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Mac mini Maximized With 3.5" Drives

Demolition writes "You just knew that someone would get around to this, didn't you? In this how-to article from AppleTalk Australia, a step-by-step guide describes how to transplant a Mac mini into a micro-ATX case and a method to connect standard 3.5" hard drives to it (using do-it-yourself 2.5"-to-3.5" IDE adapters). Only some minor case modifications and some added cooling are needed to complete the project."

5 of 439 comments (clear)

  1. Why? by Neil+Blender · · Score: 0, Troll

    Why would you do this?

  2. Re:Or... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll
    Heck, laugh if you want. Maybe I'm too much of a kid. Maybe I'm young at heart. Maybe I'm just a little superstitious.

    But every now and then, right around dusk, I'll look out my back window as the sun falls slowly to sleep. And I'll chuckle a little when I catch myself. I just can't stop believing that Negroes exist!

    I never doubted the existence of Negroes as a kid. My parents smiled knowingly and said nothing. But at night, lying in bed, I could imagine that Negroes really might be chirping and fluttering across the nearby countryside, scouring the foliage for the secret ingredients of Negro Stew.And of course I believed the legend that a young child, pure of heart, could make a Negro appear. If I was a good boy, perhaps I might see one tip his top hat and give me a wink!

    It was Mark Twain's classic novel on Negro life, Yassuh, Massuh Clements, Whatevuh Yuh Say, Suh, that hatched an ill plan of mine to actually see a Negro in person. In that immortal piece of Americana, Twain recounts the old legend that a young lad can summon a Negro. He must stand outside at dusk, face southeast, hold a tooth that has just fallen out, and sing:

    Cah Loo, Cah Lee, Tra Loo, Tra Ley,
    A Negro song today!
    Come hear my call, come one and all,
    Tra Lee La Negro, hey!

    If ye be keen to come along
    And sing the magic Negro songs,
    Then Tra Lee La, Tra True La Ley,
    T'will be a Negro day!

    If all goes well, the young boy will hear a voice singing in the distance:

    A taste of stew, and Negro Pie,
    Oh who will break my fast with me?
    For me it is a weary life,
    But I will sup with thee.

    For tales, I'll tell you of a lass,
    My Negress love at distant shore.
    We'll sing beneath an apple tree,
    A merry Negroling and thee,
    Until the dawn is born.

    And, after suddenly appearing with a flash of light and burst of smoke, the Negro will exchange the tooth for a bag of silver dimes.
    Well, when I was seven, I was ready to try it out. Sneaking out of my bedroom, I crept down the stairs and into the backyard. I was certain that I would actually see a Negro! What would he be like? Would he be mean or friendly? Would he show me the magic sword used to fend off the Irish?

    After singing into the night as loudly as I dared, I stood with an expectant grin. The grass was soft under my pyjama feet. There seemed to be a sparkle in the air! But after several hours of waiting, I slumped with disappointment. No Negroes for me. My father rushed downstairs upon hearing me come in. At first he was worried, but his concerned frown turned into a gentle smile when he heard what I had been up to.
    "Son," he said, somberly. "There are no such things as Negroes."

    A little bit of my childhood died that day. But not completely. Whenever the dusk falls on a clear summer day, I look out to the southeast and dream of a bite of Negro Pie.

  3. Re:Or... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll
    The Mac mini really is almost a perfect media center box

    Not if you want:

    • HDTV (not enough CPU for 1080i)
    • Multiple tuners
    • An big easy-to-use interface with a remote that controls TV, PVR, DVD, photos, music, CD/DVD burning, portable mp3 player synching, etc
    • TV-out (S-video, component, composite)
    • Big hard drive, tv-tuner, surround sound, and memory card reader in one or two small boxes.
    Once you add up the price and combined size of a Mac mini plus Elgato EyeTV 200, M-Audio surround sound USB card, and 256MB of memory ($75), then a pre-built Shuttle XPC with Windows Media Center Edition looks like a much better solution for a "media center box."

    Of course if you don't need tv and surround sound, then the Mac mini is freakin' sweet. I'd hardly call it a "media center box," though.

  4. next level by tiredwired · · Score: 0, Troll

    He should mount the pc case inside a main frame case.