back to article Still sniggering at that $999 monitor stand? Apple just got serious about the enterprise

Amid the hoo-ha surrounding Apple's WWDC announcements were some nuggets aimed at encouraging enterprises to get snuggly with the fruity firm's devices. Sure, every other hipster likes to carry a MacBook around (the other half can be found complaining about their Surfaces), but Apple has yet to make much of an impact in the …

  1. trevorde Silver badge

    Shiny, shiny

    Manager at the last company I worked at insisted on an ultra-thin, ultra-expensive, top of the line MacBook Pro. He carried/flaunted it around for a month before he realised he wasn't connected to the corporate VPN.

    1. Captain Scarlet Silver badge

      Re: Shiny, shiny

      Although I hate everything Apple, how does your Corporate VPN not have software for Apple (Or is it what we would do, say "It needs to be an approved corporate device with the corporate OS customised and secured image")?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Shiny, shiny

        Assumptions? It may be they do... just they never asked for it. Much better to let them keep up the charade then get involved!

      2. Ian Joyner Bronze badge

        Re: Shiny, shiny

        "Although I hate everything Apple"

        If you hate everything Apple, you must give away any device you have and not use technology at all. You are the beneficiary of many things that Apple has done that shape today's computing. You will continue to benefit from what was announced at WWDC in the future.

        1. Unicornpiss
          Alert

          Re: Shiny, shiny

          About the only thing I can think of that Apple actually invented from scratch that I use is CUPS on *NIX systems. Which works well and was light years beyond its predecessor. Many other things they really didn't innovate, but instead built on others' inventions or outright ripped off. (not that Microsoft or Android can't be said to have done the same) I am truly glad that Apple has survived and thrived and offers something different, even if it's usually not my thing.

          I suppose you could argue that Apple made the tablet and current format of the smartphone ubiquitous, but they were by no means the first to invent them. And they brought the personal .mp3 player to the masses, but again, weren't the first. But to be fair, I'm not a fanboi and I may be speaking with some ignorance, despite having been a technophile for decades.

          Homage should be paid to Apple, but perhaps more so to the likes of Xerox and Commodore, as well as Nokia, Palm, and Blackberry. (and Microsoft) And let's not forget IBM. (although on some level I think the world would be a better place if we were all using Amiga-format instead of PCs) And Microsoft's Kinect is also a real innovation. You could argue that MS's Active Directory is innovative, but you'd be forgetting Novell Netware in doing so. And the ARM processor has some spiritual heritage to MOStek as well as Digital's PDP series. And ARPANET deserves more than a little mention. I could think of probably 50 more without trying too hard.

          All of these shaped the face of modern computing, for better and worse. Unfortunately it might be said that aggressive and cutthroat marketing tactics and competition shaped what we're doing now as much as true innovation ever did, and the same could probably be said of life on this planet as we know it.

          1. Brian Scott

            Re: Shiny, shiny

            I thought Apple bought CUPS.

            1. Youngone Silver badge

              Re: Shiny, shiny

              Yup, Apple bought CUPS.

              1. Unicornpiss

                Re: Shiny, shiny

                My bad... I thought they developed it.

                1. Captain Scarlet Silver badge

                  Re: Shiny, shiny

                  Lets see, they developed being able to sell a phone for £1000

            2. MachDiamond Silver badge

              Re: Shiny, shiny

              Microsoft bought Kinect

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Shiny, shiny

            I use the Reg for my leisure and also professional grade IT news/info. I am glad to be just knowledgable enough to be able to discern between good info that I did not know about before and some bullshit from fanbois ‘n grrls & the like.

            Thank you sir for some nice info.

          3. ps2os2

            Re: Shiny, shiny

            I am an Apple user but by no means a fanboi. I have plenty of gripes about APPLES OS's, I won't list him here as it would be a bore, but some of my crucial points should be listed.

            Starting around OSX, I have had to do sometimes 4 or so updates a *WEEK*. None of the updates were especially troublesome I should add, but they were point release and to have that many in a week were a PITA. The last point upgrade caused me significant issues (Mojave), and I had to re-install the OS twice if memory serves me. Frankly, I was scared of the upgrade to Mojave that I decided to take my system to the APPLE STORE and let them do it. There were several screwups, and I lost data as a result. I still am suffering 6 months later.

            Apple used to be miles and miles ahead of MS, but they are falling behind as most (if not all) of the items they add are mostly worthless to me. Apple support seems uneven as they switch you around to different people; you get increasingly different answers to the problem. Once in a great, while you find a reasonably knowledgeable Apple support person, you spin the wheel on the quality of support.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: Shiny, shiny

              You lost data! Have you considered that the best thing to do might be to put the computer back in its box and send it back to Apple permanently as you sound a little bit thick to own a computer.

            2. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              time machine

              have you heard of it?

              I have had my ass pinched by Apple glitches more times than I care to admit, but Time Machine backups will almost always rescue things after the (crash) fact.

              I agree with most of your post. Apple has a long history of asking the corporate world to commit to tech that they abandon on a whim.

              Company dead since SJ died and they turned it over to that Compaquer.

              I bailed on iOS development back in 2013 when I realized they were going to make their developers do an eternal monkey dance to no good end. Web apps are the way forward.

              1. Anonymous Coward
                Anonymous Coward

                Re: time machine

                Downvoted for casual homophobia

          4. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge
            Joke

            Re: Shiny, shiny

            "About the only thing I can think of that Apple actually invented from scratch..."

            If I were in a psychiatrist's couch and was being asked to name something invented by Apple, the first thing that I would come to mind is "Rounded Corners"

          5. Ian Joyner Bronze badge

            Re: Shiny, shiny

            Unicornpiss "About the only thing I can think of that Apple actually invented from scratch that I use is CUPS on *NIX systems..."

            Very little has been invented by companies from scratch.

            "Many other things they really didn't innovate, but instead built on others' inventions or outright ripped off"

            Wrong actually. You are thinking of Xerox PARC. Yes they did interesting things. But at the same time (or later) than Jef Raskin (father of Macintosh) was also working in that space. Raskin primed Jobs to go and see what Xerox PARC were doing to get the point of what Raskin was also trying to do. Raskin did his Ph.D on Quickdraw in the 1960s. Xerox had told PARC they weren't interested, so PARC invited in IBM, Tektronix, and Apple to make a product out of what they had. Jobs was the only one of the four (including Xerox) that got it.

            Apple innovated and took the risks. The success of Mac was hardly assured and difficult. Like Xerox, IBM, and Tektronix, people (particularly computing people) would not get it.

            "And let's not forget IBM" what the PC – nothing that two kids in a garage couldn't invent and really IBM's strategy to put Apple out of business. The less said about that the better.

            "All of these shaped the face of modern computing, for better and worse."

            Yes, it is a wide mix. Apple's innovation was to take disparate technologies and put them together into something people would want to use. That should not be dismissed as you have done.

            "Unfortunately it might be said that aggressive and cutthroat marketing tactics" By whom? Are you suggesting Apple? No, Apple more than others has got products right – they spend years in development, the others months in ersatz copying. That is their marketing. Others aggressively market, particularly you're IBM. See Richard DeLamater's "Big Blue: IBM's Use and Abuse of Power".

            1. Unicornpiss
              Meh

              Re: Shiny, shiny

              <sigh> I am not dismissing Apple and their influence. But I dispute them being such a great innovator. Apple may have marketed the mouse-driven GUI, but Xerox invented it, along with Ethernet and many other things. You may note from my tirade that I don't really love IBM-format, but you can't deny that we're rather stuck with it and it has become the major standard.

              The point I was trying to make with "aggressive marketing" and competition was that most companies have indulged in this, including Apple, and for better or worse, that has shaped what we're using now as much as invention. There are few companies more sue-happy than Apple. Everyone should defend their IP, but a lot of the real innovators get crushed in these types of lawsuits, which are often just so companies can save on having to pay well-deserved licensing fees or stave off legitimate competition. (and I'm not singling out Apple here) Glad SCO got their asses handed to them in that regard.

              1. Bill Mercer

                Re: Shiny, shiny

                Ian's shown himself to be irrational with his claim that nobody who dislikes Apple is allowed to use any technology. You're wasting your time.

            2. swm

              Re: Shiny, shiny

              Apple was invited in to Xerox despite vehement objections of the PARC researchers. Alan Kay had the idea of a portable "notetaker" with a touch screen keyboard, bit mapped graphics etc. just about like a tablet 40 years later.

              There was so much good stuff at PARC that Xerox ignored.

              1. MachDiamond Silver badge

                Re: Shiny, shiny

                "There was so much good stuff at PARC that Xerox ignored."

                I believe that Steve Job's main talent was recognizing really useful new tech and potential products that would appeal the most. Cook doesn't seem to be all that good at it and Apple has lagged where it used to lead and just relies on one product line (iPhone) to carry it along.

          6. Aseries

            Re: Shiny, shiny

            The philosophy of product development profiting from earlier works of others is covered by two mottos:

            WE ALL STAND ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS. (Attributed to many.)

            GOOD ARTISTS BORROW, GREAT ARTISTS STEAL. Pablo Picasso

          7. Evil Auditor Silver badge

            Re: Shiny, shiny

            @Unicornpiss

            "...they really didn't innovate, but instead built on others' inventions..."

            That is pretty much the definition of innovation: improve an existing product, combine existing products in new ways. I didn't expect to find myself ever in the position of defending Apple. But even I have to admit that they had been a very innovative company. They didn't invent graphical user interfaces, touchy screens and, contrary to popular believe, not even squares with rounded corners, mp3 players or the lowercase letter i. Apple though took those things and a few and innovated them into a new and in many ways better experience than what the single inventions had been before.

            This is innovation. Or, in the case of Apple, was.

            1. Ian Joyner Bronze badge

              Re: Shiny, shiny

              Evil Auditor

              Great response.

              "They didn't invent graphical user interfaces"

              Actually, Jef Raskin at Apple was working on this the same time as PARC and before with his graphics work in 1960s. When invited in by PARC, he sent Jobs around to look.

        2. Bill Mercer

          Re: Shiny, shiny

          This comment is utter nonsense. Nobody's obligated to give away anything or stop using anything simply because they are unhappy with one specific vendor. The notion is ludicrous. Furthermore, the idea that Apple's impact on technology is so widespread that it's impossible to find any device or software they were not involved in is equally ludicrous. Frankly, this kind of over-the-top nonsensical response is feeding the stereotype of the Apple Fanboi. Apple's impact on computing is undisputable, but the Apple of today is completely divorced from the early tech innovator.

      3. steviebuk Silver badge

        Re: Shiny, shiny

        You can say "It needs this and that" all you want, but if they pay the wage and are high up enough you have to warn them of the risk in writing (to cover yourself) and then let them have it anyway. Then hand in your notice. Because if they aren't going to listen then no point being there.

        1. Cederic Silver badge

          Re: Shiny, shiny

          This is why I like working in regulated industries.

          "Sure, you can do that. Please sign this exception authorisation so the FCA can see the audit trail."

    2. MachDiamond Silver badge

      Re: Shiny, shiny

      "he wasn't connected to the corporate VPN."

      That was probably pretty good from a security standpoint.

  2. Captain Scarlet Silver badge
    Paris Hilton

    Corporates like idevices?

    I thought the handsets basically become useless if the currently assigned Apple ID user doesn't wipe the device which requires signing into their Apple ID (No good if a member of staff suddenly leaves and you get it sent in a hopefully padded envelope)?

    Although I admit, I stay the other side of the room when anyone comes near our department with a corporate assigned idevice.

    1. Dave 126 Silver badge

      Re: Corporates like idevices?

      The article is talking about new features that let employees use their own personal iPhones:

      "The key thing here is that the Managed Apple ID co-exists with the user's own personal Apple ID – the two don't interact, and the user can get to personal and work data without worrying that their own data might get wiped.

      Under the hood, an entirely separate APFS volume is created for managed accounts, apps and data on the iThing, cryptographically separated from the user's own business."

    2. kain preacher

      Re: Corporates like idevices?

      "I thought the handsets basically become useless if the currently assigned Apple ID user doesn't wipe the device which requires signing into their Apple ID " Nope you can have Apple ID active on multiple phones. Now you can remote wipe

      1. doublelayer Silver badge

        Re: Corporates like idevices?

        In addition, a corporate-provided device can be managed by the IT department, which has control over the device higher than the individual user. Because the user can't easily subvert these things, some IT departments prefer IOS to Android for corporate-supplied mobile devices. This becomes very different when BYOD is considered, but I shudder at the various implications of that, so I'm going to avoid considering it.

    3. NoneSuch Silver badge
      Coffee/keyboard

      Yuk

      "with some help from best buddy Microsoft, Apple has put forward its strongest case yet that its machines are no longer so special that administrators need recoil in horror at managing them."

      70% of our service tickets are for the 10% of the Macs marketing and sales insist on having. Their wireless tech is garbage, support is at best, hit or miss and spare parts cost a packet; if they even deign to sell you spares without you're delivering a broken part first, then forcing us to wait three weeks until they themselves can bring one in. The costs to buy and maintain are eye-watering.

      $6K for a new iMac you can build (identically spec'd) for $1,200 yourself? Keep it. They are not "special" in the slightest. They are the Jordache jeans of laptops; you're just paying a premium for the logo.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Yuk

        "$6K for a new iMac you can build (identically spec'd) for $1,200 yourself?"

        I thought this had been disproven? Most tech sources I read tend to believe that building like-for-like systems tend to be fairly similar in terms of outlay and, in many cases, more expensive.

        https://gizmodo.com/is-the-new-mac-pro-worth-the-apple-tax-1835216170

        "Consider [the $1200 CPU, four Thunderbolt 3 ports, 8 PCIe slots, 12 ECC RAM slots, quiet cooling etc], and what it would cost to build up a similar machine, and the Mac Pro starts to seem not just logical, but practically affordable. A device similar to the base model $6,000 version of the Mac Pro would cost over $9,000 from HP and close to $6,300 from Dell. And that doesn’t include the extra Thunderbolt 3 ports, or capability to support 1.5TB of RAM."

        Still - it'll be a long time until I have six grand burning a hole in my pocket...

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Yuk

          I think Apple do hit it right for their one specific SKU/use cases. For that they are reasonabl ebang per buck (and service on top).

          Difference is, in the past at least, other companies had cheaper SKUs or better specced ones (though more expensive). Such that, if your use case varied, or hardware was more complex (Windows XP system running a CNC machine :P) then yes, Apple starts to look expensive.

          A bit like RED cameras. For those who need them, the cost is cheap. For those who don't, they needn't even ask what it costs.

        2. John 104

          Re: Yuk

          What you are describing is an engineering workstation. Not a personal computer. Or, what single U servers might look like.

          Thunderbolt ports are super if you are using a Mac. Useless for anything else, so I don't see that as a compelling sales point. If you are moving large amounts of data over one of these ports you are doing it wrong. Otherwise, USB 3 is fine.

          1.5 TB of RAM. Yeah, sure. I have hypervisors that are running 512 GB of RAM and they have a ton of headroom. They could take the 1.5 (its the processor architecture, not Apple) but it is cheaper just to buy another server and have the extra CPU headroom.

          Just more idiot tax.

          1. MachDiamond Silver badge

            Re: Yuk

            "1.5 TB of RAM. Yeah, sure. I have hypervisors that are running 512 GB of RAM and they have a ton of headroom."

            If you are rendering 8k video for a feature film, things get different. Apple products get used quite frequently in that application and for visualizing large data sets at universities and even NASA. The application and available software drive the hardware. In this case, the availability of off the shelf, warrantied hardware may spawn some new applications. BYO is certainly a way to go, but it's not supported by one vendor as a system. That can be a problem for some.

        3. Ian Michael Gumby
          Boffin

          @AC Re: Yuk

          "$6K for a new iMac you can build (identically spec'd) for $1,200 yourself?"

          I thought this had been disproven? Most tech sources I read tend to believe that building like-for-like systems tend to be fairly similar in terms of outlay and, in many cases, more expensive.

          I would agree with you. The 6K vs 1.2K is a bit of an exaggeration.

          To your point... if you match the specs on the MB, Memory, CPU, PS Wattage... depending on vendor / quality, you can build a machine that would be cheaper than the Apple product. The difference is styling and branding.

          In general if you are going to build a custom rig that matches the Macs, you will end up spending more because you will tweak the system with different and potentially better material. Faster memory, more storage, adding NVMe... more efficient power supply, better cooling like using an AiO liquid cooling for the CPU. (Or if you want to go overboard, a customer liquid cooling loop for CPU, Mem, and Graphics card. )

          So you will end up spending more money.

          Note that you will differ on the Motherboard. You can buy Xeon boards that suport 1.5TB of RAM, not sure about Thunderbolt 3 ports, but it will not be an Apple board.

          I wouldn't go to DELL or HPE for this but would probably build it special using SuperMicro or a different supplier. And yes, you'll end up spending more than what you would for a Mac.

          1. Dave 126 Silver badge

            Re: @AC Yuk

            You're right, nobody in the market for this class of machine builds their own, but instead buys a certified workstation from Dell or HP or whoever. The hardware and driver configuration has been tested against the OS and specific application software.

        4. Jakester

          Re: Yuk

          I doubt I could type any faster on a $6,000 Mac than I can on my $580 HP laptop that I got on sale for $209 or the i3 desktop I built a few years ago, also about $200. The desktop is running Linux and the laptop is dual-boot Windows 10 and Linux.

          1. fidodogbreath

            Re: Yuk

            I doubt I could type any faster on a $6,000 Mac than I can on my $580 HP laptop

            In fairness, word processing is not the target application for this particular machine -- unless you're editing multiple 8K HDR video streams of someone typing.

        5. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Yuk

          I got my open-box iMac Pro on ebay for $3500 when it was still selling for $5400, could not be happier.

          One scratch on the (not $999) monitor stand, otherwise flawless. Maybe it was fenced?

          It's the best development hardware I've ever owned. Only a fool buys new Apple hardware at retail.

          MacOS - meh... but I can work around the limitations.

          1. MachDiamond Silver badge

            Re: Yuk

            "MacOS - meh... but I can work around the limitations."

            The Cheese Grater I'm on now is also running Win7 and Ubuntu at the same time as I'm using MacOS to play the part of a commentard. I got used to having all three OS's when I was working in aerospace. I prefer a Mac for day to day stuff but I needed Windows for CAD work and Linux for the flight software. I really couldn't fit 3 boxes in my cubicle with any room left and I'd be able to degauss a submarine with the amount of wiring that it would have needed.

        6. MachDiamond Silver badge

          Re: Yuk

          The price tag is eye watering but not necessarily too much. It comes down to how much time you can lop off of jobs you are doing. If you are just fiddling about on the internet and mis-typing stuff into spreadsheets, it's overkill. If you are editing video or rendering 3D graphics or creating ads in Adobe products, it could mean weeks of saved time over the course of a year. That could be very significant. It could also mean getting projects out of the door and billed on time when you stupidly let the client dictate a schedule you knew was too tight. The MacPro will be a top end machine even in it's most basic configuration. I would like to see them do another model with the specs of an iMac in the same package as the MacPro. I don't like having the monitor and computer gubbins all in the same box that isn't all that upgradable.

      2. Ian Joyner Bronze badge

        Re: Yuk

        "70% of our service tickets are for the 10% of the Macs marketing and sales insist on having"

        To make claims like this, you need to say where you work, what your mix is.

        My experience is the opposite. I'm much more often having to fix Windows computers for those in trouble. Windows seems made for support – that is users need to call in support people to fix their problems, whereas Macs just work.

        "you're just paying a premium for the logo"

        Rubbish.

        1. Kevin McMurtrie Silver badge

          Re: Yuk

          Apple devices aren't compatible with mega-corporation standards. These standards were written by lawyers and old IT contractors to block every theoretical mishap. It's a huge pile of monitoring software, periodic scans, remote control, and draconian user privileges. Microsoft takes some care to stay compatible with those standards but Apple will break them on every update. There are ways to Windows and Linux without administrative privileges but it's harder in MacOS.

          Mega-corporations probably aren't Apple's target but it's hard to serve only small businesses that aren't terrified of risks.

          And yes, the WiFi sucks on all Apple devices. They seem to be eternally stuck in low power mode because the latency jitters as packets go in and out of alignment with the DTIM interval.

        2. slartybartfast

          Re: Yuk

          I have coped well with searching the internet for problems I’ve had on the Mac without the need to call technical support. The Windows 10 laptop I’ve been using results in a mixed bag when looking for internet solutions. That being said I’ve never used Windows without being accompanied by a barrage of issues. Some solutions solvable but a few not so. Some ‘solutions’ require delving deep into the PC and deleting potentially vital files that might screw up the system - and those are simply guesses at fixing the problem. I’ve never had to re-install macOS but have re-installed Windows countless times when something has screwed up (and not always through me being a clueless idiot).

      3. fidodogbreath

        Re: Yuk

        $6K for a new iMac you can build (identically spec'd) for $1,200 yourself?

        Pretty sure that even the base Xeon CPU in the new Mac Pro costs more than $1200.

      4. MonkeyCee

        Re: Yuk

        "70% of our service tickets are for the 10% of the Macs marketing and sales insist on having. Their wireless tech is garbage, support is at best, hit or miss and spare parts cost a packet; if they even deign to sell you spares without you're delivering a broken part first, then forcing us to wait three weeks until they themselves can bring one in. The costs to buy and maintain are eye-watering."

        Well, it sounds like it's being managed appallingly. But what country you are in can make a LOT of difference to the experience. And whether IT is supporting user decisions, or trying to passively aggressively force them to change their mind.

        I've been the Mac guy at various mixed platform shops, and in general they are much less work. If they are being garbage, then they are for the same reasons as PCs are - lack of IT management, lack of consistency etc. They also often seem to arise from shadow IT as much as any sort of plan, so it's less a case of "Macs are hard to support" but "IT won't support the Macs". Once you get everyone on the same page, with the users being pissed they can't have free reign but at least stuff works, and IT pissed that they've got to fix "gay" computers, but at least the staff have to follow some bloody rules.

        Making WiFi work is an engineering issue. You test the kit, you work out the issues and you fix it. And yes, I fucking hate the reliance on it, but unless your department of pretty suits is next door to a smelter I'd expect it to be solvable.

        If you've got more than 50 (IIRC) Macs on site, you should be able to be your own authorised repair shop, for your own devices (ie you can't fix other people's). Got to get the usual Apple certs, but if you're pulling parts then you need that for the "where does the sticky tape go?" pictures :) That skips a bunch of the garbage around parts, replacements etc. But needs buy in from IT.

        While I'd like to pick and choose what systems and OS I support, as a computer mechanic I accept I'll be fixing whatever comes my way.

  3. vgrig_us

    yeah, right...

    As someone working for company bitten by xserve fiasco, then final cut pro fiasco, then Mac pro fiasco, not to mention macos smb client mess - the kind of resistance apple gonna see from IT cannot be underestimated.

    1. Rainer

      Re: yeah, right...

      As with most resistance, it's futile.

    2. Dan 55 Silver badge

      Re: yeah, right...

      Tell that to a CxO who wants their shiny.

      And you're going to be setting up that $1000 monitor stand for them too.

      1. vgrig_us

        Re: yeah, right...

        Given how much money each fiasco cost - CFOs are the unlikely allies to IT in this...

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: yeah, right...

      I was thinking the same thing.

      Two explanations: (a) Apple has short term memory loss and forgot they said they were serious about the enterprise about 6 times before and then lost interest, or (b) Apple hopes that we have short term memory loss...

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: yeah, right...

      agree 1000%

  4. BGatez

    ugh

    apple, ugh!

    microsoft, ugh!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: ugh

      Very insightful input there BGatez.

      Cheers... Ishy

    2. slartybartfast

      Re: ugh

      Linux user? Linux doesn’t run industry standard software and is mostly an OS for free open source PC geeks. It’s not a case for me of ‘no thanks’ but ‘not an option’.

      1. anonymous boring coward Silver badge

        Re: ugh

        Is it not?

      2. MachDiamond Silver badge

        Re: ugh

        You might be seriously surprised at how much stuff is running Linux in the world and the easiest way to develop that is to be running Linux on your dev machine.

  5. Naselus

    Is this not just yet more examples of Apple playing catch-up to stuff that everyone else has been doing for years, tho...?

  6. tempemeaty

    ¯\_(; º _ º )_/¯

    Will Apple stick to this stuff? Or will they lose interest and walk away from it in a year, letting it all die?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: ¯\_(; º _ º )_/¯

      Last time they could not fit any other small GPUs in that tin... this time they've left a LOT of extra space. Might be the other way around. They'd not find one big enough to swap out. XD

      (Custom designs always hit the problem of not being in such high demand to make it work putting out lots of development and versions.I mean, how many GPU versions were made to fit in the trashcan anyway? IIRC just the 1!)

      1. MachDiamond Silver badge

        Re: ¯\_(; º _ º )_/¯

        "how many GPU versions were made to fit in the trashcan anyway? IIRC just the 1!)"

        That's why I skipped the trash can. I've got the last version of the Cheese Grater and moving would have meant adding external boxes for drives and not being able to fiddle with graphics cards and other hardware based add-ins.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: ¯\_(; º _ º )_/¯

      Difficult question... hmm.... let me see.... yup, they'll give up again.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: ¯\_(; º _ º )_/¯

      PS, the stand is custom mounting... the $999 stand, has 1 of a kind, custom mounting that will never fit any other device they make...

      Yes, they will drop in in 2 months and offer to sell the $1999 replacement with even more contrived proprietary connectors! XD

      1. slartybartfast

        Re: ¯\_(; º _ º )_/¯

        They’ll sell you a $500 adapter to make it work with their next monitor ;-) .

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: ¯\_(; º _ º )_/¯

      fool me once, shame on you

      fool me twice, won't get fooled again - GW Bush (with no apologies to P. Townshend)

  7. bazza Silver badge

    Been Speaking to BlackBerry?

    This idea of having two IDs on a device, with strong separation between the data they control, is right out of the BlackBerry / RIM How To Do BOYD 101. They did it yonks ago with BlackBerry Balance. Even the means, i.e. a separately encrypyed file system, is exactly the same.

    I hope Apple have checked they're not stamping over some patents. BlackBerry have a pretty successful record thus far of sueing the rip off merchants.

    For those that don't know, BlackBerry Balance was an excellent solution to BOYD. Things like the calendar worked really well - you could see into both work and personal calendars, but nothing could move between them. Made booking a meeting as easy as it ever could be.

    Trouble was, or so it seems, was that BlackBerry Balance was way too sophisticated for the dullards brought up on iPhone and Android to understand, so no one got it. Now it seems Apple think they've invented something new. They haven't.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Been Speaking to BlackBerry?

      There are a lot of ways to implement this. You can only patent a particular method or methods, you can't patent the concept of "separating work and personal usage" or "creating a separate encrypted volume".

      Well you probably can, since the patent office will let you patent almost anything, but it won't hold up in court if you patent something so general. I mean, they could try to patent "encrypted messaging on mobile" since they were the first to do it, but I can't imagine that would hold up in court if they'd tried to sue Apple over iMessage.

      Its also possible Apple and Blackberry already have some sort of patent agreement, if Apple had been sued in the past.

      1. bazza Silver badge

        Re: Been Speaking to BlackBerry?

        There are a lot of ways to implement this. You can only patent a particular method or methods, you can't patent the concept of "separating work and personal usage" or "creating a separate encrypted volume".

        Sure, but it looks like Apple have duplicated BlackBerry's implementation, using two separately encrypted file systems.

        Well you probably can, since the patent office will let you patent almost anything, but it won't hold up in court if you patent something so general.

        Here in Europe you can patent software that's related to a business process.Now the idea of seperated data is old - multi level security systems like these (because that's what they are) are a well established if rarely implemented concept. However the processes for managing an MLS in a mobile context is something that BlackBerry did all by themselves a long time ago, and they've likely got that all sewn up in patents. And that's possibly the case outside of the USA too, as it's a business process. I've not done a patent trawl, but BlackBerry do seem to have been careful to patent their IPR.

    2. Bugsy11

      Re: Been Speaking to BlackBerry?

      I was able to separate my work and personal categories and calendars on Palm Desktop long before Blackberry came along.

      1. Dave 126 Silver badge

        Re: Been Speaking to BlackBerry?

        A few years back I was chatting to an R&D bod from the MoD. He said that they'd been issued iPhones that were locked down and managed by Blackberry software.

  8. Ian Joyner Bronze badge

    Monitor Stand?

    Just a pot shot in the headline. No mention of it in the article.

    However, I did see the 'huuuh' at the WWDC keynote.

  9. RLWatkins

    No, not really, they didn't.

    Apple has been producing gear used by professional graphics and video people for a long time. So has everyone else. I think they beat Microsoft to the punch on things like color profiles for monitors, but there just isn't a lot of difference between one Intel desktop computer with a 6K monitor and any other.

    Moreover, people who do that kind of work for a living day in and day out (I know several) don't bother much with monitors which swivel from portrait to landscape, but instead just have multiple monitors: one for HQ video or imagery, another to control the software, a third for bits and pieces being edited in.

    Not real sure what's going on here, but it seems the usual sort of Jobsian smoke and lasers, the modern version of smoke and mirrors.

    But I gotta say, while I wouldn't buy one from Apple I've seen 6K monitors and they're quite nice....

    1. slartybartfast

      Re: No, not really, they didn't.

      It’s standard to work on a lower res monitor when editing video as it’s common practice to edit with low-res files and then output to the final hi-res format (and hand over to the colour grader) when you’re done. There are a number of widescreen monitors that would also be very useful for this.

  10. drewsup

    6 grand

    For a a high spec cheese grater...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: 6 grand

      those holes are gonna collect a lot of dust.

    2. slartybartfast

      Re: 6 grand

      6 grand for a computer that will be used in high end video/graphics production (likely by Hollywood film companies), not by the average small time freelancer. You don’t sound like the Mac Pro’s target customer so complaining about the price is pointless.

  11. tim.arnold

    Further Reading

    Where can I find more information about the Azure Federation?

    I found an article about School Manager, but nothing about this coming to the general public.

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