Mac mini

Mac mini - top or flop?

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  • flop. :(


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Nice little thing!
It's funny how everyone is buying one and maby even two or more

Wife just got the new IPod shuffle, se just had to get one.

Viktor
 
I will get one myself as well but I can wait 4-6 months. That will give enough time for initial feedback as well as give the mac sites time to determine just how hard it will be to replace the memory. I would rather not fork out the upgrade for the memory when I have 1GB 333 DDRs sitting around my house not being used.

It is not expensive, especially for Mac, but when you start piling on the options the price rises quickly. Is it worth the cost? Oh yeah. But unless you have a pressing need why not wait to make sure the mac mini does not suffer from 1st gen bugs like many of Apple products have had of late?
 
gerbick said:
don't you still need an USB keyboard initially when pairing the BT keyboard and mouse to any mac?

No. If the Mac doesn't detect a keyboard plugged in, it looks for a BlueTooth one. If it finds it, it then displays a number on the screen with instructions to "Type this number in to pair with the keyboard", thus ensuring it has the right one.

anychrist said:
Too bad there's only one RAM slot though. $425 extra for one gig, yikes!
Wonder if this thing could run iLife and iWork smoothly on just, say, 256 Mb.

I think that for the type of uses you're likely ot put this machine to, 256mb will be just fine. You might bump it up to 512 or so, but for 90% of the demographic there just isn't going to be much point. Even GarageBand will behave ok on 256mb. If you're talking about 1gb, though, then you're going to be happier with an iMac G5 anyway.

To quote Bill Gates, commenting on the Macintosh in 1984: "This is the computer I'd like to buy for my grandmother".

:p
 
Thank goodness!!

The first thing I did was fire off an e-mail to Bill Palmer - billpalmer.net.

The guy has been saying that no Mac mini would be announced and then gave some rather weak arguments as to why (some articles I read of his were on other sites - can't remember the exact wording - however, his personal site still has some reasons why.. towards the bottom...)

My favorite:
Alright, I've said all I'm going to say about the headless iMac nonsense (at least until after it doesn't get announced at the Keynote on Tuesday), as I think I've made my position abundantly clear, and I've grown a bit tired of making my point again and again. And at this point I'd have to imagine that many of you are as sick of hearing about it as I am. But for those out there who are (still!) writing to me in an attempt to invent a demand for the headless iMac that just simply is not there, I'll offer you this report from a salesperson at a retail store that sells both Macs and PCs. If you don't want to believe me that there's zero interest in removing the monitor from the Macintosh, then perhaps you'll believe him:

"Being somewhat in the know on what Apple products motivate switchers, I have to say there is next to no interest in a headless iMac amongst real buyers. Nine out of ten people shopping my Apple section are attracted by the fact the monitor is built in. The ones who are turned off by it are the same type who are convinced the eMachine is a sweet deal. (Which is most often purchased when bundled with a printer and 17" CRT btw)."

If that doesn't say it all, I don't know what does.

HAH! No Interest? Sure there's interest, you kook!!! The lack of interest before was because there was NO headless mac to begin with...
 
Had an interesting realisation about the Mac mini - it's possibly one of the best computers around for travelling between home and work/uni.

Sure, you won't be able to use it on the train or anything, but:
  • It must be half to two-thirds the weight of the 12" PB!
  • It's about a third of the price of the 12" PB.
Anybody actually know the weight of the Mac mini vs the 12" PB?

Kap
 
MacMini weighs in at 2.9 pounds (1.32 kg)
PowerBook 12" weighs in at 4.6 pounds (2.1 kg) with battery installed.
 
j79 said:
MacMini weighs in at 2.9 pounds (1.32 kg)
PowerBook 12" weighs in at 4.6 pounds (2.1 kg) with battery installed.
Thanks :)

How cool is that?

ScottW said:
2.9 doesn't include the weight of the power-brick.
Does the PB weight above include it's power brick?

Kap
 
No... but the PB "brick" is light-weight and just a power adapter, the power supply is in the PB, however, the Mac Mini, the power supply is external (hence how they could make it soooo small) and I am sure it is heavy.
 
ScottW said:
No... but the PB "brick" is light-weight and just a power adapter, the power supply is in the PB, however, the Mac Mini, the power supply is external (hence how they could make it soooo small) and I am sure it is heavy.
Possibly doesn't matter, since you can't use the Mac mini on the go anyway.

i.e. Just keep one brick at home and get another for the office.

Kap
 
ScottW said:
No... but the PB "brick" is light-weight and just a power adapter, the power supply is in the PB, however, the Mac Mini, the power supply is external (hence how they could make it soooo small) and I am sure it is heavy.

Very true.

I own a 20 ACD and the PowerBrick does weigh a bit. Probably about 1 or 2 lbs.

-- edit -- just saw the power brick for the mini in the 360 virtual on apple's site. thing looks HUGE!

However, the idea of having two stationary monitors and just lugging the Mac Mini back and forth is a cool idea.

I've only had two moments in my life when everything seemed to "slow down" as I watched something horrible happen.
The first was when I was in my first accident... Car parts going here, other parts going there... the idea of driving away flashing through my mind non stop!! :)

The other was when I dropped my Pismo. That was a horrible, horrible moment.. saw it just fall out of my bag and land on the left hand front corner. Probably dropped about 4 feet onto concrete. Was *sure* the screen would be cracked. But it wasn't. *whew*

So if I had a choice between lugging around a PowerBook with a screen or a MacMini from work to home, I'd choose the Mac Mini. Assuming that is, if I had no intentions of actually doing any work on the go... :)
 
Looks like the new Mac mini only has 1 RAM upgrade slot (all of the RAM upgrades for the system are "1 DIMM"), and is not considered user-serviceable.

From the "Learn More" link under "Memory" on the Mac mini Apple Store page (when you're custom-configuring the machine):
Mac mini contains PC2700, 333MHz double data rate, synchronous dynamic random-access memory (DDR-SDRAM), one of the fastest memory technologies available today. Double data rate memory (DDR-SDRAM) provides twice the throughput of single data rate SDRAM and boosts overall system performance. Your Mac mini comes with at least 256 megabytes (MB) of memory. You can select additional memory up to 1 Gigabyte. You can upgrade your memory later by taking your system to an Apple Authorized Service Provider.

I wonder if Crucial or some other memory supplier will be able to supply a 2GB DIMM that will fit this machine...
 
Did anyone else notice that Jobs was **much** more enthusiastic about the iPod shuffle than the Mac Mini?

Do they really think the iPod shuffle will be a bigger seller (in terms of profit) and strategic value than the Mac Mini? Personally, I think the Mini is going to end up being the cornerstone of the entire Apple consumer productset, from music to apps, etc...
 
Ripcord said:
Did anyone else notice that Jobs was **much** more enthusiastic about the iPod shuffle than the Mac Mini?

Do they really think the iPod shuffle will be a bigger seller (in terms of profit) and strategic value than the Mac Mini? Personally, I think the Mini is going to end up being the cornerstone of the entire Apple consumer productset, from music to apps, etc...

I haven't watched the keynote, but I believe you're right!

Just checking out the responses from other sites (tech and non-tech related sites) and there are a lot of positive things being said!!!

(Bill Palmer, who I mentioned earlier, has finally posted a response to the deluge of emails he must be receiving.. it's hilarious. He has a crazy theory why the Mac mini will fail.. - like, for instance.. a person taking it home and finding out it doesn't have a keyboard!!! C'mon, the things smaller than an iPod box... Personally, I'm disgusted by his attitude..)
 
Well... as for which is more profitable... my discount program through the Apple Store, offers a discount on almost every product and software through the Apple Store, with the exception of the iPod shuffle. No discount on either model.

Kinda says something.

I think their profit margin is very minimum here. I bet, that Apple hopes to generate soft cash through sales via iTMS, add on features, upgrade to a larger iPod, etc.

I imagine both the iPod shuffle and Mac mini would be termed "loss leaders" for most suppliers, however... I doubt Apple is taking a loss selling these items.

Apple SURPRISED me by offering the 512MB for $99 and the Mac Mini for $499. Normally, they probably wouldn't have sold a 512MB model or a 1.2GHZ G4 Mac under "old thinking". I bet, more than anything... they are looking to see what the market is will to pay.

$149 for 1GB Flash Drive, or $299 (twice the cost) for a 20GB iPod. How many people will pick up "two" 1GB iPods just because they are cheap? Would that same person had put down $299 for a 20GB? Probably not.

It's all in the head... value vs. what is in my hand.

I think this is a very smart decision, and the success of this latest offering will only be a sign of what is to come in the future.
 
Yeah, I think they're onto a real winner with both the Mac Mini and the iPod Shuffle. I'm a well-paid compuer-savvy Apple fanatic and even I tend to shiver a bit at the price for the iPod mini, but the iPod shuffle is pocket money.

I was just thinking of how many uses these Mac minis will be put to:
- As a web server: Who wouldn't want to run their web site from their own server, rather than paying for hosting? Who would mind tucking a reliable Unix based server into a cupboard or behind the stereo that has no fans, and will only generate a little noise from the hard drive when its busy?
- As a games machine: I know some people are already criticising the graphic set, what they forget is that it is equivalent to the graphics on both the XBox and PS2, and is certainly up to the task for all sorts of games, from Halo to UT2004. With a USB or BlueTooth gamepad, it'd be sweeter than either of those machines.
- As a firewall, mail server or file server for small networks: Perfect for small networks of up to 50 users. Trouble free, compact enough to fit anywhere, and Unix based.
 
i'd enjoy having one .. not that i'd need but just enjoy.
so i want to take one apart, replace the combo with optical drive, the hard drive with a bigger one, then paint the case with some bright color or make it transparent ... i think that owuld look lovely in bright yellow or red or black ...
or then stuck a pile of them on top of each other, to have a mac mini raid.. :D
 
Did anyone wonder if the Mac mini gonna support tigers 'Core Image'? Didn't this feature require at least 64mb graphic cards? It would be stupid to buy a Mac mini now and upgrade to tiger without the support of some nice features..
 
Will this meen my eMac won't support Core Image with tiger !? I don't think i can upgrade my graphics at all in emacs (i think the 32mb vram stuff) but you can't put a graphics card into a pci slot can you ... ?? don't think so ..
 
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