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Apple Releases Mac Mini
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."
come ON, for a PC user with a little bit of extra money sitting around who's interested in a Mac, this is a great deal. They've already got all the stuff they need to run it, it's small, unobtrusive, powerful enough to do the things Macs do (ie, get your everyday work done), and is still pretty sexy.
Yes there are cheaper alternatives, but they're not THAT much cheaper. Paying $200 more for a Mac (using your math from above) is demonstrably better than paying $500+ more for a Mac, and the user experience is going to be pretty much the same for the buyer in either case.
That's without a DVD-ROM or any Software except XP Home (the Mac comes with the full version of OSX not a cut down version).
So you've got to add:
XP-Pro (at least)
DVD-ROM
Quicken 2005
Office
Video editing suite
*then* start comparing prices.
This is so much not news, that all the redundant posts saying this isn't news isn't news, and even this post isn't a post. As a matter of fact, I'm questioning "isn't" right now, cuz it just "isn't" ... is it?
"All great things are simple & expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope." --Churchill
This $500 Apple is still insanely overpriced.
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.
1) From the first paragraph on that page:
2) From the second paragraph:
For the average
I am a VAR in the PC world and see this kind Dell pricing every day. The Mac mini is the first Apple product that I personally have ever wanted as it is in the same pricing arena at the PC products. This is about getting away from the 'Windows" world and it's viruses, and its spyware, and it's glitches. This Mac may do that. The PC pricing is well and good but don't forget to add a modem, antivirus etc. Otherwise you are toast. I make a good living fixing Microsoft issues that don't have to be there. The intended customers for that PC are home users. The kind of users that don't understand viruses and spyware. The new Mac may be the perfect computer for the home users that aren't geeks. If Apple is trying to increase market share this is a great way to do it. I put my money were my mouth is. My MiniMac (pinkie in the air) ships the 22th. Time to learn if this is the Mac to recommend to the question, "What home computer should I buy?"
And isn't the target market for this computer people who already own a Windows machine and would like to switch over? If you already own monitor, keyboard, etc., maybe $500 isn't all that much to make a switch you've been contemplating but didn't want to spend $1500 to do.
This $500 Apple is still insanely overpriced.
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
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 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.
Schrodinger's cat is either dead or really pissed off...
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 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.
1. It does not run MacOS-X.
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).
Still, the mini looks cool, I hope to buy one (used in the far future from ebay for hopefully about $20). 300MHz G3 B&W Powermacs are still going for $150-$200 and they're ancient. Expect to wait around 10-15 years for your $20 Mac Mini. Macs seem to hold their value really well so I don't feel bad about spending extra on it. My PC on the other hand is obsolete and loses 90% of it's value the first 6 months.
I think a lot of slashdotters will buy it, honestly. I know I will.
Why? Because I've wanted a Mac for a while now, but havent been willing to part with the cash for one. Now there's a nice one in my price range. Will it be top of the line? No. But that's not the point. It will be good enough for me to get the Mac experience, and maybe from there I'll decide that a real high-end mac is worth it.
'PC' means "Personal Computer".
Ironically enough, a phrase coined by Apple.
Before that they were "microcomputers".
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
Half Life 2. True. This pisses me off. Alot of great games are ported to Mac, like the Unreal series and many many more.
:-) .doc files right out of the box (aka no Word needed)
Verdict: true
Right-click.
100% INCORRECT. OSX supports right-click right out of the box. Its just that Apple mice dont have two-buttons. Actually, you can hit the option key and click with an apple mouse to get the right-click functionality. But note that the mini mac DOES NOT SHIP with an apple mouse. So go out and get a MS optical wheel mouse or use your current usb/ps2 mouse and you will have right-click. Verdict: false
Start-R For Run.
Your joking, right?
You shouldnt even need to do that. In OSX I can start any OSX App using only the keyboard in 3-5 keystrokes. Do this COMMAND+Shift+A (open apps folder) then type the first letter of the App, OSX highlights it, now COMMAND+Down (or +O) to run it. You may need the second letter of the name too is many apps are similiarly named. Naturally, you can also use the Terminal to open unix apps as fast or faster than Start-R.
Verdict: True, but Mac's can accomplish the same goal quicker
Upgrade. The above were attacks on Mac's. This is about the Mini Mac and iMac's. The MiniMac's have memory upgrade ability only. This machine is geared at people as a "My first Mac." If you like, it Apple hopes you will by an iMac (that would be your upgrade).
Things you cant do on a Wintel PC:
- See all you app windows with a single-keypress (expose)
- Flurry screensaver
- Open
- Run X app's natively.
- Terminal. enough said.
- Turn on fully configured FTP, HTTP, SSH and file sharing servers by simply checking a check-box.
- Setup virtually any bluetooth device in 4 or fewer click's
- Once click internet connection sharing between wireless and wired lan that doesnt involve complex bridging and an hour of clicking.
- Tons of well-made and stable productivity applications bundles
and finally, - type ls
There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary and those who do not.
1)Usually it is only new computers that will have a usb keyboard and mouse. If I already have a new computer why buy another?
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?
You're special forces then? That's great! I just love your olympics!
We're posting on /., aren't we?
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Nearly every complaint about the Mac Mini can be explained away by the general modularity of Macs which tend to be far more external than PCs. On my desk I have a Dell Winbox and a G5. I've had the G5 for a year now. Not one OS crash or failure or reboot. And now the only reason I run the PC is for soulseek. I will never go back to Windows, ever.
/. have complained about this. Also, the standard Mac keyboard has two USB plugs.
.DLL nightmares, pick up viruses in everything from cursor settings to email, et. al... For a base $500 you can have a computer that does that and so much more.
1) 2 USB ports. What do you do after mouse / keyboard and you want to plug in a printer?
A USB HUB. I can't believe people on
2) No Audio In - external firewire devices, which have been mentioned in many other posts with links, are readily available. If you're serious about gargeband you won't want a crappy minijack audio in anyway. You'll want a breakout box with a 1/4 or optical line in.
3) No Optical Audio out - again the reverse of the above.
4) Harddrive space, not enough for today's digital media. Same as an Ipod.
Again, external firewire drives, which are very important to the Mac in general. I use my G5 primarily for heavy duty HD editing. Guess what I use for storage? No SCSI or Raid array - an off the shelf LaCie Terabyte external Firewire 800 drive. I took it out of the box, plugged it in, copied files over from the SATA drive that came with the system, and within 15 minutes my setup was complete with now a terabyte to work with. Hell, you could plug one of them into a Mac Mini if you had that much porn to archive and were going to hack the thing to be a video server.
5) What hardware you're getting for that price.
You're also getting OSX and iLife '05. I skipped iLife 04, but I am rushing out the day '05 hits, because it is just incredible what you're getting for 79$. 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
** http://www.nkhumanrights.or.kr/ ** Human rights in North Korea. 1 million estimated dead from starvation.
It seems like a lot of people are missing the point by saying "Dude, go get a Dell."
The bottom line - the Mini Mac isn't for people looking for an affordable PC, it's for people looking for an affordable Mac.
The distinction is bigger than it sounds.