The New Hotness and The Old Lameness

I have two points to make and then I'm out.

First: I have a deep and unbridled lust for the new MacBook Pro with Retina Display. I reserve final judgement for after I've actually held one in the flesh, but I think they look pretty great and I might end up getting one to replace my beloved but aging 17" behemoth.

The real shocker to me, though, is if you configure the standard, non-retina display MacBook Pro with a fast 512GB SSD drive it comes out to be $300 more than than its comparably equipped Retina Display toting sibling. Max the RAM out on the Retina Display MacBook Pro and it's still $100 cheaper! It's a no brainer: the Retina Display MacBook Pro is the one to get if you can afford to get something with fast, decent-sized storage.

Point the second: The paltry, pathetic, pointless Mac Pro update is your queue to exit the building if you're a real pro user whose needs entail high-end hardware. I'm sorry, but does anyone really expect anyone to buy this latest round of Mac Pros? Especially now, with Apple claiming they're going to announce some vague new hardware product aimed at professionals? (I can pretty much guarantee this will not be an actual Mac Pro, but something much more disappointing.) In 2013?

Frankly, this sounds exactly like the Final Cut Pro fiasco from last year: over-promise some hot new product for pros, then deliver something they not only dislike but really just can't use. Three years is too long to wait for a proper hardware upgrade, and with professional Apple products dropping like flies, it's clearer than ever: despite their claims, Apple truly no longer cares about the existing professional market. They may be interested in creating a new sort of professional market — one that appeals to new users and up-and-coming pro and prosumer types — but Apple couldn't give two shits about legacy pros.

Pros, I really believe it's time for you to abandon the Apple ship, because Apple has made it abundantly clear through their actions (though not through their words, I must say) that they have abandoned you. (For the record, I don't really consider myself a Pro user anymore. Though I am a sysadmin, my computing hardware needs are quite modest these days.)

That's it. That's all I've really got to say.