Apple to release new Mac Pro in December

Apple has finally given more info on the MacPro and it will be released sometime in December.

Still no word on customization prices, but the Quad-Core starts at $2999 and the Hexa Core starts at $3999 and can go up to a 12 core. And we have seen that the Graphics cards are either Dual AMD FirePro D300’s with 3GB of VRAM, dual AMD D500 with 3GB of VRAM or Dual AMD D700 with 65GB of VRAM, but no price on the D700. All include 256GB of PCIe SSD Flash Storage, but can be upgraded to 512 or 1 TB which will be necessary if you plan on installing Windows since it requires an internal install so look forward to a partition.

I still want my next computer to be Mac, but I really would prefer NVIDIA Titan cards for Graphics!

ReTooled.net on new features of Premiere Pro CC 7.1 Update

Josh at ReTooled.net has released a video of some of the biggest features of the soon to be released update to Premiere Pro CC.

The new overlay features are very exciting, as are the ability to export video with them. Hello rough cuts with timecode that show clip timecode too. NICE!

And the SpeedGrade integration means I really need to delve into that program soon.

High Def Magazine reviews Smoke for Mac 2013

High Definition Magazine has a review of Smoke for Mac 2013. Sounds to be almost an editor, but mostly for finishing and compositing, though the editing tools are getting better, but lack of export options means you couldn’t kick it back to your NLE of choice.

I gave the beta a play, but couldn’t get imports to work right, so gave up and the beta ran out, though I still think this is a great idea, and would love to play with it’s high end compositing features.

Mac Performance Guide on the 2013 MacPro

The Mac Performance Guide has a new article on the speed of the new MacPro and it is obvious that this person shares my sentiment on the new MacPro and what a mistake it is!

Losing 5 internal drive bays, losing relatively inexpensive memory exansion to 48GB or 64GB or 128GB, losing three PCIe slots, losing the internal optical drive, and adding the associated rat’s nest of pile of cables and boxes should give pause to anyone considering a Mac Pro.

and

Form before function might be one early warning sign of the long term decline of Apple. It’s not just the Mac Pro. All great companies eventually decline, victims of their own hubris sooner or later, and a failure to Serve their users. I see Apple on that path. The 2013 Mac Pro is just one manifestation which follows ill-conceived changes with no substantive improvements in OS X, and the stick in the eye to Final Cut Pro users which forced them away from Apple. And many other things that most won’t notice, but are like small lesions here and there.

Literally I am wondering if my next Tower will be a PC. I would like to consider a Hackintosh, but the lack of expansion in the new MacPro really makes me wonder if anyone will even keep making Mac drivers for PCI cards for the Mac. And it is not like I really like Windows 8. The Metro start screen is awful, but at least I can get expansion, upgradeability and NVIDIA graphics cards with CUDA support!