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Updated Mac Mini Aims For the Living Room
WrongSizeGlass noted that besides the pre-order of the new iPhone appearing on the Apple store today, Apple has revved the Mac Mini and started selling those too. "PC World is reporting on the latest version of Apple's Mac Mini. At only 1.4-inches tall the unibody aluminium enclosure includes an HDMI port, an SD card reader, and more graphics and processing power. Even the power supply is inside now. The base model comes with 2.4-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB of RAM and a 320GB hard disk — for $699. Graphics power comes from an NVIDIA GeForce 320M GPU (as found in lower-end MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops). Apple appears to be aiming for living rooms by including the HDMI port and eliminating the external power brick."
So with the current mini you're looking at doubling the ram like you always have to for a stock machine and it's a proprietary case not meant for user fiddling so you have to pay the mac store to install the ram
They actually designed the case so the RAM is user upgradable, just scroll down http://www.apple.com/macmini/design.html
I liked more the external power brick, because it's a component that generates lots of heat and it was passively cooled. If you put it inside the Mac Mini it will inevitably cause more fan noise than a similar solution with external power supply.
There's a hidden treasure in Python 3.x: __prepare__()
I'm glad I waited; I was going to buy the previous version in the server configuration. Say what you will about HDMI ports, no blu-ray, etc., but the mini makes for a great server. I run Jira, Subversion, Postgres, and Tomcat for a dev team on one mini and it hasn't given me a minute of problems. If anything, I forget where it lives because it's so small. That said, I'd like to replace our existing one with a new one for the increased disk space (currently the db is on an external disk) and to possibly use the built-in Jabber server than the one we've got now.
It's one of Apple's magic combined analog/digital 3.5mm jacks. Plug in an optical TOS cable and you've got your digital audio. It's what I do on my iMac.
It's a Unix system - I know this.
Without a BluRay player, even as an option, its a deal breaker. If the only way they expect me to get content onto the device is to go through iTunes, then I'm not buying.
Even something like EyeTV for recording television seems like a half assed solution, when Apple has the opportunity to do it right.
so you have to pay the mac store to install the ram
It's not easy to replace the RAM as in other cases, but there are a number of guides online how to do it. The only unique tool you will need is a putty knife.
then you have to get the mouse and keyboard which will be wireless and thus more expensive, plus any other accessories you might pick up.
You don't have to get a wireless keyboard and mouse. You can use USB ones. Or if you already have one like from Logitech it will work.
Oh, and let's no forget the mandatory service plan since Apple gives you a flat one month warranty, that's it. My mini's hard drive took a shit at one year plus two months. They told me I was SOL.
The warranty is one year not one month. One year is fairly standard. And no one is forcing you to buy a service plan.
In your case the HD failed, not the MB so I don't see how your are SOL. HDs fail and the HD isn't a part that Apple manufactures so they don't have control over the quality of it. Replace it and you still have a computer. You'll lose all your data if you didn't perform regular backups
Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
Unibody (unopenable) case: BOO
You can open it. From the bottom, which makes for very easy access to the RAM, unlike the previous design.
Still Core2 instead of i5/i7: BOO
Same reason the 13" MBP is still Core2Duo. Try to put a discrete graphics chip in that form factor without losing any of the other features.
> Oh, and let's no forget the mandatory service plan since Apple gives you a flat one month warranty, that's it.
In what God-forsaken country do you live ? In all of the EU all the Apple products have a two-year national warranty (including a one year international warranty coverage) by default.
Also: no other company would have replaced a component they don't manufacture (the hdd) after the warranty expired.
You're a troll.
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Tell me, if Steve told you to jump off a bridge, would you ask which one?
Well, Steve wouldn't just tell you to jump. He would offer three height options (iBridge 50, iBridge 100, iBridge Pro250) and then sell you the privilege of jumping off one of them.
Set your phasers on "funky"!
I wonder if Apple are becoming complacent, or are focusing far too much on their mobile products. Their current product line is an illogical, uncompetitive mess (moreso than usual).
Apart from the usual "Mac Tax, no mid-level desktop blah blah blah" argument, the current product line is decidedly unappealing to a veteran mac user. I have a 2005-era Mac Mini (Core Duo 1.6GHz), and a 12" PowerBook (1.5GHz G4). If it weren't already obvious to you, I'd like to replace both, but don't have gobs of cash to do it, and would also like to get a tangible improvement for my money, and 5 years of "evolution."
We're used to paying 20% more for several intangibles (build quality, form factor, aesthetics) as well as several "tangibles" (OSX, generally top-of-the-line hardware). Right now, many macs cost double what their PC counterparts do, and although Dell and HP haven't quite gotten the memo about build quality and form factor, they're closing the gap, and Windows 7 is actually not bad at all.
Up until today, the Mac Mini hadn't seen a major redesign since the addition of a few extra USB ports around 2007. In 2010, I can pay more than my 1.6GHz machine cost in 2006 for a computer with a slightly better processor (about 2x as fast from what Passmark say), and the same (inadequate) amount of RAM. I installed a 7200RPM hard drive last year (for all of $80), which actually makes the new Mini worse in that regard. 802.11n, and the form factor improvements are nice, but the package just isn't compelling.
The 13" MacBook pro is also a baffling oddity. It's a great machine at a decent price point, and really has no peers in the PC world. However, like the Mac Mini, a C2D is inexcusable on a new machine in 2010. There's not even an expensive option for something faster or with more RAM. The 15" and 17" models are better, though, like many others, I cherish portability more than I do screen size. I'd love for Apple to bring back a 12" model, or simply sacrifice the optical drive for a bigger processor.
The iMac's got better entry level specs and pricing (which have inexplicably not trickled down to the Mini). The top-end model also has an i5, which is nice too, also considering that i7 chips too expensive to be economical for most home users. However, there's no way to get an i5 without a behemoth (but gorgeous) 27" display.
Apple's top-of-the-line workstations used to be defensible, considering that Xeon chips are seriously %*$&ing expensive, and the machines were generally rock-solid and lasted forever. Dell and HP's equivalents weren't much cheaper. However, things have changed, and the Mac Pro hasn't gotten any cheaper. Even a small bump down would be appreciated.
The RAM issue is a bit tricky too. Apple upcharges an extortionate amount on RAM upgrades, and has rather low maximums on most of its machines. Laptops are sadly rarely upgradable very far beyond the stock amount, and even the Minis and iMacs have incredibly low maximums. My G4 from 1999 has the same RAM capacity as my Mini from 2006. That's pathetic.
-- If you try to fail and succeed, which have you done? - Uli's moose
Dell Zino vs Mac mini comparison:
Z & M- Gig Ethernet, 4 USB, SD card reader, 2GB RAM base - up to 8GB
Z- M-Radeon HD 3200, M-Radeon HD 4330 option (nice)
M- NVIDIA GeForce 320M (faster)
Z- max 1.8GHz Athlon dual
M- max 2.6GHz Core2Duo (alot faster)
Z- base 160GB HD, max 1TB (unless you buy your own)
M- base 320GB HD, max 500GB (unless you buy your own)
Z- VGA & HDMI
M- DP & HDMI
Z- eSATA
M- FW800
Z- analog audio I/O, mic, optional better audio upgrades available
M- analog + digital optical audio I/O
Z- external power brick
M- internal PS (new feature - I like it)
Z- flimsy tray load DVD
M- slot load DVD
Z- WiFi - optional
M- 802.11n (a/b/g/n) WiFi standard
Z- Bluetooth ?? (seems to be no option)
M- Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR standard
Z- Windows Vista OS - base (Win7 -> +$150)
M- MacOS X Snow Leopard
Z- 3.4 x 7.8 x 7.8 inch, 4lb, plastic
M- 1.4 x 7.7 x 7.7 inch, 3lb, aluminum
Z- enviro - you can BTO a tree planting - woo hoo
M- enviro responsible/recycleable if that's a big thing to you
Z- Configured to come anywhere close to base Mac mini - $503
M- Base price - $699
If you upgrade the Zino to a 320GB HD, best Athlon CPU, par up the graphics, add WiFi, and add Windows 7 to the Dell Zino, you're within $50 of the Mac mini price, and you still don't have a fast CPU, Firewire, Bluetooth, DisplayPort, digital audio I/O, or a slot load DVD drive. Plus you also don't have the build quality. Methinks the Mac mini wins hands down compared to the Zino, and probably any other SFF PC on the planet.