Apple has committed to releasing a new desktop Mac Pro model sometime in 2013. I expect it to be quite different from the current Mac Pro, which is targeted at a generation of users who added internal peripherals, multiple hard drives, and whatever else was required to meet their needs.
Courtesy of Coyote Moon, Inc.
The Mac Pro was routinely used as a server, a desktop workstation, and a development platform. But over time, the need for a big machine like the Mac Pro has pretty much fallen by the wayside. These days, there's much more emphasis on power consumption than raw performance. The performance needs are being met by CPU designs that can assign multiple cores to a task when needed, or conserve power by shutting down cores when they're not needed.
Desktop Macs and PCs aren't going away; they're just evolving to be smaller and power frugal. Even the huge 27-inch iMac is smaller than the previous year's model. It also uses mostly mobile technology even though it's a desktop Mac.
So, what do you think?