I keep hearing this argument over and over and it's frustrating. Yes, it does seem clear that Apple is targeting media studios with this Mac Pro, but that entirely misses the point about why so many people like me are upset.
Apple used to make what I considered just about the perfect machine for me. It was the cheese grater Mac Pro, and one sat under my desk until a few months ago when I gave up on Apple every refreshing that machine in a way that works for me, and I got a Mac mini instead. It's a fine machine, but there is not really an upgrade path for the internal components, the graphics processor is weak, and now I have a bunch of cables all over my desk for expansion.
The cheese grater Mac Pro used to be a little bit pricey for the actual performance you were getting, but it was worth it to spend a little more to get that thoughtfully designed machine that ran Mac OS. Now it just feels like anything in Apples product line that "is for me" just feels like a giant compromise. Sure Apple can do whatever they want with their product line, but that fact doesn't make the current situation any less frustrating for me and people like me.
Maybe you should consider switching OS? Apple will always be behind on performance, upgrade paths, compatability and pricing. So if you want a high performance computer that you can upgrade then Apple isn't for you.
I can't directly refute any of your points, but I also think you are still talking around the problem a bit. The point I was making is that in the cheese grater era all the items you point out where Apply is behind were also true, but the delta between Mac and PC on each of those points seemed much smaller. It was worth the tradeoff to be able to use Mac OS. This is not the case with the latest Mac Pro. The world changes over time, I get it, but I think given that at one time Apple was able to hit that sweet spot, the hope is that maybe they one day will be able to again.
Apple used to make what I considered just about the perfect machine for me. It was the cheese grater Mac Pro, and one sat under my desk until a few months ago when I gave up on Apple every refreshing that machine in a way that works for me, and I got a Mac mini instead. It's a fine machine, but there is not really an upgrade path for the internal components, the graphics processor is weak, and now I have a bunch of cables all over my desk for expansion.
The cheese grater Mac Pro used to be a little bit pricey for the actual performance you were getting, but it was worth it to spend a little more to get that thoughtfully designed machine that ran Mac OS. Now it just feels like anything in Apples product line that "is for me" just feels like a giant compromise. Sure Apple can do whatever they want with their product line, but that fact doesn't make the current situation any less frustrating for me and people like me.