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What about the Mac Mini? - Page 2

post #41 of 95
10/16/08 at 12:35pm
The Mac mini is dead. Deal with it.

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 #42 of 95
10/16/08 at 2:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ireland View Post

The Mac mini is dead. Deal with it.

Ok so efix and Psystar are free to fill that gap.
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post #43 of 95
10/16/08 at 4:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ireland View Post

The Mac mini is dead. Deal with it.

The mini dead. Long live the mini!

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/hom...amily/mac_mini
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post #44 of 95
10/16/08 at 4:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ireland View Post

The Mac mini is dead. Deal with it.

The notion that Apple will be making a TV is dead. Deal with that.

I don't think the Mini is dead, it's just deliberately held down. I get the impression they are trying to protect the iMac but mainly it will be a about profits. The margins are lower so they choose to push the same hardware longer.

Even if they tore off the head from the Macbook, dropped the battery and sold it, I would buy one as a home desktop. The speakers would be better than the current Mini at least. It needs to keep firewire though.

Productt Mac mini
Recommendation: Don't Buy - Updates soon
Last Release: August 07, 2007
Days Since Update 437 (Avg = 188)

It's actually only been just over a year since it was updated to be fair - although was that just a CPU increase? I can't remember now. The Mac Pro update took over a year to update once too - they only bumped the CPU up in the middle. The Mini hasn't been updated that many times in its whole lifetime so it's difficult to set trends on it. It just seems so much longer when Apple pays more attention to their favorite models.

If Apple do one more round of iMac and Mac Pro updates without touching the Mini, I think it will add strength to the fact that Apple are now run by complete jackasses and mean the Mini is pretty much done as a viable desktop.

If we reach next July and no updates, it's over. They stopped orders for the processors in them this May and will stop shipping next July:

http://www.slashgear.com/intel-to-di...-2-duo-299953/

So for the last 6 months, Apple have just been eating away at their quota. No more new orders placed. They simply have to run out eventually. It's kind of a catch-22 though. If they don't sell enough then they won't update, if they don't update, fewer people will buy.

The Core i7 is coming in November for the Mac Pro and the iMac is reaching the end of its update cycle. I would hope that the Mini will tag along on the back of either one of those updates. Given that the Mac Pro will likely be just a CPU improvement (albeit a huge one), the Mini is more likely to tag onto the iMac update like it did one time before.

It should get 2GB Ram, Penryn, Nvidia chips, faster drives, displayport, magsafe, all metal shell. This will hold it steady for another year and give me a happy Christmas for the first time in a long while.

I don't see them doing them all together and I reckon the Mini and iMac would make more sense to update before Christmas for consumers and update the Pro in January like they did this year. It will be a sound-bite for Jobs at MW to say they've transitioned their whole lineup to environmentally friendly material and a consistent look.

They better not put a black top on the Mini though. Silver top with a white logo only.
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post #45 of 95
10/16/08 at 4:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ireland View Post

The Mac mini is dead. Deal with it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Marvin View Post

The notion that Apple will be making a TV is dead. Deal with that.

I don't think the Mini is dead, it's just deliberately held down. I get the impression they are trying to protect the iMac but mainly it will be a about profits. The margins are lower so they choose to push the same hardware longer.

Even if they tore off the head from the Macbook, dropped the battery and sold it, I would buy one as a home desktop. The speakers would be better than the current Mini at least. It needs to keep firewire though.

Productt Mac mini
Recommendation: Don't Buy - Updates soon
Last Release: August 07, 2007
Days Since Update 437 (Avg = 188)

It's actually only been just over a year since it was updated to be fair - although was that just a CPU increase? I can't remember now. The Mac Pro update took over a year to update once too - they only bumped the CPU up in the middle. The Mini hasn't been updated that many times in its whole lifetime so it's difficult to set trends on it. It just seems so much longer when Apple pays more attention to their favorite models.

If Apple do one more round of iMac and Mac Pro updates without touching the Mini, I think it will add strength to the fact that Apple are now run by complete jackasses and mean the Mini is pretty much done as a viable desktop.

If we reach next July and no updates, it's over. They stopped orders for the processors in them this May and will stop shipping next July:

http://www.slashgear.com/intel-to-di...-2-duo-299953/

So for the last 6 months, Apple have just been eating away at their quota. No more new orders placed. They simply have to run out eventually. It's kind of a catch-22 though. If they don't sell enough then they won't update, if they don't update, fewer people will buy.

The Core i7 is coming in November for the Mac Pro and the iMac is reaching the end of its update cycle. I would hope that the Mini will tag along on the back of either one of those updates. Given that the Mac Pro will likely be just a CPU improvement (albeit a huge one), the Mini is more likely to tag onto the iMac update like it did one time before.

It should get 2GB Ram, Penryn, Nvidia chips, faster drives, displayport, magsafe, all metal shell. This will hold it steady for another year and give me a happy Christmas for the first time in a long while.

I don't see them doing them all together and I reckon the Mini and iMac would make more sense to update before Christmas for consumers and update the Pro in January like they did this year. It will be a sound-bite for Jobs at MW to say they've transitioned their whole lineup to environmentally friendly material and a consistent look.

They better not put a black top on the Mini though. Silver top with a white logo only.

magsafe on a desktop?
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post #46 of 95
10/16/08 at 7:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe_the_dragon View Post

magsafe on a desktop?

Looking at the cabling provided on the new 24" LED Cinema Display, one would think that MagSafe on a new Mac mini would make sense, and it would get away from that ugly power brick the mini currently uses...
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post #47 of 95
10/16/08 at 7:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MacRonin View Post

Looking at the cabling provided on the new 24" LED Cinema Display, one would think that MagSafe on a new Mac mini would make sense, and it would get away from that ugly power brick the mini currently uses...

It would hopefully have some sort of catch to keep it firmly in place in order to prevent accidental disconnections.
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post #48 of 95
10/16/08 at 8:49pm
Okay, how about this: the Mac Pro updated at MacWorld with a new environmental brick design and the one more thing looks the same but smaller. Mac mini. I don't know, I got nothing.

Apple's lineup looks about the same if you take the Mini out, so apparently professionals are the only ones who don't need a new monitor.

This is sort of like that year they made all the PowerMacs with dual processors, and you had to buy an iMac if all you needed was one. Can't a guy just buy a normal mid range Mac?
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post #49 of 95
10/16/08 at 10:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MacRonin View Post

Looking at the cabling provided on the new 24" LED Cinema Display, one would think that MagSafe on a new Mac mini would make sense, and it would get away from that ugly power brick the mini currently uses...

Do you seriously believe that many Mac mini buyers would also be in the market for a $900 LCD?
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post #50 of 95
10/16/08 at 10:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by FuturePastNow View Post

Do you seriously believe that many Mac mini buyers would also be in the market for a $900 LCD?

Let's face it the Mini doesn't make sense economically as it is now. If Apple goes the route of a MagSafe Mini they are then able to unbundle the power supply. This leads to the appearance of a much lower cost introductory machine.

From the standpoint of standardized part a MagSafe mini would be a win also as Apple could sell the same old laptop power supplies for it. The biggest problem on the Mini would be in planned disconnects, these could be handled with an alarm and a super capacitor. A latch might help but then you loose the biggest reason to use MagSafe in the first place. Frankly the issue with disconnects isn't much worst than what you have on the Mini now.

In any event I think many here need to look at the newly debuted products again because they are telegraphing what MWSF will look like. For one I expect a rapid transition to Display Port. I would also not be surprised to see a Mini replacement that is incredibly small. Small enough to clip on the back of a monitor. A step up from there would be a Mini type machine that is slightly more substantial than the current.

The thing is if you think about Atom and some of intels Laptop chips coming you will realize that there are all sorts of possibilities for extremely compact designs. The only limitation on size would be the RAM module if they used one.


Dave
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post #51 of 95
10/16/08 at 11:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by FuturePastNow View Post

Do you seriously believe that many Mac mini buyers would also be in the market for a $900 LCD?

Until Apple reveals a new 20" LED Cinema Display, the only choice for a matching Apple monitor would be the 24" LED Cinema Display...

And the 20" model would still be US$599, if they follow the same pricing as they did with the 24" makeover, so still expensive.

But you want your kit to match, don't you...?!?
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post #52 of 95
10/17/08 at 7:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by wizard69 View Post

Let's face it the Mini doesn't make sense economically as it is now. If Apple goes the route of a MagSafe Mini they are then able to unbundle the power supply. This leads to the appearance of a much lower cost introductory machine.

From the standpoint of standardized part a MagSafe mini would be a win also as Apple could sell the same old laptop power supplies for it. The biggest problem on the Mini would be in planned disconnects, these could be handled with an alarm and a super capacitor. A latch might help but then you loose the biggest reason to use MagSafe in the first place. Frankly the issue with disconnects isn't much worst than what you have on the Mini now.

In any event I think many here need to look at the newly debuted products again because they are telegraphing what MWSF will look like. For one I expect a rapid transition to Display Port. I would also not be surprised to see a Mini replacement that is incredibly small. Small enough to clip on the back of a monitor. A step up from there would be a Mini type machine that is slightly more substantial than the current.

The thing is if you think about Atom and some of intels Laptop chips coming you will realize that there are all sorts of possibilities for extremely compact designs. The only limitation on size would be the RAM module if they used one.


Dave

The Atom uses the same or weak gpu as the mini has now and dose not even have gig-e. Max 1gb of ram. Not only that IT IS SLOWER.

Apple can't do that then they are just asking for efix and Pystar to beat them.
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post #53 of 95
10/17/08 at 7:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by wizard69 View Post

Let's face it the Mini doesn't make sense economically as it is now. If Apple goes the route of a MagSafe Mini they are then able to unbundle the power supply. This leads to the appearance of a much lower cost introductory machine.

From the standpoint of standardized part a MagSafe mini would be a win also as Apple could sell the same old laptop power supplies for it. The biggest problem on the Mini would be in planned disconnects, these could be handled with an alarm and a super capacitor. A latch might help but then you loose the biggest reason to use MagSafe in the first place. Frankly the issue with disconnects isn't much worst than what you have on the Mini now.

In any event I think many here need to look at the newly debuted products again because they are telegraphing what MWSF will look like. For one I expect a rapid transition to Display Port. I would also not be surprised to see a Mini replacement that is incredibly small. Small enough to clip on the back of a monitor. A step up from there would be a Mini type machine that is slightly more substantial than the current.

The thing is if you think about Atom and some of intels Laptop chips coming you will realize that there are all sorts of possibilities for extremely compact designs. The only limitation on size would be the RAM module if they used one.


Dave

This is too complicated. If they want to leverage the costs by using a MB Magsafe power adapter for the Mac Mini, they just have to include an adaptor in which the Magsafe connector (from the power adaptor or the display cable) is plugged in and locked, and on the other end a standard power plug to the Mac mini.

I also expect a rapid transition to (mini) Displayport on all Macs and the release on another (expensive) 20" LED-BL stand-alone display ($599) as well as LED-BL inclusion on the future iMacs (expect another (small) price increase, just like what happened for the new 13" MacBooks).

For the Mac mini, the size limitation is not the RAM module(s) but the drives (optical and HDD). Unless Apple choose to take away the optical and/or replace the 2.5" HDD with a 1.8" one, they cannot make the Mac mini really smaller, IMO.

I agree with others, Atom+current chipset is not powerful to compete with even the current Mac mini. Until Snow Leopard (that is supposed to be able to better handle multiple cores) and a better chipset from Intel, I don't think Apple will use Atom on any Mac.
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post #54 of 95
10/17/08 at 9:55am
I still don't get what the obsession is with making the Mini smaller. This is a desktop computer.
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post #55 of 95
10/17/08 at 9:55am
oct 14 was for notebooks mini will be seen at macworld 09 for sure
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post #56 of 95
10/17/08 at 11:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bayareamacaddict View Post

oct 14 was for notebooks mini will be seen at macworld 09 for sure

It will never be seen. Obviously, and as Apple well knows, only pros buy a computer without a monitor.
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post #57 of 95
10/17/08 at 1:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe_the_dragon View Post

The Atom uses the same or weak gpu as the mini has now and dose not even have gig-e

There are a couple bthings to note. First there are different variants of Atom and the support chips that work with it. Second Apple doesn't even use Intel gig-E laptop chips instead use Broad com. Besides Intel is working continiusly on the Atom line, there is no reason why they could be working on a special for Apple.

Quote:

Max 1gb of ram.

Where did that come from?

Quote:
Not only that IT IS SLOWER.

Only if you look at single thread performance. That clock for clock. If you up the clock rate by half yet keep the power profile manageable. It more about prformance perwatt than anything.

Quote:

Apple can't do that then they are just asking for efix and Pystar to beat them.

I don't know about that if Apple can offer up a power efficent and usable computer for $250 I think a lot of people would sign up. In any event your profit come not from what you can sell something at but what it costs you to buy!



Dave


h
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post #58 of 95
10/17/08 at 3:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Phong View Post

It will never be seen. Obviously, and as Apple well knows, only pros buy a computer without a monitor.

This is both true and infuriating.
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post #59 of 95
10/17/08 at 3:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheMadMilkman View Post

This is both true and infuriating.


In the past I've gotten 2 to 3 computer chassis out of a monitor. Of course that is due inpart to fast moving technology and personal needs. The reality is though that CPU tech changes faster than display tech.

Frankly that is what makes Apples new monitor interesting and desirable. It marks a shift in technology with an eye on the future. That means a monitor that might actually be useful with 2-3 generations of computing hardware.

I know some are disappointed with the lack of backward compatibility but breaking with the pack takes strong leadership and I see this as one move that Apple got right. I don't say that lightly either as I'm an owner of a MBP new early this year. I would love to hook up this new monitor to that MBP, but realize that isn't going to happen as Apple is showing a little leadership here.



Dave
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post #60 of 95
10/18/08 at 5:12pm
Apple wants to push its customers into buying the next highest margin product. If there's going to be an iMac update soon, then I guess it's safe to say that there won't be a Mini update until after Christmas, if ever, since it would lure away people who might otherwise convince themselves to buy an iMac.

I remember having mixed feelings about the Mini's launch. It didn't seem like an Apple thing to do, to purposefully design something low cost. It seemed like they were acknowledging the fact they didn't really want you to buy it. They wanted you to try it and see the glorious light that an all-in-one Mac could bring.

I've never been really angry at Apple for there marketing and business decisions, but I sort of am now. They opened the low cost / efficiency door, perhaps dishonestly, and now it looks like they're shutting it.

The only thing I can imagine them doing that would make it okay, is if they were holding off for environmental reasons as well. Efficiency, low cost, and a clean evironment often go together, which is why their ignorance of the Mini is so puzzling. Maybe what they really want is for people to buy their easily recyclable and green displays and they're holding back on the Mini until they're released? Otherwise people will keep buying monitors that aren't as environmentally friendly.

I don't know, though. I could really be scraping the bottom of the barrel of ideas on this one, but it sounds okay to my Eco-libertarian ears.
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post #61 of 95
10/19/08 at 2:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Phong View Post

Apple wants to push its customers into buying the next highest margin product. If there's going to be an iMac update soon, then I guess it's safe to say that there won't be a Mini update until after Christmas, if ever, since it would lure away people who might otherwise convince themselves to buy an iMac.

I'm not sure about that because if they continue to sell the Mini the way it is, Jobs can't go on stage at MW and talk about being environmentally friendly across the lineup. The Mini still has plastic in it. Plus they bumped up the Mini one time the iMac was updated. It's true it wasn't explicit so there is the impression Apple don't want you to buy it.

Not to mention, there will be a push for GPU computing so there will be Nvidia chips across the lineup. I can see the low end iMac ATI chips being replaced with the Nvidia 9400M and possibly the 9800M GT in the higher end models. If the Mini doesn't get the Nvidia integrated chip then it simply won't be able to do any of this stuff and it will be quite obvious that Apple are holding it down.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Phong View Post

Maybe what they really want is for people to buy their easily recyclable and green displays and they're holding back on the Mini until they're released? Otherwise people will keep buying monitors that aren't as environmentally friendly.

Well, they already make a Cinema display that they say is made for the Macbook. I'm not sure exactly which Macbook owners would buy a $900 display but they could say the same for the Mini if they include Mini-Displayport.

I don't think Apple would mind if people bought a $600 Mini vs a $1100 iMac if they also bought a $900 display with it.
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post #62 of 95
10/19/08 at 3:55am
I hope we are going to see Mini feature in the iMac event next month as the "One more thing". I really wanna get my parents a mini to save them from all those Windows hassles.
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post #63 of 95
10/19/08 at 5:02am
I don't want to make this thread too repetitive, but it's safe to list what we can DEFINITELY expect come November:

There will be the iMac update that will move to nVidia chips and DisplayPort. If they're gonna kill the mini, it won't be mentioned during this time and that'll be the end. If they will continue to support that market segment, then they'll announce a revamped mini with the same nVidia chips, DisplayPort, more recent (notice not necessarily faster) CPU's, more RAM, larger HDD's, etc...

All that is for certain. What's not for certain is if they're going to kill the mini or not.

Another catch-22 no body mentioned is that although one may think that Apple uses the mini to sort of 'lure' people into the Mac experience at a low-price point in the hopes that they'll buy into a more expensive iMac, one may fail to realize that the mini is so underpowered compared to other similarly priced alternatives that it no longer is able to 'lure' anybody anymore to begin with!
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post #64 of 95
10/19/08 at 2:50pm
I love my PPC Mini, it's been running 24/7 for 4 years now. Never let's me down. It's my main machine.

Update it Apple! They could even make it a little larger and I'd still be happy. They don't need a mini tower, that sucks. Make a slightly larger, more easily upgradable Mini! I'll buy one the day it comes out!

Tom
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post #65 of 95
10/19/08 at 3:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank777 View Post

I still don't get what the obsession is with making the Mini smaller. This is a desktop computer.

Agreed. This is why I have always thought Apple should have maybe a slimline tower with some type of Apple panache that uses 3.5" HDDs so that it would make a perfect little Apple branded media center. The 2.5" HDD makes the Mac Mini small, but it forces the tradeoff of smaller capacity hard drives. I would obviously prefer a minitower, but even a mid range $800 slimline media center with TV Tuner and a 750GB or 1TB hard drive that offered a really intuitive UI would be a hot seller. Another option would be to have a home theater PC form factor so that you would place it on your television stand. There have been a few vendors(eg. Sony) that have made forays into this market, but Windows Media Center has never really captured the imagination of the masses.

Short of removing the optical drive Apple couldn't really make the Mac Mini any thinner. I am befuddled by the constant hum drum about how we need to make everything thinner and more chic even at the cost of features that people actually use. While Apple has brought in a lot of customers by getting associated with chic factor, there is a point where you can make form factor so important that you alienate a lot of your existing customers that use Macs for reasons other than having a pretty looking computer.

Personally I would like to see Apple retain the current Mac Mini design, but introduce also introduce a Mac media center box as well. Obviously with the Mac Mini Apple needs to make an obligatory bump in the processor in chipset and CPU since Intel is discontinuing the components used in the Mac Mini and slight improvement in HDD wouldn't cost much. I would also like to see Apple slightly cut the price to $550 if not $499. I wouldn't want Apple going any lower than that because they would start losing too much margin to the point where they would start losing money, but at the current price point the Mac Mini isn't very effective at bring customers into the Apple fold. With a slightly lower price point they would be able to pique the interest of a lot more customers which would bring a lot more users into the Apple userbase.
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post #66 of 95
10/19/08 at 10:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Phong View Post

It will never be seen. Obviously, and as Apple well knows, only pros buy a computer without a monitor.

Tell that to the gazillion WinPC users out there. Their PCs die and they go to Best Buy and get another for $500. Apple needs to continue to offer the same (mini, at a higher price than PCs of course). Most computer buyers aren't buying monitors at the same time. (Or perhaps you were being sarcastic.)

On another subject, what's this thought that Apple will again be making monitors that connect only to their own products? Didn't they try and fail miserably with ADC several years ago? ADC was the biggest hassle ever invented. There's no way I would buy a monitor with a magsafe power supply hanging off it, glossy display and mini DisplayPort as the only options; especially for $900. What is Apple thinking? If they want to push mini DisplayPort and magsafe connectors, DVI should be there too. And matte screens for people who aren't into shiny things. Duh.

I hope the new 24" display is a one-of-a-kind product for the MacBooks and it ends there.
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post #67 of 95
10/19/08 at 10:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SSA View Post

...I have always thought Apple should have maybe a slimline tower with some type of Apple panache that uses 3.5" HDDs so that it would make a perfect little Apple branded media center. The 2.5" HDD makes the Mac Mini small, but it forces the tradeoff of smaller capacity hard drives.

When are people going to get a clue about hard drives?? You can get 500 GB 2.5 inch hard drives now with performance that's competitive with 3.5 inch drives. There are very few consumers that have any need for anything larger or faster, and those that do can use external drives. The 3.5 inch form factor will probably disappear completely in the consumer market within the next year or two.
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post #68 of 95
10/19/08 at 11:14pm
If Apple doesn't do anything else with the mini, if they update the graphics, I'll be a happy camper. And I suspect sales will pick up quite nicely, too.
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post #69 of 95
10/19/08 at 11:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by the_steve View Post

When are people going to get a clue about hard drives?? You can get 500 GB 2.5 inch hard drives now with performance that's competitive with 3.5 inch drives. There are very few consumers that have any need for anything larger or faster, and those that do can use external drives. The 3.5 inch form factor will probably disappear completely in the consumer market within the next year or two.

this may be true: but the mac mini uses laptop components right?

If it were bigger and could use desktop components wouldn't it be cheaper?
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post #70 of 95
10/19/08 at 11:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by iDave View Post

On another subject, what's this thought that Apple will again be making monitors that connect only to their own products? Didn't they try and fail miserably with ADC several years ago? ADC was the biggest hassle ever invented.

If there are adaptors, it should be ok. Perhaps Apple are banking on people adopting Mini-Displayport given that Displayport isn't implemented widely. Similar deal with AAC and online music. Trouble is, they aren't going to achieve a wide adoption with the prices they've put on both their displays and computer models. If there is no way for a PC to connect to their displays and Mini-Displayport isn't adopted as some sort of standard, I could see it ending up similar to ADC.

This will only affect their display line though.

Quote:
Originally Posted by iDave View Post

There's no way I would buy a monitor with a magsafe power supply hanging off it

Definitely not if you don't have a machine requiring magsafe - it looks a bit dangerous to have that floating about. Like if there's a screwdriver sitting on your desk, what if it hits the contacts? I guess you could always put a cap on it. I'm not sure where the cables come from either. There is the standard AC cable powering the display and the 3-plug cable comes from somewhere but I can't see the port on the back.

I presume the display must have a kensington lock on it somewhere too.

This is one reason the Mini might get magsafe though. Imagine not having the power brick at all. You would just have one power cable like the iMac. If they made the display 1/3 the price and matte, I'd be very interested in that.
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post #71 of 95
10/20/08 at 3:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by the_steve View Post

When are people going to get a clue about hard drives?? You can get 500 GB 2.5 inch hard drives now with performance that's competitive with 3.5 inch drives. There are very few consumers that have any need for anything larger or faster, and those that do can use external drives. The 3.5 inch form factor will probably disappear completely in the consumer market within the next year or two.

Here's a clue.... There are only two 500GB drives in 2.5" size that I can find: one by Samsung and one by Hitachi. They both cost about $65 to $75 more than the large number of 500GB drives in 3.5" size. How many people would trade the current mini's size for one with the footprint of Apple TV (only 1.2" larger on the side) if it resulted in a computer that cost $65 to $75 less? I sure would.

Also, if I follow your logic I come to the conclusion that Apple should be building iMacs with 2.5" drives, not the 3.5" drives that they use.
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post #72 of 95
10/20/08 at 6:54am
Hi,

I think the Mini will be phased out in favour of an updated Apple TV. The Apple TV could be significantly improved with a software update (Take 3), to become a more stand-alone media/home server machine.

Take 3 features:

- iTunes (stand-alone)
- Safari
- External disks via USB
- Keyboard and mouse

Adding those features would make it very attractive package. Perhaps too good.

A dream would be adding AppStore, with games and applications - but I don't see that as very likely.

/Daniel

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post #73 of 95
10/20/08 at 11:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marvin View Post


This is one reason the Mini might get magsafe though. Imagine not having the power brick at all. You would just have one power cable like the iMac. If they made the display 1/3 the price and matte, I'd be very interested in that.

If it has a miniDP ... couldn't you potentially buy the new monitor and power the mini just the same as you could power a laptop.

It seems weirdly close to the iMac, but far enough away that it could work.
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post #74 of 95
10/20/08 at 3:09pm
If Apple does update the Mac mini, do you think they will change that big brick of a power adapter to Mag Safe? Then folks that wanted the Apple display could power their Mac mini through their display.
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You think Im an arrogant [expletive] who thinks hes above the law, and I think youre a slime bucket who gets most of his facts wrong. Steve Jobs
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post #75 of 95
10/21/08 at 7:04am
I was also concerned about whether the mac mini line will continue. So I spoke with executive support @apple and they gave every indication that a refresh of some sort will occur in due time. They know the mini is popular and fills a unique niche for their corporate end education buyers. Apple is not going to tip their hand, so we will wait and see....
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post #76 of 95
10/21/08 at 7:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by pkin View Post

I was also concerned about whether the mac mini line will continue. So I spoke with executive support @apple and they gave every indication that a refresh of some sort will occur in due time. They know the mini is popular and fills a unique niche for their corporate end education buyers. Apple is not going to tip their hand, so we will wait and see....

What sort of indications? Did they actually say that they're planning an update?

Today's article about Nvidia from AppleInsider mentions that they receieved a challenge from an unknown source to make their next desktop offering small enough for media center PCs. I'd bet that source was Apple and they were talking about the Mini. The Mini was meant to draw PC users, many of whom are gamers. Without a discrete graphics card, though, it was clear that the Mini could not be used as a modern gaming machine. It looks like that could change.
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post #77 of 95
10/21/08 at 1:10pm
Well it seems Gizmodo has offered up Yet Another Story that the Mini is dead. Remains to be seen. I have a hunch that something might be announced during the financials report later today. Guess we'll see.

Personally, I need a laptop and would like a sister desktop but there's no way I can afford a Macbook Pro and a Mac Pro nor do I need all that horsepower. I could justify a Macbook Pro and an inexpensive but feature rich desktop... probably never happen though.
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post #78 of 95
10/21/08 at 1:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Phong View Post

What sort of indications? Did they actually say that they're planning an update?

Today's article about Nvidia from AppleInsider mentions that they receieved a challenge from an unknown source to make their next desktop offering small enough for media center PCs. I'd bet that source was Apple and they were talking about the Mini. The Mini was meant to draw PC users, many of whom are gamers. Without a discrete graphics card, though, it was clear that the Mini could not be used as a modern gaming machine. It looks like that could change.

on board video that uses system ram with no pci-e slot does not make a modern gaming machine.
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post #79 of 95
10/21/08 at 5:11pm
From macnn.com

Apple halting Mac mini shipments?...

Apple is currently telling at least some retailers not to expect further Mac mini shipments, according to reports sent to Gizmodo. At least two "major" European outlets say they have been told by Apple not to anticipate more units of the small desktop and get the impression from their Apple sources that the system has been discontinued outright and isn't just encountering a temporary interruption in supply.
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post #80 of 95
10/22/08 at 1:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dstranathan View Post

Apple is currently telling at least some retailers not to expect further Mac mini shipments, according to reports sent to Gizmodo. At least two "major" European outlets say they have been told by Apple not to anticipate more units of the small desktop and get the impression from their Apple sources that the system has been discontinued outright and isn't just encountering a temporary interruption in supply.

If they do discontinue it and offer no replacement, Apple will have entry points for laptops at $999 (it's really $1299 though) and for desktops at $1199. That's just a very stupid thing to do right now.

I actually wouldn't mind seeing the Mini go *if* they replace it with a Cube. The impression that people get from a Mini is a lack of power and to some extent that's true but it's not really that bad.

A Cube suggests it's more powerful and since it's bigger, it can take cheaper parts. Even if they inflate the margins, a $600 or $700 Cube will be a profitable computer. At $400 less than the iMac, it will still sell.

They could possibly drop the entry price of the iMac though by using Nvidia integrated chips vs the ATI dedicated chips but I don't see it dropping very far.

It's still going to annoy a lot of people who use the Mini in all sorts of ways like server racks, as car stereos etc.
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