Mac Mini - Dead or Alive?
I'm in a bit of a bind currently - as my main desktop G4 just blew it's power supply and possibly logic board. I've want a Mini - but it seems like they are due for a refresh to a least Core 2 duo status (and possibly a new graphics chipset). On the other hand it might be discontinued...
As backwards as it sounds, if they are going to be discontinued, I want to get one now so I can start using it. If they are going to be updated, I can make due with the cobbled together from spare parts pc I'm currently using for a little while until the update happens. Anyone hear anything recently - is the mini really dead?
As backwards as it sounds, if they are going to be discontinued, I want to get one now so I can start using it. If they are going to be updated, I can make due with the cobbled together from spare parts pc I'm currently using for a little while until the update happens. Anyone hear anything recently - is the mini really dead?
Comments
1 - new iMac unveiling
2 - new cinema displays (24" replaces 23") that will match the iMac. 1& 2 will be announced back-to-back and then they will be brought up from the floor side-by-side to show you how nice they look together.
3 - Mac mini gets updated components or terminated.
4 - new Mac model, if Mac mini is terminated, which will allow RAM, hard drives, and graphics card to be easily replaced.
5 - a demonstration of the new iWork applications suite (spreadsheet and database included) leaving iLife to get its demonstration at MWSF2008.
Reasons I bought Mac Mini over an AppleTV:
- connects directly to my HDTV via DVI-D
- plays DVDs. Yes I still rent and buy DVDs, so do a lot of other people.
- can use Mini to watch true HDTV either live or recorded directly onto the Mini. I am running EyeTV software to show HD content on my TV. AppleTV doesn't do HDTV, won't run EyeTV or any live TV viewing software.
- it doesn't rely on another computer to sync with.
- it's a real computer!
I am certain the Mini, if discontinued, will be replaced by something else. Either it will be replaced by a souped-up AppleTV that plays DVDs and does true HiDef, or it will be replaced by a Mac Pro without the expansion slots - something like the old G4 Cube but on its side so it'll fit into an entertainment system with DVD slot
...mind you, do they announce discontinuations?
even if they are discontinued, i'm sure you'll be able to get one for a while from retailers. so safest thing is to wait and see if there's an announcement...
We stopped carrying Mac minis about six months ago, when we realized we sell one about every two months. We'll still order them for people, but Mac minis don't exactly fly off the shelves.
A low end 2.0Ghz Core 2 Duo model (in colours) and
a high end 2.16Ghz Core 2 Duo model with Mobility X1600 graphics!
Keep the mini!
A low end 2.0Ghz Core 2 Duo model (in colours) and
a high end 2.16Ghz Core 2 Duo model with Mobility X1600 graphics!
I would much prefer Nvidia 8500/8600 series....... but.... I want a high end MacMini for my HDTV.
I would much prefer Nvidia 8500/8600 series....... but.... I want a high end MacMini for my HDTV.
I don't get it. I thought you were satisfied with the ATV. In what aspects is the ATV inadequate for your HDTV?
:P
Which may even give them more room to make the Mac Pro a bit more of a high end workstation as well. It's overdue for a few bells, and whistles.
Either way I don't think they should kill it. Their customer base is growing, and I think they'll need it if they offer another Mac in the lineup.
Well, I used an ATV on my HDTV, and it was horrible. It left tread marks all over the LCD panel, and Best Buy refused to return it. :P
What did you just say? "It left tread marks . . ." I don't understand. And, you mean Best Buy refused to take it back, right?
What did you just say? "It left tread marks . . ." I don't understand. And, you mean Best Buy refused to take it back, right?
Maybe he means All Terrain Vehicle (ATV).
Maybe he means All Terrain Vehicle (ATV).
Boy am I slow. I was wondering about that myself.
Boy am I slow. I was wondering about that myself.
And I'm even slower. I didn't catch the joke at all, and was thinking only "Apple TV."
I don't get it. I thought you were satisfied with the ATV. In what aspects is the ATV inadequate for your HDTV?
I need a computer that can smoothly run 1080p playback in near HQV performance with fully compliant HDCP.
I actually need one that can run PowerDVD Ultra 7.3 under xp/vista in Macmini casing for now..... unless Apple starts investing in the HTPC software.
The Mac Mini is the gateway drug
I don't really understand why they'd kill the MM. After 3 crashes and 2 viruses on my wifes PC I read about the Mac OS and because the mini was CHEAP I got her one. Had it been $1000 I would have NEVER purchased it. I fell in love with it and have since gotten a Macbook AND an Imac. (iphone on the way)
The Mac Mini is the gateway drug
And that has been Apple's strategy with the Mac Mini all along.
. . . because the mini was CHEAP I got her one. Had it been $1000 I would have NEVER purchased it.
Apple could make an ever cheaper low-end Mac by using less expensive desktop components. Maybe it would be aimed at business as well as the home market. Nobody knows what SJ has up his sleeve.
Apple could make an ever cheaper low-end Mac by using less expensive desktop components. Maybe it would be aimed at business as well as the home market. Nobody knows what SJ has up his sleeve.
Nah. If they're going to kill the current Mini then replace the Mini with a taller version with two (or even better...four) 3.5" drive bays, Core 2 Duo, GMA X3100, 802.11N and maybe an expresscard slot.
With that and the aTV you have a complete home media solution with terabytes of disk capacity...hopefully under ZFS RaidZ.
Make it look like a very small Mac Pro (cube sized) and it would be a nice Mini replacement.
Vinea
Nah. If they're going to kill the current Mini then replace the Mini with a taller version with two (or even better...four) 3.5" drive bays, Core 2 Duo, GMA X3100, 802.11N and maybe an expresscard slot.
With that and the aTV you have a complete home media solution with terabytes of disk capacity...hopefully under ZFS RaidZ.
Make it look like a very small Mac Pro (cube sized) and it would be a nice Mini replacement.
Vinea
That smells like a midrange headless Mac to me V. I didn't expect this from you
Anyway, I'm just back from the MacsimumNews website and I found an interesting "what if...?" article about the Mac mini... here
Dennis Sellers talk about the Zonbu PC that gets it's storage from the "cloud", the PC boots from Flash (Ã* la iPhone)... Read the article if you want.
But with all those rumors about the death of the Mac mini AND the 17" iMac, I was wondering if it would possible to take the 17" iMac and make it thin/small as possible using Flash for boot and local storage (no optical drive, no hard drive) and bring the price down to the Mac mini range ($599-999, depending on the configuration of RAM/CPU/Flash) and bundling it with the essentials: MacOS X, iLife, iWork, Office trial (I know...). Software updates would happen via Internet (like we already do) and in the case you need more storage/optical playback/recording, there are lots of 3rd parties solutions or a video iPod (according to new patents), or even the Apple tv (with the big drive)...
I believe that Napa is still a "nice" platform for that kind of computer that would be used for regular tasks (email, Internet, word processing...) and also, to achive the lower price, there are some lower cost Intel cpus (CD T2X50 series or even mobile Pentium dual-core).
Anyway, it could go like that:
Your choice or CPU (T2350=1.86GHz/T2450=2.00GHz, for example) +$50 (estimate)
Your choice of RAM (512MB/1GB/2GB) +$75/$250 (BTO prices)
Your choice of Flash (4GB/8GB) +$100$ (like for the iPhone)
iWork installed $75
BYOKM
3 models:
$599 1.86GHz 512MB RAM 4GB Flash 1-year.mac iLife
$799 2.00GHz 1GB RAM 4GB Flash 1-year.mac iLife+iWork
$999 2.00GHz 2GB RAM 8GB Flash 1-year.mac iLife+iWork
I'm not a big fan of the iMac (Vinea knows it), but I believe it would be good for Apple to have a more attractive/complete solution in the low-end, and this could be it, for switchers, education, homes...
That smells like a midrange headless Mac to me V. I didn't expect this from you
Why? I've always said Apple might do a cube (tho' unlikely...) and a Mac tower (as a Mac Pro BTO single Xeon at $1599/1699). Just not a standard mid-tower. $999 would be kinds inexpensive for an Apple Cube though. Likely no PCI slot and slimmer than the old cube.
But with all those rumors about the death of the Mac mini AND the 17" iMac, I was wondering if it would possible to take the 17" iMac and make it thin/small as possible using Flash for boot and local storage (no optical drive, no hard drive) and bring the price down to the Mac mini range ($599-999, depending on the configuration of RAM/CPU/Flash) and bundling it with the essentials: MacOS X, iLife, iWork, Office trial (I know...). Software updates would happen via Internet (like we already do) and in the case you need more storage/optical playback/recording, there are lots of 3rd parties solutions or a video iPod (according to new patents), or even the Apple tv (with the big drive)...
...
I'm not a big fan of the iMac (Vinea knows it), but I believe it would be good for Apple to have a more attractive/complete solution in the low-end, and this could be it, for switchers, education, homes...
Sure...but why bother with the screen though?
Vinea