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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."
C'mon guys. This isn't news, especially since you reported it yourself here. It's just a two day old dupe of old news.
... in other news Microsoft unveils next generation Windows operating system... ""Windows XP".
This sig has been deprecated.
We're getting unconfirmed rumours that President Kennedy's been shot. Can anyone clarify this?
Now if only they'd release some new type of ipod to go with this "Mac Mini" It could even be flashed based. It's a brave new world.
Yes, the Mac is more expensive in terms of raw computing power. But, a lot of people consider Mac OS X to be worth a significant premium over Windows XP.
But, most importantly, what tasks can you, as a user, do with a $500 PC that you can't with the $500 Mac?
This was previously discussed on this Slashdot story. Also of interest is this announcement :
s .html
/. story discussing the Mac Mini, I believe this Mac Mini is doomed for a **huge** success. Good for competition. Good for everyone :-)
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
Animoog.org
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 $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.
All the price comparisons I've seen, including the 'in-depth' analysis on CNet, talk purely about the value of the hardware. (BTW, theirs is bogus, because they compare to boxes with crappy integrated graphics and no DVD player). The attraction of the Mac is in the software, mainly iLife. This is why people buy computers - to do stuff. Of the news site anayses I've seen, most of them don't even mention the bundled iLife software at all, yet it's the core of the digital lifestyle that Apple are selling. This is why comparisons of Windows PCs and Macs are nearly uniformly missing the point. A Mac isn't realy in the same product category as a PC. It's more like the product category of digital cameras, synthesisers and DVD players. Simon Hibbs
Well... I'd say this would be one case where you'd buy the OEM RAM. The mini-mac's only got one DIMM. So, if you buy the 256MB, then run out and buy a 512MB stick from Crucial, say, you'd be throwing your money away on the 256MB that came with the unit.
/. is a bunch of nerds at a million typewriters. It's not a political conspiracy determined to undermine your beliefs.
1) From the first paragraph on that page:
2) From the second paragraph:
For the average
Of course, that's assuming that Amiga gets over their "Our OS can only be ran on our hardware" mentality.
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.
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?"
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...
How is the Mini "insanely overpriced" compared to the computer you mentioned?
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.
"Leo Fender was in a 'state of grace' when he designed the Stratocaster." -- Paul Reed Smith
The reason that you're going to get a dozen replys from the Apple "amen corner" is that you very clearly don't get it. If you could buy a Yugo for $5000 or a Honda for $5500, which one would you want? Sure, you could say that Dell is better than Yugo, but you'd still be missing the point.
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.
Err, you DO know that other companies besides Apple make displays, right?
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.
The minimum $500 monitor to use it.
Because the flat-screen 17" at Sams for $110 is just too cheap?
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
Neo: Whoa, deja vu.
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.
Quem a paca cara compra, paca cara pagará.
Also you can play "Hunt The Virus" and "Spyware Fishing" and "Patch the latest security vulnerability in IE".
Bad analogies are like waxing a monkey with a rainbow.
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.
This simply isn't true. I'll let Henry Norr, veteran Mac journalist at http://www.macintouch.com/mwsf2005notebook.html/, 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.
"Where's my other sock?" - A. Einstein