Apple To Discontinue Mac Pro In EU Over Safety Regulations

jones_supa writes "Apple has been forced to remove the Mac Pro from sale in the European Union after an amendment to a safety regulation left the machines non-compliant. The updated electronics safety standard IEC 60950-1 increases requirements around electrical port protection (PDF) and the fan guards in the system. Apple does not plan to modify their machines and will simply pull them from market in the EU. Apple wishes to warn customers and partners about the change so that they would have sufficient time to order Mac Pro units and meet any needs prior to 1 March, when the amendment comes into effect."

Comments

"fan guards in the system"

[Mateo_LeFou]

Macs have fans?

Re:"fan guards in the system"

[Sponge Bath]

Macs have fans?

Cooling fans and fanboys.

Re:"fan guards in the system"

[Carewolf]

Macs have fans?

Yes, and they are hard to miss since they whine loudly if put to work. I am ofcourse refering to the the cooling fans, not the fanboys.

Re:"fan guards in the system"

[blind biker]

"Fan guards" - thoroughly indoctrinated followers of the cult of Jobs, willing to sacrifice their lives for what they believe in.

It takes many a queuing at the Temples of Jobs (also known as Apple® Stores) before one reaches such lofty spiritual/materialistic station.

Re:"fan guards in the system"

[FreakyGeeky]

If you used a Mac Pro that did this, it was defective. Mine (early 2009 eight core) hardly makes any noise at all under load.

Re:"fan guards in the system"

[macs4all]

Yes, but I DARE you to get to ONE of them without cutting power to the computer. This is utter, unmitigated bullshit on the part of the EU. By the way, note that in the Apple DIY document I linked-to, Steps 1 and 2 of the instructions are "1. Shut Down Computer" "2. Wait 10 minutes". So please tell me how STUPID someone would have to be to actually encounter a SPINNING fan (or maybe they EU is worried about all those razor-sharp PLASTIC fan blades?)

Oh, and Apple HASN'T said that they WON'T be selling the NEW Mac Pro into the EU; just that it won't be ready by the time the "Directive" goes into effect in a couple of months. BIG Difference!

Re:"fan guards in the system"

[Stewie241]

He might be talking about the Macbook Pro in response to the question 'Macs have fans?'. I know for me some operations feel like an airplane ride - when the task starts I can hear it starting to take off, it spends some time in the air as it does its work, and it lands and the engines shut off when its done. Colleagues say that the CD drive makes a loud noise as well, but I don't use it all that much.

Re:"fan guards in the system"

[M. Baranczak]

I was thinking more about small children. If you've ever met any, you'd realize that it only takes a few unattended seconds for them to do something they oughtn't do, like open up a Mac Pro and stick their hands in the fan.

Re:"fan guards in the system"

[Curunir_wolf]

Yes, won't someone please think of the children?

No cost is too high if we can just prevent one child from getting one nick on their vulnerable little finger!

Re:"fan guards in the system"

[isorox]

I was thinking more about small children. If you've ever met any, you'd realize that it only takes a few unattended seconds for them to do something they oughtn't do, like open up a Mac Pro and stick their hands in the fan.

Takes just a few seconds for them to unplug an iec and stick the end in their mouth too.

Re:"fan guards in the system"

[macs4all]

The Mac Pro case can be opened in a few seconds without any tools, you don't have to unscrew anything. If there are moving parts exposed inside the case, then this ruling seems perfectly sensible.

It can also be easily LOCKED to prevent theft AND OPENING. So NOW who's got the responsibility?

Oh, and before you complain about nearly $40 to secure that $2500+ computer (which someone will, no doubt), you can use just about ANY small lock that will fit through the little slot below the latch (see detailed drawing of the latch, showing the lock-loop about halfway down in this document).

So, in the case of the case of the Mac Pro, who is actually "negligent" if a child/mentally-challenged-adult opens a Mac Pro and sticks their widdle fingaws in it?

Re:"fan guards in the system"

[Anonymous Coward]

Look. That law exists to prevent products that don't include appropiate safety measures which would reduce the profit margin to harm someone.

While in this case there might not be much harm if someone got a nick their finger, that law is still a good idea in general.
So please don't grab the first edge case to shoot down the concept. But feel free to implement the Ferengi way of life at your place, as long as you keep it far enough away from me.

As neither of us knows exactly how dangerous those fans are, what the new requirements actually are and why there was a consensus for raising them.... we can only read up on it or continue to talk about it without expert knowledge.

Re:"fan guards in the system"

[sumdumass]

Not really. I've seen situations where you accidentally put a hand or palm into or on a fan because of something else you were doing near by. You simple get overly concentrated on a specific task and don't notice how close you are getting to the fan. It's not like the fans in a computer are overly dangerous or anything. You will survive an encounter to one generally with no serious harm.

You are simply making too much out of this as is the EU.

Re:"fan guards in the system"

[mysidia]

That law exists to prevent products that don't include appropiate safety measures which would reduce the profit margin to harm someone.

But here we have a good example, of a bullshit safety measure requirement causing a product to go off the market entirely: apparently, because it will no longer be worth selling.

As neither of us knows exactly how dangerous those fans are, what the new requirements actually are and why there was a consensus for raising them....

We know that they pose absolutely no danger to the end user: except one that did some very stupid things, and specifically ignored directions, to unplug before unscrewing and opening up the computer case.

There are high voltages in the power supply and capacitors too, of most computer systems; I suppose someone could stick their fingers in there, and die from electrocution, after popping open the power supply....

Re:"fan guards in the system"

[petermgreen]

There is a general rule in safety regulations that things that require a tool or excessive force to open are treated differently from things that can be easilly opened without tools.

Re:"fan guards in the system"

[mjwx]

Oh, and before you complain about nearly $40 to secure that $2500+ computer

When I pay $2500 for a computer I'd expect it to have the same safety features as a $500 computer, especially when they're charging $2500 for $1100 worth of components.

So, in the case of the case of the Mac Pro, who is actually "negligent" if a child/mentally-challenged-adult opens a Mac Pro and sticks their widdle fingaws in it?

The manufacturer who didn't install the fan guards or properly seal the case.

Hows Stockholm Syndrome working out for you?

Unlikely to be discontinued altogether

[Bogtha]

Apple does not plan to modify their machines and will simply pull them from market in the EU.

In all likelihood it's because they've got a new Mac Pro model ready to launch. The Mac Pro hasn't had a significant update in years, it's the only Mac that doesn't have a Thunderbolt port, for example.

A new Mac Pro is being released in 2013, confirmed by Apple.

Re:Unlikely to be discontinued altogether

[Seb C.]

Yeah, so instead of telling their customer :" Hold on, we'll deliver a brand new one", they go for "Rush for the shops, we won't comply the EU directives and there'll be no more of those Mac Pro in store in a couple of weeks".
Yeah thank you Apple...

It's not as if they would release 2 ipad versions in one year, completely killing the brand new tablet you bought 6 month earlier...

Re:Unlikely to be discontinued altogether

[PhotoJim]

If you bought your "brand new tablet" as a user device instead of an investment, you shouldn't really care if new versions come out.

I'm still happily using my first-gen iPad and aside from the sneers of derision from the 12-year-olds at airports :), I manage just fine.

The reality is that we're now a laptop world. A few want desktops, and that's why the Pro exists, and I'm sure it will be updated, but it's hardly a leading seller for Apple.

Re:Unlikely to be discontinued altogether

[peragrin]

Not to defend Apple. but every other manufacturer of tablets, laptops, computers, cell phones release dozens of models every year.

Apple generally limits themselves to just one new design/ upgrade annually and you pounce on them for doing two?

At least apple supports their hardware for more than 12 months. If that was a dell model not only couldn't you get service or parts, but you would have to buy another one as it would be cheaper than replacing the power supply.

It is the one thing wrong with Android devices, and Smart TV's. you never know how long they might be supported. and relying on a cutting edge community to support out of date hardware is stupid.

Re:Unlikely to be discontinued altogether

[macs4all]

Yeah, so instead of telling their customer :" Hold on, we'll deliver a brand new one", they go for "Rush for the shops, we won't comply the EU directives and there'll be no more of those Mac Pro in store in a couple of weeks". Yeah thank you Apple...

It's not as if they would release 2 ipad versions in one year, completely killing the brand new tablet you bought 6 month earlier...

Perhaps they know they can't get the new Mac Pro ready in a reasonable time after this bullshit "directive" goes into effect, or (MUCH more likely), the EU rules threw their development cycle into a tizzy, and now they have to REDESIGN their almost-ready-but-now-not-so-much Mac Pro. Ever think of that???

BTW, I wonder how the average EU CITIZEN thinks of all this? Fascinating that I'm not seeing the typical Slashdot posturing and whining against government overreach; just people bitching at Apple for doing the only thing they can on short notice.

And although they did break their normal "Update Cycle" with the new iPad (for like the first time EVER for ANY of their products), it certainly didn't "completely kill" anybody's iPad. My iPad 2 for example, which is now 2 generations back, still chugs along, receives OS updates, is compatible with pretty-much all (if not all) of the most recent iOS Apps, etc. It just gave people the possibility of buying a new model that much sooner. Would you prefer them to "hold back", just to keep a consistent update cycle? Would you prefer that they would have waited to add a 128 GB model, too? And then the question becomes: Wait for what? Until When?

Re:Unlikely to be discontinued altogether

[Runaway1956]

"It's not as if they would release 2 ipad versions in one year, completely killing the brand new tablet you bought 6 month earlier..."

The second version could do what, exactly, that the first version could not do? That statement stinks of "status symbol". I can't imagine that one version of iPad makes another so very obsolete, that you can't use it any longer. The only reason to buy the newer one, that I can see, is being able to flash it to people at the bar, at work, on the bus or train - even in the grocery store. "Ooohhhh, look at that guy! He has the newest little shiney! I want to be like him!"

Re:Unlikely to be discontinued altogether

[tibit]

You're crazy. This is nothing new, the industry has been aware of those changes for some years now! Who the heck do you think writes those standards? If Apple doesn't have a company person, or better, many people, in ANSI or IEC, they're being stupid. I don't know who the heck spun this non-story as if Apple was up to the wall, or this was a new regulation, or whatever. Nobody who knows how those standards come into being is surprised at all. Many big corporations join standards bodies and have their say and are always aware of what's going on. I'm pretty damn sure Apple must have their people in standards bodies. They can certainly afford it. Note: standards are written by volunteers. A company buys sufficiently large membership, and they get to have their people doing the work. That's how it has been since beginning of time, really.

Re:Unlikely to be discontinued altogether

[Nerdfest]

I'm surprised nobody has made any 'Dysan' style bladeless computer fans. Probably higher power, but close to silent. Based on Apple's slimy patenting of magnetic power cord attachment (which had been used in other places for many years), it's probably patentable.

Re:Unlikely to be discontinued altogether

[AmiMoJo]

I am an average EU citizen and think this directive is a good thing. It applies to all sorts of appliances that have fans capable of damaging internal wiring or causing injury. Guards cost pennies and every other manufacturer managed to comply in good time.

Re:Unlikely to be discontinued altogether

[macs4all]

I'm surprised nobody has made any 'Dysan' style bladeless computer fans. Probably higher power, but close to silent. Based on Apple's slimy patenting of magnetic power cord attachment (which had been used in other places for many years), it's probably patentable.

Dysan fans aren't "bladeless". They conceal the impeller in the base, then "magically" distribute that airflow around a ring. Very cool looking the first time you see it; but once you know what's going on, not so much.

Re:Unlikely to be discontinued altogether

[AmiMoJo]

So basically you are arguing that Apple should be exempt from the rules because you judge its products to be safe. Perhaps you think the EU members should pay for inspectors to check every product and decide if it is safe enough for an exemption, rather than passing a blanket rule that isn't difficult or expensive to abide by.

Re:Unlikely to be discontinued altogether

[Gonoff]

BTW, I wonder how the average EU CITIZEN thinks of all this?

Sounds like they are doing what they are supposed to do. One of the jobs of a government is to protect the people from those richer and more powerful.
You don't get much richer and more powerful than Apple.

Re:Unlikely to be discontinued altogether

[Gonoff]

Seriously people in the EU, WAKE UP!!! Your governments are NOT your friends!!!

Correct. On this side of the Atlantic, they are our servants.

Re:Unlikely to be discontinued altogether

[radish]

As someone who's spent significant time living in both, your belief that the US government is significantly better/different is quaint and amusing. Maybe the EU went overboard on fan guards (the new rule actually seems reasonable to me) but at least no one tells you how big your soda cup can be, or threatens to lock you up for carrying a bottle of wine in public, or crossing the street at the wrong place. Every country has their little restrictions and laws which often seem normal to those living there and batshit crazy to everyone else. C'est la vie :)

Re:Unlikely to be discontinued altogether

[Trepidity]

BTW, I wonder how the average EU CITIZEN thinks of all this? Fascinating that I'm not seeing the typical Slashdot posturing and whining against government overreach

One thing that makes me better disposed to this case is that it wasn't a regulation pulled out of thin air by random government bureaucrats, but rather one drawn up by electrical engineers, from an independent standards body not controlled by the EU, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). The US even has substantial representation on the body, so it's not just European engineers drawing it up. The EU just chose to implement their recommendation as mandatory, whereas in some other countries IEC recommendations may be treated as only advisory.

Re:Unlikely to be discontinued altogether

[Anonymous Coward]

> Who would have thought you could sell small appliances by marketing them the same way as a Mercedes...

Steve Jobs would.

Re:Unlikely to be discontinued altogether

[DarkVader]

There's no such thing as a G5 Mac Pro.

Re:Unlikely to be discontinued altogether

[ericloewe]

This is the EU.

We sent our most bureaucratic bureaucrats to a single location (for bonus waste we even move them around regularly!), hoping that they'd start looking at stuff and figuring out ways to make our part of the world safer/more attractive/friendlier/etc.

Sometimes it works. Sometimes they overdo it a bit. Sometimes they act like the true bureaucrats they are.

I'd say this time they overdid it a bit.

Re:Unlikely to be discontinued altogether

[ericloewe]

Full of shit? The current Mac Pro is indeed pretty much EOL.

It hasn't been updated for years (except perhaps a new graphics card or two), so it's still using Nehalem processors. Pretty much everyone else is using Sandy Bridge E and up by now.

Re:Unlikely to be discontinued altogether

[Kat M.]

BTW, I wonder how the average EU CITIZEN thinks of all this? Fascinating that I'm not seeing the typical Slashdot posturing and whining against government overreach; just people bitching at Apple for doing the only thing they can on short notice.

It's an IEC standard, not something that the EU thought up. The same standard will presumably come to the United States and Canada in a year or two. Note that this also affects several non-EU countries (Switzerland and Norway in particular).

Also, it hasn't been "short notice". The amendment was published in December 2009, over three years ago.

Re:Unlikely to be discontinued altogether

[ericloewe]

For the record, the only reason I'd touch the Daily Mail is to burn it. I'm also not anti-EU. Every time I look at the other side of the Atlantic, I'm glad we organized a bureaucratic organism that keeps the worst (rampant anti-consumer practices, TSA and associated backscatter X-ray - emphasis on the X-ray part - scanners, etc.) out of this bloc.

However, I can recognize that they overdo it at times. I'm not familiar with the specific standards involved, but it's perfectly possible that a somewhat poorly-worded document can cause some issues here and there where there are none. I'd say it's a small price to pay for protection against the really nasty stuff.

It must be about "the children"

[mariox19]

Thank goodness Europe will be safe now from those assault Macs.

Apple only cares about consumer gear now

[erroneus]

They have no interest in keeping their legacy gear up to date or up to code. Their primary investments are:

1. Lawyers
2. iPhone/iPad/iPod

Their OSX currently reflects this direction.

I for one and sad to see Apple giving up this part of their product line. It is the only part I really like.

The sad reality is that Apple only cares about what Apple cares about. Not about what its consumers want and Apple (Steve Jobs) has stated it plainly. It is not for the people to tell Apple what they want, but rather for Apple to tell people what they want. And by extension, it is not for "the people" to tell Apple anything at all. They would rather exit a market they cannot control and dominate.

And so, as things progress, they will continue to lose control over the iDevice market and the end is inevitable.

Re:Apple only cares about consumer gear now

[tibit]

Lobby for this bullshit "Directive" to be repealed.

Are you mad or something? This directive, and the standards it refers to, are nothing even remotely new! For all I know, Apple participates in the standards bodies that write this stuff. Wake up call: standards are written by volunteers from the industry. If you're in the industry and your company can afford it, there's not much left for you to do but to participate in the standards making process. Apple has no reason to complain about any of that, because with their money they could have people in every working group of IEC, ANSI and ISO there is. Many people, even.

Re:Apple only cares about consumer gear now

[janrinok]

It is interesting that you seem to place the blame on the EU - if you read the second link of TFS it finishes by pointing out: 'This standard has been approved as a National Standard of Canada by the Standards Council of Canada, and has been approved as by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as an American National Standard.' It is, if I understand it correctly, an International Standard that the EU is obeying. I cannot imagine why the US or Canada, for example, is not also complying.

SRSLY?

[cellocgw]

So if I understand the reg. in question, hardware with an internal fan (like a Mac Pro) that is only accessible if you pull the housing must have an internal fan guard? WTF?
This makes no sense. For that matter that thing about minimum and max cord length is pretty wacked. Is there really a computer, or transistor radio, manufacturer out there who wanted to deliver 7-meter power cords?

Re:SRSLY?

[moronoxyd]

So if I understand the reg. in question, hardware with an internal fan (like a Mac Pro) that is only accessible if you pull the housing must have an internal fan guard? WTF?

The Mac Pro has a power supply. The power supply has a fan. This fan is close to the outer housing of the Mac Pro and accessible through some gills of some sort ... Do you now see where the potential risk lies?

Re:SRSLY?

[iluvcapra]

When was the last time you saw someone EAT a circuit board?

Cellphone goes into trash, trash goes into landfill, rain goes into landfill, reactive compounds go into groundwater.

Proper eWaste disposal methods can minimize this, but in a lot of cases this just means shipping the cellphone to Dalian or Inner Mongolia where an 11-year-old makes a dime an hour dipping circuit boards into a hot bath. In the open air. Without a mask.

Re:SRSLY?

[macs4all]

So if I understand the reg. in question, hardware with an internal fan (like a Mac Pro) that is only accessible if you pull the housing must have an internal fan guard? WTF?

The Mac Pro has a power supply. The power supply has a fan. This fan is close to the outer housing of the Mac Pro and accessible through some gills of some sort ... Do you now see where the potential risk lies?

Please show me ANY picture of a Mac Pro where an EXPOSED-TO-THE-OUTSIDE fan is shown. The Mac Pro has PLENTY of fans (ask anyone who has made one really work hard!), BUT NONE OF THEM ARE ACCESSIBLE OR EVEN VISIBLE (except through perforated metal GUARDS) WITHOUT OPENING THE CASE!!!

Got it?

Here's a handy DIY document from Apple, that shows ALL of the fan locations. Please tell me how these aren't "guarded" already.

Your move.

Re:SRSLY?

[icebraining]

We have grills on our fans, you have the TSA, and we're the nanny continent?

Yeah, keep telling yourself that.

Build your own

[Anonymous Coward]

http://www.tonymacx86.com/325-building-customac-buyer-s-guide-january-2013.html

Hmm

[_Shad0w_]

I'm going to assume the EU actually stipulates that particular IEC standard must be followed in law then, because the IEC isn't an EU body, it's an international one. In fact ANSI is a full member of the IEC.

Typical Apple Attitude

[Rambo Tribble]

"We don't need you, you need us."

Re:Typical Apple Attitude

[whisper_jeff]

Or, as they've already announced, they plan on launching a new Mac Pro this year and see no reason to modify the existing design to meet new standards for a couple of months when their new machines, which are coming soon, probably meet those standards.

Or you can pretend that it's some elitist attitude thing because that sounds cool, right.

Re:No programmers, no apps.

[Jeremy Erwin]

Don't you need a Mac to program for iOS?

Yeah, so?

[phillymjs]

IIRC, Tim Cook already publicly stated a redesigned Mac Pro would be released in 2013.

The other Macs in the lineup have grown more powerful over the years, so the number of people who still specifically need the abilities of a Mac Pro is relatively small. It would make no financial sense for Apple to address these regulations by changing the current Mac Pro design. The best move was what they did-- simply giving those people some warning so anyone who was planning future Mac Pro purchases could decide if they needed to buy the existing model or could afford to wait for the redesigned model to be announced.

Re:Yeah, so?

[painandgreed]

You do not recall correctly. Apple did not say they were redesigning the Mac Pro for 2013.

"Apple said today that it is working on new models and designs for its Mac Pro desktop that will be released in 2013."

All 3 European customers

[Andy Prough]

were so upset, they had to get a day off from their barista jobs.

Re:Apple is getting out of the computer biz

[phantomfive]

Why do you think that? At their last conference call where they talked about money, I recall Apple being excited about the growth in their Mac sales.

Re:DysOn fan, bois.

[tibit]

Most Dysons have a foam motor prefilter and a HEPA postfilter. The HEPA filter is rated for life, and the prefilter has to be cleaned every couple of months. In my experience in heavy household use, the postfilter's life rating holds up so far. It looks dirty on the inside, clean on the outside, so it works fine. Those filters remove probably way less than 0.01% of the contaminants by weight from the airflow. Otherwise they'd be plugged solid in a matter of minutes. Just read about what happens when the inter-level seal on the bottom of the canister was failing in a batch of their vacuums -- it was so bad that the 2nd level cyclones were getting plugged solid, never mind the prefilter. The HEPA postfilter is useful at removing the carbon brush dust :)

For the Euro market, they could have designed three level hierarchy of cyclones and dispensed with any other filters, as there's enough power available from the outlet to deal with the dissipation in such a filtering system. What they've done instead is they designed for U.S. marked, with its usual limitation of 1440W available from the electrical outlet (they could have made a 14.5A device if they wanted to push it, but didn't and settled on the usual 12A rating). In Europe you have 3kW available and you can make some fancy vacuums with that much power available.

I have made a very nice sawdust extractor using 6 Dyson canisters as the first 2 stages of filtering, with a custom third level cyclone (81 cones) that obviates the need for HEPA filters. It runs off a 4kW motor with a multi-stage turbine (from an industrial compressor, I think it has 6 or 8 stages) and the exhaust air has a barely detectable wood smell. There are no other filters - I've run it for a while with a HEPA prefilter to the turbine, but since it was clean after a month of use, I took it out as it was pointless.

Re:MacPro vs. Kitchen Mixer (EU=Fire Marshall Bill

[AC-x]

Where does it end?

It ends when people actually get a clue about what the regulation says, rather than just listening to Apple's nonsense. The regulation does not ban unguarded fans, it splits fans into 3 categories based on whether they can cause "pain" or "injury". I actually read the regulation and did the math, apparently a 10cm case fan at 3000rpm is considered so safe that it could be on the outside of the case with no protection and still be legal. Even the next category up can be unguarded on the inside as long as there's a warning label.

I can't see how any of the Mac Pro fans could possibly fail this, I can only think Apple are trying to deflect attention away from failing the electrical ports protection rules.