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Mac mini nears End-of-Life; Leopard GM target; more... - Page 2

post #41 of 151
10/12/07 at 9:48pm
Mac Nano, the same size as Apple TV? It would be nice for $299. Although i would miss the optical drive but it is certainly not a deal breaker.
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post #42 of 151
10/12/07 at 10:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by wessan View Post

Well I would like to see something like Mac Mini inside a keyboard. It would spare a cable and make the Mac easier to transport. That would probably lead to sacrificing optical drive. But it could be pretty cool for some people to have a notebook without screen and battery that can be attached to 24" at home, 20" in dormitories/in school etc.

Ah, you must be talking about my old Atari ST's.

http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=20

Things were bigger in those days. this machine was a marvel of compactness.

It was also more powerful than the Mac of its day, and had better graphics, in color or greyscale.

Also, the first machine with 1 MB RAM for $1,000.
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post #43 of 151
10/13/07 at 12:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by daratbastid View Post

What do you do for audio from the mini? The AppleTV with its toslink is supposidly able to produce the 5.1 from ripped content....being the mini dosnt have fiber, are you limited to stereo only from the audio out port?

Someone else already pointed out that the mini has optical out (I think all Macs have it now?), but also, the AppleTV can not do 5.1 surround, which is a MAJOR drawback. It can do 4 channel matrix surround (mixing it down to a 2 channel signal), but that technology is decades old. It can not do discrete, 5.1 channel sound, at least not in any way that current home theater receivers can work with (it can theoretically do 5.1 AAC, I think, that that will get you nothing).
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post #44 of 151
10/13/07 at 1:05am
When it come to home cinema I want something easy and not a stack of components my wife can't figure out.

The Apple TV makes no sense without a DVD drive, while the Mac Mini's front Row is just ok, I reckon Leopard going to address the front row thingy anyway. But still it's a long way off.

I'd love to have a Apple system in my living room , but I mean no DivX support what's that about ?

I have over 300 dvds filling my shelves, I want to rip them all into DivX and store them on a hard disk and free some space!

I've already seen in the local supermarket network hard drive with video output which supports DivX.

Come on Apple! Do what you did for music for video. (and stuff the Hollywood morons)

Another thing I always thought they should have bundled an Apple Keyboard and Mouse with the Mac Mini, that's usually why I never bought one for any of my switching friends or clients.
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post #45 of 151
10/13/07 at 1:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by wessan View Post

Well I would like to see something like Mac Mini inside a keyboard.

Funny as I just realized a few days ago that this would be a cool "80s revival" form factor.
Anyway, I too was waiting for Leopard to be released to go Mac Mini and definitely switch from XP.

Too bad if a Mini replacement does not come soon, I'll have to stick to PCs.
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post #46 of 151
10/13/07 at 1:13am
Quote:
Originally Posted by extremeskater View Post

The starting 20" iMac is a pretty good deal for what you get at 1199.00 seeing it includes a 20" display.

Maybe but then, the 20" display is a crappy TN+film display.
I own a very good IPS display, 20" wide made by Fujitsu Siemens, perfect for photoshop works and other graphics-intensive tasks.

Then the 24" iMac I use at work has a great display but does not play in the same league.

I really need something macish to attach to my own, home display.
The BYODKM concept is (was?) great.
www.oudinot.net
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post #47 of 151
10/13/07 at 1:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrtotes View Post

Just go for a dual-display set-up. Since the iMacs when Intel they're no longer crippled to Mirror only.

That said we do need a mid-range Mac.

Dual monitors that aren't the same brand let alone panel suck when trying to match colors.

 

 

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The reason why they are analysts is because they failed at running businesses.

 

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The reason why they are analysts is because they failed at running businesses.

 

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post #48 of 151
10/13/07 at 1:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by extremeskater View Post

Its new eye candy thats about it. The world isn't redesigned for 139.00.

You are on crack if that's what u think. There are so many under the hood changes. The GUI stuff is the least of the features. It's just what everyone notices first.

 

 

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The reason why they are analysts is because they failed at running businesses.

 

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The reason why they are analysts is because they failed at running businesses.

 

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post #49 of 151
10/13/07 at 2:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Takeo View Post

macosrumors.com has an article about a forthcoming "Mac Nano" to replace the Mac Mini.

http://www.macosrumors.com/

Ha! Do you actually believe anything they say? If this ad-galore site gets anything right it will just be by mere luck, and not by some insider information they don't have.
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post #50 of 151
10/13/07 at 3:03am
The Mac mini is the best Mac ever sold by Apple. Why? Because it is quiet, yet powerful.

I only hope that if the Mac mini is discontinued, Apple will offer an alternative. And, better yet, a true Mac mini tower (if possible, fanless and with the option of Solid-State hard disk inside):

THE MAC mini TOWER (my dream Mac):

45 nm quad-core processor. Option for 2-quad-core chips (octo-core).
4 GB RAM for quad-core model. 8 GB RAM for octo-core model (thus, 1 GB RAM per core).
Solid-State disk inside (optional). Option for two disks inside (possibility to run it as RAID 1 mirroring for the ultimate safe backup on real time!)
eSATA II ports (4) - Not shared as a hub but independent ones!
FireWire 800 ports (4) - Not shared as a hub but independent ones!
USB 2 ports (4) - Not shared as a hub but independent ones!
NO PCI lots. Save on that!
SuperDrive slot on the side (not on top like the Mac Cube had, which collects dust!). Option for Blu-ray drive. Option for two SuperDrives.
Bootable from fast external 1TB disks or larger (via eSATA II and FireWire 800).
Connector for one gorgeous Apple Cinema Display 23-inch.
Fanless (if possible) or at least extremely quiet (bedroom quiet!).

Any chance, Apple? I will pay any price for this marvel. But if it is to become a best-seller, the price should be just right.
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post #51 of 151
10/13/07 at 3:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by i386 View Post

I'd love to have a Apple system in my living room , but I mean no DivX support what's that about ?

I have over 300 dvds filling my shelves, I want to rip them all into DivX and store them on a hard disk and free some space!

I've already seen in the local supermarket network hard drive with video output which supports DivX.

If you're going to be ripping your DVD collection anyways, why does it matter what format they're in? Just grab Handbrake and rip them to H264 and be done with it.
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post #52 of 151
10/13/07 at 3:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by wessan View Post

Yes. But i think it could be much smaller these days having the size comparable to the new flat ketboards as there seemed to be some place between desk and the top aluminium plate. Could be enough to put some notebook like stuff inside.

I can feel my fingers burning already.

Maybe I should start a company that makes thermal iGloves in anticipation.
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post #53 of 151
10/13/07 at 3:48am
I am wondering if Silverthorne is more powerful then the current Pentium M inside AppleTV. After all it has Hyper Threading and reach up to 1.8Ghz. And runs lower power as well as cooler. ( If possible sticking two of them inside wouldn't hurt either ).

Would this be the cheapest way to build the next Mac Nano?
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post #54 of 151
10/13/07 at 5:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by wessan View Post

Well I would like to see something like Mac Mini inside a keyboard.

Reminds me of the Sinclair QL (1984?) or the Schneider CPC-series home computers.

Anyway, I don't see the end of life of the Mac mini. Over here (Germany) Apple's got to offer at least one machine in the lower price segment (Macs are -at first glance- still more expensive than off-the-shelf PCs, but you know better only later).

People also like to choose their flat screen display from a wide range of products. Mine's a 22 inch HP ww2207 which seems to me a near perfect combination.

At work (school) I have finally managed to convince my headmistress to buy yet another Mac mini. She doesn't understand much about computers and isn't prejudiced against Macs. She -like everybody else- is impressed by the machine's size and design, very much so, especially when compared to bulky desktop PCs. And last but not least it runs Windows XP and associated software which is an overall requirement in German schools.

Personally I think the Mac mini is a cute little machine and I'd feel very sorry if this design was given up. Keep improving it, Apple!
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post #55 of 151
10/13/07 at 5:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by zunx View Post

THE MAC mini TOWER (my dream Mac):

45 nm quad-core processor. Option for 2-quad-core chips (octo-core).
4 GB RAM for quad-core model. 8 GB RAM for octo-core model (thus, 1 GB RAM per core).
Solid-State disk inside (optional). Option for two disks inside (possibility to run it as RAID 1 mirroring for the ultimate safe backup on real time!)
eSATA II ports (4) - Not shared as a hub but independent ones!
FireWire 800 ports (4) - Not shared as a hub but independent ones!
USB 2 ports (4) - Not shared as a hub but independent ones!
NO PCI lots. Save on that!
SuperDrive slot on the side (not on top like the Mac Cube had, which collects dust!). Option for Blu-ray drive. Option for two SuperDrives.
Bootable from fast external 1TB disks or larger (via eSATA II and FireWire 800).
Connector for one gorgeous Apple Cinema Display 23-inch.
Fanless (if possible) or at least extremely quiet (bedroom quiet!).

What you are describing is, except for the PCI slots and the two instead of four drives, a Mac Pro.

In short you want a Mac Pro in an enclosure a quarter of its size, fanless and probably for half the price.
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post #56 of 151
10/13/07 at 6:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bradwjensen View Post

...because Leopard will work on "any" new computers like Windows does once it's released! :-P.....

Mmmm I'd love to try what you're smoking
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post #57 of 151
10/13/07 at 6:46am
noo the mini makes a great birthday present for my friends now what do you want me to buy them a imac ? sorry apple im not that rich at least replace it with something around its value
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post #58 of 151
10/13/07 at 6:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by igazza View Post

noo the mini makes a great birthday present for my friends now what do you want me to buy them a imac ? sorry apple im not that rich at least replace it with something around its value

Can I be your friend?
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post #59 of 151
10/13/07 at 7:03am
Apple generally knows their market and probably has the sales numbers to back it up. I have wanted to buy a mini, but I never put the money down to get one. The real reason for me wanting a mini was a compact home network server and web server, which my old PowerMac G4 does at the moment (albeit no compact), but since the current solution was still doing its job, I didn't bother.

If you want to simply a central HD and printing capability, then the Airport tends to fit the description. On the other hand if you want a bit more and while not an Apple solution and not designed to run MacOS X, the Fit PC certainly looks tempting. Having a home server that only burns 5W and can act as a web server is certainly something worth looking at.

A hacked AppleTV might even fit the bill.
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post #60 of 151
10/13/07 at 7:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by zunx View Post

THE MAC mini TOWER (my dream Mac):

45 nm quad-core processor. Option for 2-quad-core chips (octo-core).
4 GB RAM for quad-core model. 8 GB RAM for octo-core model (thus, 1 GB RAM per core).
Solid-State disk inside (optional). Option for two disks inside (possibility to run it as RAID 1 mirroring for the ultimate safe backup on real time!)
eSATA II ports (4) - Not shared as a hub but independent ones!
FireWire 800 ports (4) - Not shared as a hub but independent ones!
USB 2 ports (4) - Not shared as a hub but independent ones!
NO PCI lots. Save on that!
SuperDrive slot on the side (not on top like the Mac Cube had, which collects dust!). Option for Blu-ray drive. Option for two SuperDrives.
Bootable from fast external 1TB disks or larger (via eSATA II and FireWire 800).
Connector for one gorgeous Apple Cinema Display 23-inch.
Fanless (if possible) or at least extremely quiet (bedroom quiet!).

Any chance, Apple? I will pay any price for this marvel. But if it is to become a best-seller, the price should be just right.

I don't know why Apple just can't release a regular mini-tower in a smaller Mac Pro style case. While the above specs are impressive, it would probably be cost-prohibitive. How about the following...could it be done for a decent price?

MicroATX size/style motherboard with matching Mac Pro style casing, or something better?
Core 2 Duo processors (same speed offerings as iMac)
1GB RAM standard, 4 slots, 4GB RAM Max
250GB SATA drive standard, 320GB or 500GB drive options
1 Superdrive
2 PCI slots
One 16x PCI Express slot occupied by 128MB Video Card standard, 256MB Video option
Two USB 2.0 ports (ind.), One Firewire 800 (ind.), One Firewire 400 (ind.) and one eSATA port (bootable)
Keyboard and mouse

If I hadn't gotten impatient and purchased an iMac, I would have jumped all over something like this...if it was only available.
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post #61 of 151
10/13/07 at 7:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by teejaysplace24 View Post

The Mac-In-A-Keyboard thing is actually a cool idea

So what if you don't like the keyboard action? What if you have a favorite keyboard you like? What if you don't want to pay extra for a keyboard if you already have one? I don't know... on the one hand... I think it's kinda cool... but in reality... it would probably be exceedingly lame.

And from what I've read on other sites... the Mac Mini is not going away... it's being replaced by the Mac Nano. A smaller Mini with a completely new case design.
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post #62 of 151
10/13/07 at 8:10am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Takeo View Post

So what if you don't like the keyboard action? What if you have a favorite keyboard you like? What if you don't want to pay extra for a keyboard if you already have one? I don't know... on the one hand... I think it's kinda cool... but in reality... it would probably be exceedingly lame.

And from what I've read on other sites... the Mac Mini is not going away... it's being replaced by the Mac Nano. A smaller Mini with a completely new case design.

Agreed.

...and for Ireland's benefit a Mac Nano would leave a gap in the desktop family...,
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post #63 of 151
10/13/07 at 8:18am
How about a Mac mini with a flash-based HDD instead of a platter? Or at last an option for it.

I kinda like the computer-in-the-keyboard idea. One has to have a keyboard on one's desk, but why have a separate box? It would be al-la C64, but doesn't have to be that thick or even look like that. Slot-loading DVD on the side, USB ports on the other side and/or the back.

The mini is one of Apple's in-roads to the PC world. I don't think they would kill it without a replacement. Not everyone wants an iMac.
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post #64 of 151
10/13/07 at 8:25am
People are freaking out that the Mac mini is dying, but what they are missing is that it's only dying in it's current form. There'll be a newer, smaller, better looking mini to replace it. Now go relax with that pleasant thought

DaHarder just got banned. Let's crack open the champagne.

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DaHarder just got banned. Let's crack open the champagne.

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post #65 of 151
10/13/07 at 9:13am
Quote:
Originally Posted by noirdesir View Post

What you are describing is, except for the PCI slots and the two instead of four drives, a Mac Pro.

In short you want a Mac Pro in an enclosure a quarter of its size, fanless and probably for half the price.

Bingo! And its name is "Mac miniTOWER". ;-)
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post #66 of 151
10/13/07 at 9:22am
The current Mini going EOL is extremely good news for the platform.

The replacement can be reworked to offer user-replaceable hard drive, RAM and graphics for a couple hundred dollars more. Or the low end can be abandoned entirely to the Apple TV, and a $1500-$1700 version of the Mac Pro can be introduced.

My only concern is that whichever road is taken, it needs to happen fast.
The Christmas buying season is almost upon us.
The evil that we fight is but the shadow of the evil that we do.
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The evil that we fight is but the shadow of the evil that we do.
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post #67 of 151
10/13/07 at 9:31am
I agree with you, though my feeling is if apple doesn't release anything on oct 26th, it will be jan before anything is updated. Even though they are hoarding the next xeon penryn chips (harpertown), I have a strong feeling they won't use them till jan . I hope I'm wrong.

 

 

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The reason why they are analysts is because they failed at running businesses.

 

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The reason why they are analysts is because they failed at running businesses.

 

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post #68 of 151
10/13/07 at 9:50am
Personally I'm hoping that Apple delivers some very nice surprises when Leopard is released, and that would include the successor to the Mac mini. I'm one that believes the mini is the perfect switcher Mac for those on a tight budget and have a hard time seeing Apple walk away from this market - especially with the "iPhone halo effect" joining the iPod halo effect.

As soon as Leopard gets its GM tag I'm hoping that Apple starts production of some new Macs that make us drool and the mini & Pro might well be the first out the gate, with more to come at MWSF 08.

For me, I'm just going to sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.
Ken
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post #69 of 151
10/13/07 at 10:03am
It would probably be smart for Apple to go with the highest margin updates first (which would be a Mac Pro update) and then bring in the Mini's lower margin replacement in January.

However, this is Apple we're talking about, so all bets are off.
The evil that we fight is but the shadow of the evil that we do.
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The evil that we fight is but the shadow of the evil that we do.
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post #70 of 151
10/13/07 at 10:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by zunx View Post

Bingo! And its name is "Mac miniTOWER". ;-)

And I want a 15" MBP that is half as thick and weighs half as much as the current one. And that costs less. And they can leave out the Express-Card slot if they feel like. Let's call it MBP mini.
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post #71 of 151
10/13/07 at 10:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by icfireball View Post

It's a lot harder to make something like an iPhone water proof than something like a camera.

Any device that has an external button, jack or in this case a speaker, can at best, be water resistant to a certain depth or pressure. Water proof is near impossible. Like my video camera, an accessory for under water use might be practical if there is enough demand but a feature like that is rarely built-in for consumer electronics. Do you think there might be a class action suit in the making here?

BTW Kasper, thanks for not posting all of those recent lawsuit articles.

Life is too short to drink bad coffee.

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Life is too short to drink bad coffee.

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post #72 of 151
10/13/07 at 10:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by zunx View Post

The Mac mini is the best Mac ever sold by Apple. Why? Because it is quiet, yet powerful.

I only hope that if the Mac mini is discontinued, Apple will offer an alternative. And, better yet, a true Mac mini tower (if possible, fanless and with the option of Solid-State hard disk inside):

THE MAC mini TOWER (my dream Mac):

45 nm quad-core processor. Option for 2-quad-core chips (octo-core).
4 GB RAM for quad-core model. 8 GB RAM for octo-core model (thus, 1 GB RAM per core).
Solid-State disk inside (optional). Option for two disks inside (possibility to run it as RAID 1 mirroring for the ultimate safe backup on real time!)
eSATA II ports (4) - Not shared as a hub but independent ones!
FireWire 800 ports (4) - Not shared as a hub but independent ones!
USB 2 ports (4) - Not shared as a hub but independent ones!
NO PCI lots. Save on that!
SuperDrive slot on the side (not on top like the Mac Cube had, which collects dust!). Option for Blu-ray drive. Option for two SuperDrives.
Bootable from fast external 1TB disks or larger (via eSATA II and FireWire 800).
Connector for one gorgeous Apple Cinema Display 23-inch.
Fanless (if possible) or at least extremely quiet (bedroom quiet!).

Any chance, Apple? I will pay any price for this marvel. But if it is to become a best-seller, the price should be just right.

so you want a system with 2 quad cpus and 8 gb of sever ram or ram with low end on board video?

make it have 2 pci-e slots x16 x4 or x16 x16 also make then 2 slots wide to fit big cards in.
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post #73 of 151
10/13/07 at 11:21am
Steve Jobs has been obsessed, thankfully, with small desktops for quite a while. The only way the Mini is going away is if it's replaced with something smaller and/or better.
It's too bad some rumor sites, like AppleInsider, almost sound like they WANT the Mini to go away! I guess predict something long enough, and eventually it may happen.
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post #74 of 151
10/13/07 at 11:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by extremeskater View Post

Unless you have a copy already you don't truly know if it meets your needs or not or if it offers anything you actually need. Your just spouting BS.

Um, ever heard of developer releases?
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post #75 of 151
10/13/07 at 11:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by extremeskater View Post

Unless you have a copy already you don't truly know if it meets your needs or not or if it offers anything you actually need. Your just spouting BS.

I'm ADC, I've been using it since the 06 WWDC, at which I attended. I went to the local leopard tech talks, and I went to WWDC 07. I have used every ADC build. You shouldn't assume so much.

 

 

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The reason why they are analysts is because they failed at running businesses.

 

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The reason why they are analysts is because they failed at running businesses.

 

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post #76 of 151
10/13/07 at 11:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by camimac View Post

Ha! Do you actually believe anything they say? If this ad-galore site gets anything right it will just be by mere luck, and not by some insider information they don't have.

Don't know. Honestly haven't read that site in YEARS! I just happened to drop in the other day for the heck of it... and also just to see if they even still existed. Still... it's in interesting rumor.
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post #77 of 151
10/13/07 at 1:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by IQatEdo View Post

If you have to tell everyone that something is 'common sense', then it probably isn't.

great line....
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post #78 of 151
10/13/07 at 2:52pm
nearly all new cell phones have those water sensors, and there is normally more than one of them, there is usually one or two inside on the pcb too.
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post #79 of 151
10/13/07 at 3:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by winterspan View Post

great line....

Common sense: the less common of the senses!
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post #80 of 151
10/13/07 at 3:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bradwjensen View Post

They're only ending the life of the mac mini now because Leopard will work on "any" new computers like Windows does once it's released! :-P

Doubtful - but if Apple is going to release on other PCs, now would be the time due to Vista's lack-lustre uptake. I would think Apple would be more likely to ignore "any" clone and just to release on all HP/Compaq, and/or all Dells - that would limit the number of different hardware to support (but still give them a huge market share potential).

As I said, I think it's doubtful anyway. And even if they did, the Mac Mini would still have a place. I'm hoping for an AppleTV/MacMini merger myself.

Quote:
Originally Posted by MacTel View Post

I would hope that they merge but that would probably be unlikely with all the ports. It would be one ugly mess in the back.

It's just the same ports as the Apple TV plus 3 extra USB ports, and 1 Firewire port.
Not really so hard.

Still... I think S-video on the AppleTV and 4:3 aspect ratio would do more for the AppleTV audience than anything else!!
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