[moose_n_squirrel]

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The media centre Mac Mini might be a reality when 3rd party developers have come up with cool products. I bet most of you out there have a Mac and a lot of 3rd party cool stuff. So even though there are things "missing" on the original product Ill bet there will be add ons to this product...

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They've already been out there in the form of the digital video recorders from ElGato, surround sound USB modules from M-audio, infrared remote controls from Keyspan, USB and FireWire audio interfaces, and so on. Any Mac can be transformed into a media center with these add-ons. I was pricing some for my old Mac and it looked like it would be cheaper than those $1000 and badly reviewed Windows Media Center PCs.
What will probably happen...and what will be cool...is when 3rd parties make add-ons that perfectly stack on top! Build your own cube (or tower if you stack on enough modules). MacTotemPole, anyone? /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Edit: Hey, if you take two of these Minis and let them heat up, can you grill a burger between them? It kinda reminds me of a kitchen applicance...I guess I must be hungry...

[Nobody]

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Buying something that is inferior value in order to be seen as 'cool' certainly doesn't encourage the use of the term 'clever'. But, hey, Apple is doing well financially so ...

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What makes it inferior? If you want a compact and reliable digital music player, then the iPod Mini or the iPod Shuffle are the best options. Most people don't need 20GB of storage, and having a compact unit they can use while playing sports or going to school, is much more important than tech specs.
I must say that "stupid" is a word that applies to those who think that tech specs and capacity matter more than the actual practical uses of a device. iPod Mini customers were mostly smart for selecting the most compact device (for its storage cpacity) with the best interface.

[Nobody]

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his is why you never see manual windows available for automobiles anymore. Manufacturers realized it cost them more money to offer it as an option than what they were earning in profits in making it an option. Plus, it feels good to get a car with power windows.

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Actually, new cars with manual windows are readily available in Australia. And it doesn't feel good to buy a car with electric windows - it feels like one is a lazy prick, and around these parts, having electric windows would invite accusations of being a selfish wanker.

[mrbach]

Well, an eMac, is a few bucks more and you get a CRT, a mouse and a keyboard. This mini, really is mini. It comes with a 32 MB video card(whats that worth? 20 bucks?) and still, you cannot pull it and upgrade it. The G5 has already replaced the G4, and we all know that a G5 mini is in the wings. If you do the math, there is no savings. Slap the cheapest monitor you can find and the keyboard and mouse, and you might as well buy an eMac that will also drive an external monitor!
No one here remembers the Cube? All Mac users want a headless Mac, but lets have one that lets you upgrade the video at least. All they did was take the guts of an eMac and put it in a shoe box, then deducted the price of a monitor, mouse and KB........and it amazed the masses.

[jughead]

MooseNSquirrel is dead-on.
I'm buying one of these to replace a Beige G3 tower. It's gonna go in my stereo rack and here's what I'm gonna do with it:
-Add my M-Audio Sonica and plug it into my stereo for 5.1 Dolby digital sound
-Plug in an external firewire drive and fill it with DVD's and AAC's
-Connect my Gyration compact wireless keyboard and airmouse so I can surf on the couch
What will I need to add to my Mini?
-More RAM
-A USB hub
Upgrading the G3 is more expensive than the mini. And the G3 is HUGE.
Is this the perfect media center PC? No. But it can do plenty.

[Shrek220]

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What makes it inferior?

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I wrote "inferior value". Big difference. I figure you missed that, so the remainder of your argument there is wasted. You say that "Most people don't need 20GB of storage" as evidence but the reality is that most people don't "need" any iPod, no matter what the storage capacity. That they want it is indisputable, but need? That will be hard to convince a jury on.
You assertion that the iPod has the best interface is similarly open to question. Have you used the competition's machines or are you simply toeing the Apple line here? Explain to me, for example, what the iPod interface has that's intrinsically superior to, say, the Creative Zen Touch's menu system.
I have both, so I look forward to your review in order to compare notes.

[Nobody]

" Has somebody done a survey that confirms there's a huge number of disaffected Windows users that are so keen to abandon their investment in Wintel that they'll put their hard-earned dollars on a computing platform that they know nothing about? Except maybe that Apple makes a nifty line in MP3 players? "
I have quite a few "disaffected PC using" friends. Friends who have used PCs all of their lives, even made fun of the Mac. Since the advent of OS X however, they truly would like to try a Mac. Yet, the price of Macs have prevented them from purchasing. My problem is, most of them are heavy gamers who are fed up with Windows, it's quirky interface, and it's almost consistent security problems. Not fed up enough to pay Apple's prices for their machines capable of gaming on-- namely, the G5 towers.
But some of them are interested enough in the Mac OS they may very well be willing to buy one of the Mac Minis. If they do in fact buy one, I'll guarantee they will make that switch to more expensive machines after awhile. I'll know in a few weeks whether they will be willing to purchase or not.

" Most Wintel people I know don't know Apple even make a valid alternative platform. "
Here too. except for one minor detail for those I know who claim not to know the Mac is a viable option-- they just won't admit the Mac is a viable option. They drool when they finally come to my house and play with my Macs. Yet getting them to say anything besides "Yeah, it's nice, but the price is ridiculous" takes some real effort on my part. It's like they get wrapped up in the Mac's pleasures... you see it on their faces. But when they stop you can see that deflated look in their eyes, and they just blow it off within themselves.

" I guess this Mac mini will succeed if the Windows users are as thick as the people on this board make them out to be. Personally, I will be very surprised if this device succeeds. Then again, I was wrong about the iPod mini. Seems there are a lot of idiots out there. "
What's so "idiotic" about being attracted to the iPod? I don't get your reasoning here. I have yet to buy an iPod, and probably never will. Yet I can see why some would buy it. It's a great product. And with so much emphasis being placed on the "cool factor" lately it's definitely a "cool" product. I don't see the need for everyone to feel so "cool" all of the time, it's silly. But assigning "idiot" status to iPod buyers? Maybe you have a few "issues" of your own? No? Or maybe you're just "too cool" for any of this... for anyone or anything?
Your analogies had their good points until the last couple of sentences... then you completely lost me... leading me to believe you could possibly be another of the sour grapes variety.
Maybe I'm reading your point completely wrong?
DLH

[Nobody]

the mini-itx motherboards, which are a similar form factor to the mac mini motherboards, as far as i can see, are rated around 1.25ghz processors, yet can barely run a program like quake 1, and with my slimline dvd player with it, the mini-itx motherboards arent even fast enough to VIEW dvds,
I have two friends with mini-itx board systems and they run games requiring more processing power than Quake 1, or Quake 3 for that matter. It depends on many factotrs than just processor speed and the fact they're mini-itx boards. Bus speeds are one factor, among many others. There are crappy boards of all form factors out there.
"Wait a minute -- my 400MHz iMac G3 runs Quake 1 just fine, in OS9 or OSX, and does the same with DVDs "
The guy's talking out of his bum, or from somewhere else. Man, the crap that gets posted at this forum. I have an older G4 350 and a 466 that used to run Quake 3 with everything on full! No problems. Granted, the G4s do not house mini-mobos. But the proc speeds are as I stated- 350 and 400 MHz. Maybe this guy thinks Mac users are a bunch of techo-idiots, or something to that effect.
However, my wife has owned 2 pre flat-panel iMacs-- they both ran QUAKE 3 just fine with some minor settings tweaks... so I know they wouldn't have had problems with Quake 1. I know, I used to make her LAN with me in Q3A! :-P Older iMac against a G4 tower with me serving the game? I know, I'm cruel! :-P
I keep an updated PC for gaming and other minimal tasks. Quake 3 Arena runs just as well on both G4s as it does on my PC... let's not even mention Quake 1. The PC has more ram, a drastically better video card (256 MB memory), a MUCH faster front-side bus, it's overclocked to just right under 3.0 GHz, etc. Yes, it will run Quake 3 at higher resolutions. Yet I ran Q3A on both of those G4s @ 1024x768, everything else on full... no bogg/lag whatsoever.
I'd truly like to know which of the mini-boards will barely run Quake 1. So I can tell any PC-gaming acquaintances who may be building mini systems to run far away from them. :-P
I could be, and hope, I'm wrong. But I don't think Apple would put together a system with a lame board not even capable of running 3D games at least fairly well. Although, what the heck are they thinking about with a mere 32 MB video memory? That one, has me shaking my head in utter disbelief.
DLH

[Shrek220]

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What's so "idiotic" about being attracted to the iPod?

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Yep, you missed the point. I was comparing the iPod to the iPod mini. The premium you pay for the mini relative to its capacity is mind-boggling. You wouldn't consider buying a 2 liter container of OJ for $1.50 if you could get 4 liters of the same juice for $2.00 from the same store. Yet people are quite prepared to do the equivalent of that with their iPod purchases.
Maybe you can see some logic there but I cannot; my take is that the iPod mini purchasers are swayed by 'cool'. They are most certainly not motivated by value in any real sense. I guess 'cool' is valuable to them.
Whatever the case, my point there was that I predicted the iPod mini would tank based on my reasoning above, but the world and his dog knows I was wrong. I'm happy to admit that I could be wrong about the Mac mini too. When it happens, you can remind me of my rash prediction, or maybe the other way round if I turn out to be right. We'll see. BTW, I own a 20Gig iPod.
I'm too 'cool' you think? Hadn't considered that. I'll think about it. /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[Jarmo]

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You wouldn't consider buying a 2 liter container of OJ for $1.50 if you could get 4 liters of the same juice for $2.00 from the same store. Yet people....

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And that's why nobody ever buys soft drinks in a can... /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[xray123]

any ideas on how long we'll have to wait for a G5 version of the mac minit o hit the markets???
ideally with the same price tag as the G4 mac mini ;-)
after all, apple must run out of G4 chips and 40 (!) or 80 gig hard drives sooner or later.

[d00d]

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If you think the addition of a bluetooth module in EVERY mini raises Apple's costs per unit more than a few cents, you're kidding youself.

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I think you are kidding yourself if you think it's only a few cents. The "mass production makes things cost nothing" argument just doesn't fly for me. By that logic, adding in things like Firewire 800 and Airport would cost nothing. Serial ATA too. How about Superdrives? Mass production to the rescue! Fact is, this is a low cost unit and the corners to cut are Bluetooth, Airport, and Firewire 800.
Firewire 400 is a much different beast. It's required for high speed devices such as external hard drives, etc. It was brought in to replace the lack of an external SCSI port. It's the main high speed port that's been present on all Macs since its inception (save early iMacs). It's also been around for much longer than Bluetooth, severely curtailing its price. Down the road, Bluetooth may become standard on desktop macs, but right now, cost is prohibitive (again, low cost unit).

[Kurt_Alden]

Hello all
I've long been toying with the idea of getting a mac just to see what all the fuss is about. It wouldn't be my main machine as I do a lot of gaming and stuff and wanted it out of curiousity but the cost and general hassle of having two large boxes and monitors has put me off til now.
However, the mini sounds absolutely perfect. If I had to write down the spec of a Mac to tempt me then this would be it (however, built in wifi would have been nice). It's small, cheap, I can stick on on my desk by my monitor and simply switch leads when required. I could also look into using it as a media centre - the possibilities there.
I will almost certainly be buying one whereas I know for sure I wouldn't have taken the plunge before. So, here's one Windows user who's planning on entering the world of Macs due to the mini and I reckon there'll be plenty more.

[droidworx]

Wait a minute....
How many people pay $1.29 for a 600 ml bottle of Coke when you can get a 2 litre bottle for $.99 (sorry for the metric folks, I am in Canada :-))
Or how many single people go to Costco to by a family pack of whatever when the single portion costs almost as much...
I beleive that people are smart enough to know the tradeoffs and they will buy it for what it is...