Slashdot Log In
Apple Releases Mac Mini
Posted by
samzenpus
on Thu Jan 13, 2005 08:00 AM
from the look-at-how-cute-it-is dept.
from the look-at-how-cute-it-is dept.
cranesan writes "The rumors of Apple releasing a small PC are confirmed. The Mac mini can be found at Apple's website. As expected, the box uses a G4 processor. You can order one today; estimate 3-4 weeks shipping date. Base unit starts at $499."
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
Dupe... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Dupe... (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:Dupe... (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:Dupe... (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
And here are the more interesting posts: (Score:4, Interesting)
Of course, this begs the question: does the mini allow user upgrades? Can't check because the Apple site isn't responding at the moment, but that little box looks to be shut tighter than a virgin's iPod.
*-*
What I see more focus on hardware design, the exact opposite of the clone fiasco. They are getting, and supporting, higher margins on their hardware because of their design engineering. No other MP3 player looks or feels as good as the iPod. The Mini looks looks like another homerun, their first small form factor PC and its uniquely Apple and great looking.
Apple's focus has shifted to perfecting the Human-Computer interface. This is what it was all about originally. They are focusing on the look and feel of products, both hardware and software.
Get the details right, and they will come.
*-*
The Mac Mini will be a perfect X-Terminal to use with a Linux box in another room. You'll have a silent and small box on your desk and the fat and loud server is down in the basement. Great.
*-*
Another thing to note. A DIN slot (car radio standard size) is 2"x7", the mini mac is 2"x6.5".
If it had a radio faceplate and a laptop drive, this would be the best car stereo ever.
*-*
Say hello to *real* "Media Center" Machine
(1) add a RAM stick BTO - cheapo
(2) add bluetooth BTO - cheapo
(3) add Wifi card BTO - cheapo
(4) sit unobtrusively to my way-cool existing TV and hook up A/V - nothin'
(5) hook to already existing wifi ADSL-powered network - nothin'
(6) bring in my already existing Sony-Ericsson Z600 - nothin'
(7)
(8) Profit!
Lemme see what I get from this:
(A) iTunes playback
(B) VLC playback
(C) DVD playback
(D) UNIX development
(E) Surf web
(F) Check mail
(7) Photo slideshow
(8) Remote control via Z600 (see 2,6,A,B,C,E)
All in the living room sitting comfortably on the sofa (see D)! Yay!
*-*
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Select proper post
2. Copy and paste into the reply box
3. Submit (no need for preview!)
4. Profit
Parent
Re:And here are the more interesting posts: (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re:And here are the more interesting posts: (Score:5, Informative)
Heard where?
The RAM I've got in my old G4 began its life in a Dell server. It runs OS X just fine. It ran OS 9 and 8.6 just peachy, too. I have trouble believing that an OS could identify the difference between OEM and 3rd party RAM, or behave any differently.
Cheap, flaky RAM, on the other hand, can hose a machine no matter what OS you're running.
Parent
Re:And here are the more interesting posts: (Score:5, Informative)
This simply isn't true. I'll let Henry Norr, veteran Mac journalist at http://www.macintouch.com/mwsf2005notebook.html/ [macintouch.com], tell it like it is:
Apple "does not recommend" that users upgrade the memory themselves - you're supposed to have a service provider do it if you want to add more after purchase - but doing it yourself does not void the warranty unless you damage something. A booth person told me the memory slot is easily accessible once you get the case open.This has been Apple's policy for donkey years.
Parent
Re:And here are the more interesting posts: (Score:4, Interesting)
Mac mini offers plenty of juice to power your digital life, but you can kick it into overdrive with extras. Add the SuperDrive option to burn DVDs of your home movies or to make a backup of the music or audiobooks you buy at the iTunes Music Store. You can minimize the desktop clutter of cables with wireless connections. Surf wirelessly with an AirPort Extreme Card installed in your Mac mini. Or configure your Mac mini with internal Bluetooth to use wireless keyboards and mice. You can also choose up to 1GB RAM and increase the 40GB hard drive to 80GB. Some of these options must be installed by Apple at the factory; the rest can be added in-store at an Apple Store or an Apple authorized reseller.
Parent
Re:Dupe... (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Lightening reactions... (Score:5, Funny)
In other news (Score:5, Funny)
Wow! (Score:5, Funny)
samzenpus? (Score:4, Interesting)
Anyone notice that all the stories on the front page are now listed as posted by 'samzenpus'? The fact that such a glaringly obvious dupe was posted kinda raised the 'this website has been hacked' alarm.
Previous link and Financial results (Score:5, Informative)
Apple announced their financial results for the fourth quarter today, reporting a profit of $295M, or $0.70 per share. They shipped 4.58M iPods, an increase of 525 % over the year ago quarter. But more surprisingly, Apple CPU sales were up 26% themselves over the year ago quarter. Over 1,046,000 Macs went found their way into customer's hands in the quarter.
See http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2005/jan/12result
After reading comments from the other
Re:Previous link and Financial results (Score:4, Interesting)
I also figured iPods would be doomed to failure. Why would people spend $400-600 on harddrive mp3 player, instead of say $150 on a flash mp3 player? How small could they get those disks anyways? As for Mac OS/X, come on...if someone could put an elegant GUI on a robust unix kernel don't you think Microsoft or IBM would have done it already??? And Apple was clearly doomed financially...has any company ever lasted long after a Microsoft payoff?
Now, in 2005, 20 years after I gave up on Apple, everything is falling into place. They finally have production costs under control, and long term strategic chip partnership with IBM. iPods are more popular than Sony Walkman's in the day. Mac OS/X is perhaps the best operating system in the market.
And now this. Although there's alot of Mini-ITX cases available for the PC (Apple appears to be copying the PC market), this one DOES IT RIGHT. OS is included; several very good tools and software are included. You won't be using this mini-Mac for gaming, but for internet/digital photos/word processing its an awesome setup.
Kudos Mr Jobs. I finally consider Apple a true market player once again.
Parent
Re:Previous link and Financial results (Score:5, Funny)
I have a message for you from Mr Jobs: he says thanks, now he can finally sleep at night.
Parent
It's ALL about the software, stupid! (Score:5, Interesting)
This just in! (Score:5, Funny)
When asked for a comment Mr Vader said "I find your lack of faith disturbing".
Reasoning for the mini (Score:5, Insightful)
1) From the first paragraph on that page:
2) From the second paragraph:
For the average
Re:Reasoning for the mini (Score:5, Interesting)
With all the new free time I'll have, I'll need a new hobby. Maybe I'll finally start drinking.
Parent
Re:Reasoning for the mini (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm a 24 year-old network admin that's tired of dealing with Windows falling apart, or having to beat my Linux box into submission to make it do what I want.
I've used OSX before, briefly, before; the university was covered in iMacs. But only to print papers, or check a website. Then, just after Christmas, I was house sitting for my sister, a technophobe that manages to use an older G4 iMac. Having a week to sit down with the OS, my reaction now is this:
I'm not running any sort of heavy duty server, so fucking forget dealing with Linux. And if I'm going to pay for an OS, OSX runs rings around the best things Microsoft could even conceive. Now, how can I justify buying a full-priced Mac when I already have a pretty uber gaming PC?
This announcement couldn't have been more perfectly timed. I adore my iPod. I'm tired of PCs. And this thing's affordable and works with the pretty pricey monitor I've already got.
If they had an option to upgrade the video card in this thing to something like a 9600/9800 Pro, I'd be absolutely sold, but as it is, I'll probably buy one, anyways.
Parent
Would make a nice Amiga OS4 box! (Score:5, Interesting)
I've been a vocal critic of Amiga for going this route, ever since it was announced, but here's yet another example of why their plan is dumb: You can now buy a complete PPC machine (sans mouse, keyboard, and monitor) for less than you can buy an Amiga OS 4 board!
Yes... They'd have to get their OS to boot on the machines, but as a growing number of Linux distributions prove, it's not too hard to do.
I think, after seeing this machines price, and the price of the (yet unreleased, other than in alpha/beta form) Amiga board/CPU combo, that there must only be one or two nails left before the Amigas coffin is finally sealed shut.
Be alert & call Apoc! (Score:5, Funny)
Trinity: What did you just say?
Neo: Nothing, I just had a little deja vu.
Trinity: What did you see?
Cypher: What happened?
Neo: A black cat went past us, and then another that looked just like it.
Trinity: How much like it, was it the same cat?
Neo: Might have been, I'm not sure.
Morpheus: Switch, Apoc.
Neo: What is it?
Trinity: A deja vu is usually a glitch in the Matrix. It happens when they change something.
It's so small because... (Score:5, Funny)
Answers to frequently mentioned complaints (Score:5, Insightful)
1) 2 USB ports. What do you do after mouse / keyboard and you want to plug in a printer?
A USB HUB. I can't believe people on
2) No Audio In - external firewire devices, which have been mentioned in many other posts with links, are readily available. If you're serious about gargeband you won't want a crappy minijack audio in anyway. You'll want a breakout box with a 1/4 or optical line in.
3) No Optical Audio out - again the reverse of the above.
4) Harddrive space, not enough for today's digital media. Same as an Ipod.
Again, external firewire drives, which are very important to the Mac in general. I use my G5 primarily for heavy duty HD editing. Guess what I use for storage? No SCSI or Raid array - an off the shelf LaCie Terabyte external Firewire 800 drive. I took it out of the box, plugged it in, copied files over from the SATA drive that came with the system, and within 15 minutes my setup was complete with now a terabyte to work with. Hell, you could plug one of them into a Mac Mini if you had that much porn to archive and were going to hack the thing to be a video server.
5) What hardware you're getting for that price.
You're also getting OSX and iLife '05. I skipped iLife 04, but I am rushing out the day '05 hits, because it is just incredible what you're getting for 79$. That cost is part of the Mini Mac.
Ultimately it's not even about the hardware. Granted I'm spoiled with a dual G5 processor, but when push comes to shove what made me fall in love with my Mac wasn't the sheer power of my system - it was the OS environment, the software, the interface, the stability, the lack of virus and spyware and adware and malware.
That to me is easily worth $500, which is why this is a product that should be for two ends of the market. Clueless newbies who expect - rightly so - that things should work, and hardcore techies who can now afford to keep a second box. What I think you'll find is that under Jobs' second tenure the Mac has become a device for your life, and it's all to do with the exceptional software made for it.
Most of us here shell out at least 1000 for a good PC system even if we build from scratch cause that's often the price for the best thing out there. Wouldn't you gladly pay $500 extra if you knew that WinXP would never crash, never present
6) No DVD Burner. Not enough RAM.
You can add Ram without violating the warranty yourself. Apple is charging way too much for it. And you can add a Superdrive for about $100 if I recall right. Giving you the option to burn DVDs. This I believe is a cost everyone should upgrade to, especially once they see the ease of iMovie and iDVD.
7) No VGA / S VIdeo out
Well it comes with a DVI to VGA adapater - if you're hooking up to an HDTV then use DVI for the love of god. And you can get a SVIdeo out for 19$
Did you also remember this is fanless and whisper quiet and smaller than a lunchbox? That they've liberated you from having to pair up with their overpriced (but absolutely phenonmenal) displays?
Every bit of commentary I've seen about this computer has completely missed the point or just been rife with ignorance. Every single major gripe is addressable, and the price point is absoutely amazing, again, for the software. Most of the readers here do get it - they can afford to have one to play with, and I wouldn't be surpri
Re:Headless Alternative for Less (Score:5, Interesting)
But, most importantly, what tasks can you, as a user, do with a $500 PC that you can't with the $500 Mac?
Parent
Re:Headless Alternative for Less (Score:5, Informative)
Those displays will work with the mini. So will pretty much any USB keyboard and mouse. And this machine is targeted rather specifically at people who already have a keyboard, mouse, and display.
Some people will piss and moan about anything, I swear.
Parent
Re:Headless Alternative for Less (Score:4, Insightful)
Parent
Re:You forgot something (Score:5, Funny)
Because the flat-screen 17" at Sams for $110 is just too cheap?
Parent
*Gasp* (Score:4, Funny)
Then we wouldn't be overpaying for Apple products, now would we? What kind of Apple zealot are you anyways?!?
Parent
Re:Headless Alternative for Less (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:Headless Alternative for Less (Score:5, Insightful)
So you've got to add:
XP-Pro (at least)
DVD-ROM
Quicken 2005
Office
Video editing suite
*then* start comparing prices.
Parent
Software software software (Score:5, Informative)
imovie is an excellent video editor (enough better the compaq with various cheap editing packages)was abandoned...(Not to mention this apple machine comes with firewire, a requirement for getting video off the cam corder.)
iphoto is excellent photo storage tool.
OS X is pretty good to, but if you want a windows box go nuts..
Parent
Re:Headless Alternative for Less (Score:5, Insightful)
True, but when my retired mother wants a new PC and also wants to get one of those digital cameras everyone is buying, guess which one I'm going to suggest? I'm going to suggest the $600 box that won't require me to sit in front of it removing spyware and viruses for an hour every time I visit (which I do now for my in-laws, which has decreased since I put Mozilla on that machine). I look at the mac as a Linux for the rest of them, and if it costs a few hundred more up front, so be it.
Parent
Re:Headless Alternative for Less (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Re:Headless Alternative for Less (Score:5, Insightful)
GotApex? has a "headless Dell" on their site for $449.
This is not really a reasonable comparison. This Mac Mini is a super small form-factor PC. Try this:
Mini-itx system with Morex case [logicsupply.com]
After I added the optical drive, upgraded to the 1200 processor/motherboard, upgraded hard disk to match apple, etc, I came in around $730. And that's for a PC with shared video (unichrome) that is still over twice the size of the Mac Mini, running WinXP, and looking about as attractive as a big warm turd. The Cappuccinopc [cappucinopc.com] web site has some PCs that may be a closer comparison, but they are also more expensive and include Intel Extreme video.
If someone out there made a 6.5 by 6.5 by 2 PC with a real video card and slot-loading dvd drive for 499, I would be all over it.
Parent
Re:Headless Alternative for Less (Score:5, Informative)
CPU - OK, the "headless Dell" is faster.
RAM - Both same amount of RAM
HD - Both 40 gigs
Warranty - the Dell is a year better..and is on-site.
BOTH COST $499
So, where is the "insanely overpriced" come in? If it were $699 then perhaps you would have a valid argument. But of course, you do not.
Not to mention the fact you get a TON of software with the Mini and OSX. How much software comes with the Dell? Yeah, thought so...
And here I'm not even using a Mac nor own a Mac and even I can see you're so full of shit it's not even funny. If you have a beef against Apple, then please, think a little harder next time to come up with something of substance.
Parent
Re:Headless Alternative for Less (Score:5, Informative)
Apple's hardware is better than the bottom basement x86 crap. Dell is using the lowest bidder, and changing monthly. Apple is consistently using the same hardware. This is important for two reasons. First, Apple can make sure the drivers work well. In the x86 world, drivers are a mess, written by the company that made the hardware. You have no guarantee of quality, and that is partially what makes Windows unstable. Second, if the hardware sucks, Apple will drop them.
More importantly, Apple's software is better. OS X is very pleasant to use. It's powerful for advanced users, and simple for novices. The bundled apps are easier to use. Plug and play works very well. Your mom's camera will just work without special drivers and special helper apps for downloading the images (yes, some digicams just work under Windows, but my Canon required a whole suite of applications to get the damn pictures from it).
What you seem to not understand is that these things have a value. In fact, they are worth at least the $50 price difference to many people. The fact that people find value in this shouldn't bother you. You shouldn't feel some compelling need to point out that an apple and an orange have different prices. Many people want a Mac. You seem to think that people want a computer.
Parent
Re:Headless Alternative for Less (Score:5, Insightful)
I won't tell you which system is the better value for you, but let's for the pure fun of things look at that Mac Mini's software, and then figure out from there what you're paying for the naked hardware, okay?
Let's see -- the Mac Mini comes with (with prices listed at Apple's Online Store [apple.com] in brackets (using all USD prices):
For a grand total of $401.85 if you were to just buy the software alone, leaving the hardware portion costing you only $97.15 . When you factor in the fact you don't need to outfit the system with firewall or anti-virus software, it looks like one damn fine deal to me.
Yaz.
Parent
Re:Headless Alternative for Less (Score:5, Insightful)
2. It's not tiny.
3. It's not fanless.
4. It does not run MacOS-X.
Crap. Order Mac mini w/ 512 megs of RAM and you have _fully_blown_ modern computer that everyone can use and that you can carry in your pocket (I'm sure it would fit in my coat's).
Parent
Re:Not Politically Correct (Score:5, Informative)
As much as 'PC' has come to define a machine derived from the original IBM PC, 'PC' means "Personal Computer".
Cheers
Parent
Re:Not Politically Correct (Score:5, Insightful)
Ironically enough, a phrase coined by Apple.
Before that they were "microcomputers".
Parent
Re:Not Politically Correct (Score:5, Funny)
Other than that, it occasionally goes to church and has an interest in oral sex.
Parent
Re:Not Politically Correct (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:Kinda meager on the specs... (Score:5, Funny)
I buy a $500 thing, add $1000 more in options, and it increases the cost 300% !!!!!
Outrageous. Damn Apple.
Parent
Re:Kinda meager on the specs... (Score:5, Informative)
I haven't really noticed much speed difference between my current machine (1.5GHz G4) and my last one (1.25GHz G4), so I wouldn't bother with this. Even big compiles and video editing only gain a small amount.
up it to a gig of RAM
Never buy RAM from Apple. They charge 2-3 times the value of the RAM for installation.
a superdrive
If you really need to burn DVDs. I've got some use from my SuperDrive, but I wouldn't consider it essential. Waiting a year and adding a FireWire Blu-Ray / HD-DVD drive might be a better bet.
bluetooth
You can get a USB bluetooth module on eBay for a quarter of what Apple charge for internal Bluetooth. And yes, OS X will almost certainly support it.
wireless keyboard and mouse
So get a wired one.
and give it a 3 year warranty
It comes with a 1 year warranty. Adding another two years for a third of the price of the machine doesn't sound like a great deal. I'd be more inclined to throw it out and replace it with a newer and faster one if it breaks after the first year.
you don't have nifty Mac stuff like video-in
My PowerBook has exactly the same video-in capabilities as the Mac Mini - a FireWire port. Neither machine has any analogue video input capability, and neither does any recent Mac I've seen without 3rd party hardware (and if you really need it, there are analogue -> FireWire boxes available).
and you have a CPU that compares to what was out a few years ago.
And is still used in the current PowerBook line, and is probably fast enough for most people.
Is this really a good deal?
If you insist on adding every possible customisation to it, then no. If the basic model (perhaps with the RAM upgraded to 512MB) is good enough for your needs, then yes.
Parent
Re:Serious question: who will buy this? (Score:4, Insightful)
Why? Because I've wanted a Mac for a while now, but havent been willing to part with the cash for one. Now there's a nice one in my price range. Will it be top of the line? No. But that's not the point. It will be good enough for me to get the Mac experience, and maybe from there I'll decide that a real high-end mac is worth it.
Parent
Re:Bodes well for Tiger-candy on iBook? (Score:4, Informative)
Tiger's Core Image system is what provides that eye candy. Sadly, Core Image requires a much better GPU than the 9200.
That isn't to say that Tiger won't run on a Mac mini or an iBook - it most certainly will. You just won't get all the nifty eye candy. And really, other than the temporary "wow" factor, you can do everything you need to do without a bunch of superfluous effects.
Tiger will run an an iBook or a Mac mini, just without all the extra gewgaws. And believe me, with Dashboard, enhanced search, and the way Apple OS upgrades generally get faster with each release, even without CI it would probably be a worthwhile upgrade.
Parent
Re:not just 499 (Score:5, Insightful)
USB-PS2 adapter, Fry's, something like $2. Seriously. Basic USB keyboards/mice aren't much more if you feel like an upgrade.
2)If I had an old computer I would have to by all new input and output devices to hook up to this thing because older computers are less likely to have usb mouse keyboards and VGA/DVI monitors.
It comes with a VGA-DVI adapter in the box. Moot point - oh, and RTFA.
3)I went to the apple site to "buy" one and I don't even see monitor as an option to add to this computer. Sure I can buy a 20inch LCD from apple but then its not "just" $499 anymore is it?
If you add extra parts it gets more expensive? Er, yeah, you're right there - although I don't really see what your surprised about. If you want a monitor, add one to your cart. If you don't, don't. If you want the whole package, spend more and get an eMac or an iMac. Or don't. Is this really rocket science?
Parent