous models: They have both been the most reliable computers I’ve owned. In two years, I haven’t run into any issues that a reboot didn’t immediately remedy, and even saying that unnecessarily blemishes the iPad’s reliability.

To be frank: I believe that the iPad is exactly what the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs wanted all those years ago when he “borrowed” Jef Raskin’s vision for the Macintosh. Chris Espinosa — head of publications for the Mac team at the time — described an Apple computer like this: “When you show a Mac to an absolute novice, he assumes that’s the way all computers work. That’s our highest achievement. We’ve made almost every computer that’s ever been made look completely absurd.”

With the third-generation iPad, the crew at Apple has again crafted something beautiful, functional, reliable and intuitive — what I consider the Holy Grail of computing. The new hardware is dramatically improved, but what’s really grand is being able to use the apps I already love on the best display I’ve ever seen. The biggest drawback of the Retina display is that I’m now painfully aware of how lacking my MacBook Pro is.

The iPad’s success isn’t just about sleek hardware. When the computer in front of you is nothing more than a display in your hand, the overall experience hinges on software. The iPad effectively becomes whatever app you’re running. That’s why the number and sophistication of the apps available for it clearly make the iPad the winner, bar none, of the tablet wars. Nothing personal against Android or Windows tablets, but the software and ecosystems just aren’t as mature. And with its Retina display technology, Apple puts even more distance between itself and would-be rivals.

If you have the first-generation iPad and want to upgrade to the new one, my advice is simple: Go for it. If you already have an iPad 2, the answer is a little less clear: Are the new features worth the cost of upgrading to you? Do you mind the extra weight? For me, the new iPad is a better version of something I already use every day; upgrading was a no-brainer on the strength of the Retina display alone. Everything else — the improved cameras, LTE, 1080p support for videos — is just bonus.

If you’re intrigued by tablets but haven’t yet made a purchase, the iPad is still your best bet, with the most third-party peripheral support, by far. With its rich and diverse ecosystem of apps, media and accessories — all tied together with other Apple hardware through iCloud — you can’t go wrong.

After the loss of Steve Jobs in October, there was concern that Apple would lose its way. With the arrival of the latest iPad, the current Apple team has continued Jobs’ legacy of creating intuitive machines that people rightfully line up for. Of course, Jobs no doubt had a big hand in making this iPad what it is. We’ll know more about how Apple advances his legacy with the next iPad.

In the meantime, the new iPad remains the epitome of what a tablet computer should be.

Apple’s new iPad features a Retina display, LTE connectivity, and more — but is it advanced enough to stay ahead of rivals?

Source:http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/418942/new_ipad_epitome_what_tablet_should/?fp=4&fpid=18

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Tags: Apple iPad

Dell sees room to challenge Apple in tablets

March 19th, 2012

A growing dissatisfaction among office workers with the clunky computers their employers force them to use, in contrast to the sleek Apple devices many have at home, could yet benefit incumbent suppliers like Dell, a top Dell executive said.

As Apple’s third-generation iPad went on sale on Friday, accompanied by the now traditional scenes of fans queuing round the block, Dell’s chief commercial officer Steve Felice said the tablet market was still wide open.

Dell ditched its previous attempt at cracking the global tablet market, the Streak, last year. It was based on Google’s

Android operating system software. Now Dell is planning a fresh assault with the advent of Microsoft’s new Windows 8 operating platform, which is expected later this year and will have a touch interface that works across desktop computers, tablets and smartphones.

“We’re very encouraged by the touch capability we are seeing in the beta versions of Windows 8,” Felice told Reuters in an interview in London, adding that Dell may also make Android tablets again.

“We have a roadmap for tablets that we haven’t announced yet. You’ll see some announcements.. for the back half of the year,” he said. “We don’t think that this market is closed off in any way.”

Lenovo, Hewlett-Packard and possibly Nokia are also planning Windows 8 tablets. Felice said that Dell’s relationships with its thousands of business customers gave it an advantage over Apple, whose gadgets can cause headaches for IT departments because they operate on different systems.

As iPads and iPhones have become popular from the boardroom down, corporate technology chiefs have been increasingly forced to accept the fact that employees will use their own devices.

“On the commercial side there are a lot of concerns about security, interoperability, systems and device management, and I think Dell is in the best position to meet those,” Felice said.

He added that iPads also left much to be desired in terms of processing power and ease of typing. “When people put their computer to the side and take their iPad with them to travel, you see a lot of compromises being made.”

Dell has also just launched a so-called ultrabook, a high-end notebook that is light and thin but still at least as powerful as a regular laptop. The XPS 13 costs about $995.

“The demand has been excellent since we launched this product just a week ago,” Felice said. “It is a fantastic product and shows our commitment to the PC space. We like the PC space. We are extremely committed to it.”

Dell, the world’s third-biggest computer maker after HP and Lenovo, has also been expanding its services offering to reduce its dependence on sales of computers, where margins are being squeezed and growth is slowing.

Taking Mac and iPad sales together, Apple sold more computers last year than any of the top PC makers.

Asked whether he envied Apple’s ability to produce such coveted objects, Felice said: “We come at the market in a different way … We are predominantly a company that has a great eye on the commercial customer who also wants to be a consumer.”

“In the areas where we come at the market, we think we are a coveted brand.”

Source:http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-03-16/news/31201737_1_android-tablets-steve-felice-dell-executive

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Tags: Apple Dell

Apple’s new iPad goes on sale in Australia

March 16th, 2012

Apple Inc’s new iPad went on sale in Australia early on Friday, greeted by throngs of fans hungry to get hold of the US consumer giant’s latest, 4G-ready tablet computer.

While numbers were down on launches of earlier iPads, the still-solid turnout reflects demand for Apple products, even though analysts say the new version is a collection of incremental improvements rather than a major technological innovation.

The initial rush for the first iPad 3s sold globally was not at one of Apple’s gleaming glass and polished wooden stores in Sydney but across the road at Australian phone company Telstra. Telstra opened two stores just after midnight local time to begin selling the iPad, stealing an eight hour march on Apple.

David Tarasenko, a 34-year-old construction manager, who was the first to pick up the iPad, said he couldn’t wait ever since Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook revealed the third iteration of the tablet.

“When Tim Cook announced it, it sounded like such a magical tool. I just got hyped into it, I guess,” he said.

The third-generation iPad from Apple — which sports a high-definition “retina” display and comes with a better camera — starts at $499. It is capable of operating on high-speed 4G “LTE,” or Long-Term Evolution network, although it is not compatible with Telstra’s 4G network in Australia.

“The (lack of 4G access) is not a game-breaker. They’ve upgraded the 3G technology, which I’ve tried and it’s pretty snappy,” said Cameron Ing, a data storage administrator.

The iPad 3 is going on sale on Friday in 10 countries, including the United States, Canada, Singapore, France and United Kingdom.

Among those in the queue outside Sydney’s flagship Apple Store was Stephen Parkes, who was paid A$950 ($990) to wait in line for four days by the founder of an odd jobs website.

“I get a high waiting in the line and picking up one of the first products being retailed,” said Ryan Han, a student at the University of New South Wales, who had also queued for hours.

“I did that for iPad 1, 2 and will do it for 4 as well,” said Han, who was hoping to buy two iPads, for himself and a friend.

Such is the demand for new Apple products that middlemen often pay “mules” to buy the latest versions and transport them to markets scheduled for later releases.

A middle-aged Asian man outside the Apple store, flanked by two blue suitcases, said he was hoping to buy several new iPads, ideally more than 10. He declined to reveal his name, nationality or who he was buying the tablets for.

Apple’s market capitalization now exceeds $500 billion and Wall Street thinks it can expand further should fan-demand persist.

Early signs hint at a strong 2012 for the device, which competes with Samsung Electronic’s Galaxy, among others. Despite soggy weather, small crowds had already gathered outside the downtown San Francisco Apple store ahead of the launch in the United States.

Apple began accepting orders for the device on March 7, but wait times for shipping the device are now two to three weeks in the United States.

Wall Street expects a strong start for the iPad 3, and some analysts even expect sales of the current model to overtake the iPad 2. Apple will continue to sell the iPad 2 but dropped its price by $100 to start at $399.

Apple may sell 65.6 million iPads, estimated Canaccord Genuity analysts who also raised their target price on Apple stock to $710 from $665.

So far, the company has sold 55 million iPads since it launched the device in 2010.

Tablet sales are expected to increase to 326 million buy 2015 with Apple largely dominating the market, according to research firm Gartner.

Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/news/hardware/Apples-new-iPad-goes-on-sale-in-Australia/articleshow/12279245.cms

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Apple’s Mac Pro Users Want Hardware Upgrade

March 15th, 2012

Ardent users are clamoring for quick upgrades to Apple’s Mac Pro, while an unstable hardware timetable for the high-end desktop has raised concerns about the company’s commitment to professional users.

The Mac Pro was last upgraded in July 2010, when Apple announced models with up to 12 processing cores based on Intel’s Xeon server chips. Mac Pro users now want the models upgraded to Intel’s recently announced Xeon E5-2600 chips to keep up with the increased horsepower required for tasks like video editing.

Apple’s popularity has surged in the last few years with iconic consumer products like the iPad and iPhone and shipments of Mac computers are also growing. But Mac Pro desktops, which are largely aimed at creative professionals, are quickly becoming obsolete. Some users have moved over to iMacs with the latest Intel Core processors, which in some cases outperforms Mac Pros.

As Apple gravitates to the consumer market, the lack of a Mac Pro upgrade has also raised questions about the company’s hardware and software commitment to professional users. Apple killed the Xserve server in late 2010 because the product sold in low quantities. Mac Pros ultimately took on the additional responsibility of being servers.

But users hope the top-end Mac Pro desktops live on and get at least one more upgrade to Intel’s latest Xeon E5-2600 chips, which have up to eight processor cores and PCI-Express 3.0 support. A dual-socket Mac Pro based on the new chips with 16 processors could potentially outperform iMacs and store more data.

Apple has not announced plans for a new Mac Pro. The company does not comment on future products, a company spokeswoman said.

Apple still has a big audience of creative professionals waiting for a Mac Pro upgrade, said Gary Huff, founder of Rusty Auto Productions in Austin, Texas.

But with the iOS infrastructure taking preference and Mac Pro perhaps a smaller portion of overall product sales, Huff wondered whether Apple’s once proud legacy of serving creative professionals is as necessary today to the company’s bottom line.

“One of the questions is do they care about the professional market,” Huff said. “Personally I hope to refresh the Mac Pro. I want to buy one.”

Mac Pros are widely used for multimedia creation and editing with software tools from Apple, Adobe Systems and Avid. The hardware flexibility provided by Mac Pro is valued by users, who can get more storage and swap hardware and internal components such as graphics cards.

Users also want the Mac Pro to be upgraded for the Thunderbolt connector technology, which will provide expansion capabilities for peripherals such as external storage devices and monitors. Thunderbolt is already available in Mac desktops and laptops and supports the DisplayPort protocol for displays and PCI-Express 2.0 for peripherals such as external hard drives.

The Mac Pro will remain an important product in Apple’s high-end computing lineup, said Peter M. Fine, who runs the consulting firm FinePeter Consulting in New York. He recommends Mac Pros to clients who need high-end machines or require PCI-Express slots or the SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) bus to connect components inside a computer.

“I think it is essential that Apple adds any new chip architecture to the Mac Pro in order to keep it in the upper echelon,” Fine said, adding that Thunderbolt is needed on all Mac hardware.

But until the upgrade comes, he is recommending high-end iMac models with quad-core processors to replace some Mac Pro towers for his clients. The iMac supports up to 16GB of RAM and comes with 21.5- and 27-inch Apple displays. The overall package is less costly than a Mac Pro for Fine’s clients, who are in desktop publishing, marketing communications or computer graphics, and do not need expansion cards or multiple internal hard drives.

“With the corresponding reduction in RAM cost, the Mac Pro has truly moved to niche market use,” said Fine, who is also a cofounder of the Metropolitan New York Macintosh Alliance (MetroMac).

Beyond hardware, Apple customers also had a rough time converting to the latest Final Cut Pro X video-editing software that was released in June last year, said Rusty Auto Productions’ Huff. Compared to the predecessor, the latest version was not directed toward “uber professionals” who would invest in the Mac Pro, Huff said. The software is getting better, but users who work with a lot of multimedia under deadline pressure may instead want to upgrade from Mac Pro to faster Windows workstations with Adobe or Avid tools, he said.

Apple’s lax approach to the Mac Pro has opened an avenue for PC makers like Dell and Hewlett-Packard to compete in the workstation market, said Alex Herrera, a senior analyst at Jon Peddie Research (JPR).

Taking advantage of the Mac Pro uncertainty, Dell earlier this month sponsored a discussion on how to switch from Final Cut Pro on a Mac to Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 on a Windows workstation. Final Cut Pro is Mac-only, while Avid and Adobe tools work on Windows and Mac OS, providing users more flexibility to use either platform.

Apple bristles at the notion of comparing Mac Pros to generic workstations and doesn’t provide shipment numbers for the product, Herrera said. JPR this week issued workstation shipment numbers for last year’s fourth quarter, but did not include Apple’s numbers. Herrera estimated that Mac Pro shipments are likely in the ballpark of workstations shipped by HP, which had a 41.3 percent market share in the fourth quarter, and Dell, which held a 33.4 percent share.

But users agreed that Mac Pro should be kept alive, especially with a large number of creative professionals and facilities relying on Apple hardware to support video, animation and music composition applications.

Apple should not cordon off its high-end offerings at the iMac and will need powerful Mac Pro computers to support the growing cloud infrastructure being built around the iPhone and iPad, said Craig Seeman, owner of Third Planet Video, a company in Brooklyn, New York, that focuses on video production and live streaming.

The machine will be useful in the creation and rendering of graphics to mobile devices, Seeman said. Apple also tends to push forward on thinner and sleeker hardware designs, and the company could be looking to overhaul the Mac Pro, Seeman said.

“If they wanted to kill it, they would’ve pulled the plug already,” Seeman said. “I can’t think of Apple dropping the ecosystem even though it may not be the most profitable.”

Source:http://www.pcworld.com/article/251854/apples_mac_pro_users_want_hardware_upgrade.html