Mac mini

[vernard]

Ok, I'm got a fetish for small footprint computers. I mean a serioius unhealthy fetish. At one point, I owned 7 so-called "book PCs" that all were the size of a world encyclopedia. The truth is that I still own 4 of them. And I would love to acquire 3 more. But I can just can't rationalize them.

A long time ago, the good folks came out with a cube sized machine that I went ga-ga over. Unfortunately it was a Macintosh which meant that it cost a fortune and wasn't all that expandable. Now they have done it again. The Mac Mini is out and for about the cost of a decent run-of-the-mill Dell or Gateway desktop, youc an get a Mac.

Did they think this was a good idea. I know that Steve Jobs thinks that the world revolves around everything that he does. And he is hellabrilliant in some areas. But round two of the machine that can't be upgraded but yet costs as much as one that does just doesn't seem very wise.

But then again, Mac enthusiasts will get all moist in the pants over it and claim its a success.

The only really good thing about it is that it runs a variant of UNIX. at least they got that right.

*sigh*

Comments

[sirinek.livejournal.com]

You can upgrade the memory and the hard drive and not void your warranty too :)

http://apple.weblogsinc.com/entry/1234000917027372/

I'd consider one if I needed another computer.

[copycatjsh.livejournal.com]

I want one of those too... though I'm so broke at the moment it won't be happening for awhile.

I've wanted a Mac for awhile, but not for what they charged for it!

-jsh

[skellington.livejournal.com]

I'm drooling over them.

After all, what would I want to add to it that can't connect via Firewire or USB (or Ethernet..) when needed?

The only thing that would be IMMENSELY handy would be 5.1 sound out and a Video In... But that's for a different project. :-)

Small, quiet, and runs *nix. Yummy.

(You can certainly upgrade the RAM yourself, and probably the Hard Disk, as long as you don't introduce thermal issues. I don't know about the CD-ROM, but that's probably do-able too..)

[dwivian]

Somewhat upgradeable, but that's not the point. Outside of disk capacity and memory your average PC isn't upgradeable, either. And, the home user isn't going to need gigabit ethernet to the desktop, or 200GB of disk, etc. This is a solid home machine that will do all that the average user demands, for some time. This is a good deal, though the lack of a keyboard/mouse by default (which you have to buy if you've never had a Mac before) is a bother.

[skellington.livejournal.com]

Well, you can also plug in a firewire disk if you need a big disk. Someone will probably come up with a sexy box that looks just like the Mac-Mini, and stacks nicely under it.

And you can get a PS/2 Keyboard+Mouse to USB adaptor, so you can reuse your existing keyboard. And it uses a standard PC monitor.

If I get one, I expect it to plug straight into my KVM. (Is ther e a DVI KVM yet?)

[vernard.livejournal.com]

You cannot upgrade the cpu nor the video card. And those are two of the thing most upgraded components in a system.

[dwivian]

At that price point, NOBODY upgrades a CPU. They just buy a new computer. And, at that price point, NOBODY upgrades a video card, as the machines at that price point can't adequately drive high video memory (and 32MB is sufficient for most entry-level games, which is what a person at that price point is likely to play).

No, what happens is they decide the machine is slow -- and this is not a CPU concern, but a memory concern. So, they upgrade memory, which is viable in this unit.

or, they put too many MP3s or MOVs on the machine, and need more disk, so they upgrade the disk or buy the (obviously forthcoming) Firewire Disk that has the same footprint.

You have to remember the market -- this is not targeted to people like you and me (we should be buying the G5 dual CPU deskside box) but for our parents or our children.

[arasirsul.livejournal.com]

I'd consider it a neat idea, but you mentioned "for the price of a Dell or Gateway desktop..."

I recently bought two Dell desktops for less than that $500 figure. After shipping, the two machines came out to less than $480. No OS, mind (Variant of UNIX, remember?), but still... two machines. The Mac folks are drooling at how it's now a Mac for a PC price... except the PCs don't cost that much anymore. (40 GB disk each, 1/2 GB RAM...)

And still, I'd love to get my hands on a decent Mac to do photo manipulation and such, and see just what the Mac zealots think is so cool. For $575ish (after RAM upgrade) I might.

-JDF

[dark-blade.livejournal.com]

I know someone looking to sell a Cube.. its more expandable than the Mini, I know that much..

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

OK, so a Mac mini isn't YOUR kind of computer. You want one you can fsck with, take apart, add to, Franken-ize, etc. jenkitty, on the other hand, wants something that Just Works, that does video, games, surfing, and such like, that she can admin herself, and that Isn't Windows. A Mac mini with a superdrive does all those things and is totally button-cute into the bargain. As they said down in Techwood lo those many moons ago, Babes Will Flock. And, as thegray pointed out, it does run Unix, which means all our cool little toys run on it too.

It's the best of both worlds. It runs both Free and commercial software, games and GNU, there's even IE if your bank insists on being a sh*th**d, but it's not Windows IE (totally separate codebase), and even if it was, both the OS and the processor underneath it are radically different.... and Apple is Getting It.

Oh, and you know what? I'm glad they've got the price point where they do. If they had it down at $250 (losing bucks on the unit in order to gain market share), not only would they lose bucks for every unit up front, but they would be appealing to a segment of the market which is significantly clue-challenged... which would run up their tech support costs and make the whole deal worse than it already would be. That would kill the product, and be a damn shame. Besides, if Apple started competing on price rather than quality, it might end up in a situation where it couldn't go back to a price point where it could make money again. Ever.

The whole Microsoftian idea of HAVING to take over the world is crap. One's market share cannot go on biggering and biggering forever. Sooner or later you run out of trufula trees, or in this case, folks to sell computers to. But if you sell to a high-end niche market who can afford to be repeat customers every couple years (or even every year), then you can stay in business for a long time. You won't get take over the world... but you'll have a steady income.

Me, in this market, I'll take a solid dividend over vaporware growth potential any day. And I'd much rather pay good money to a company that Gets It, both from a financial and philosophical point of view, and get a product that will both blow the doors off the competition and last a while (ever notice how OS X keeps getting leaner and faster? and can still run on old hardware?), than some econobox I have to blow the OS off of to get to work right...

Sure, you and I can go white box. But that has its own price, in sweat equity.... and not everyone wants to do that. This is something that Just Works, will continue to work, *can* be upgraded in the important bits (save CPU, and as I said, OS X gets leaner, not fatter, so....)

So, yeah, this Linuxhead is jumping up and down about it. I think he *did* get it right, even if it looks like he didn't.... I, for one, intend to buy one as soon as long-term finances allow.

[vernard.livejournal.com]

Something that "Just Works" would be nice.

Too bad it isn't a Macintosh.

I'm a big fan of OS X. But make no mistake its still in its infancy and for the most part isn't mature enough to wholesale replace the Windows market. And releasing a "book pc" as your attempt to edge in on the PC market isn't really a wise move.

They need to release an actual full scale Mac for $600. That'll really get my attention.

[dwivian]

What means "Mature"? Industries have been using exclusively Mac for years, and OSX is incredibly stable. It's trialed, tested, and solid. All that is necessary to replace Windows is acceptance, and a decent price for an entry system will do that.

Oh, and I'd be glad to see a full scale Wintel box for $600, but to get anything decent you're in the $1000+ range even now.