
Well, this is either incredibly sad or utterly hilarious. Apple will
stop selling the Mac Pro in Europe on 1 March... Because it doesn't comply with "new" European regulations that will come into effect that day. I say "new" between quotation marks because said regulation was announced
four years ago. The regulation deals with increased protection requirements concerning electrical ports and fan guards. "The new requirements necessitate fan guards and some increased protection on the ports on the electrical system," explained Apple, "Because Mac Pro is not compliant with the regulations, we do want to meet that regulation and therefore not offer Mac Pro beyond 1 March." So, a standards body is
faster at updating its standards than Apple is at updating its Mac Pro. It illustrates
just how much Apple cares about pro users. The last significant update to the Mac Pro occurred in 2010, but Tim Cook did promise an update to the product later in 2013.
Member since:
2009-06-30
I haven't read the standard (IEC 60950-1) but citing other sources:
"At issue are the large fans within the Mac Pro. Since they are unprotected, it would be possible to touch the fan blades," MacWorld reports Apple as saying.
Is it true you can touch fan blades? That does look like a major oversight. Even if this wasn't in the standard any quality equipment should come with a fan hidden behind a guard - no excuse for Apple. True, I wouldn't put my fingers in the fan, but a toddler could very much try it.
"According to Apple, the new requirements necessitate fan guards and some increased protection on the ports on the electrical system."
Not sure about Apple but some time ago I tried to get Sony to fix an electrical leak from the power supply to the metal casing of the laptop (which was noticeable at 110V~ and rather unpleasant at 240V~). Their response was that this amount of leakage is normal and meets all legal requirements. So, I am not going to complain that EU is making regulations tougher.