Apple's supply of Mac minis dwindle ahead of new models

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  • Reply 41 of 84
    multimediamultimedia Posts: 1,034member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by PXT View Post


    HDMI ! At last a Mac that can connect to things I already own. I could be tempted at last.



    It's not a problem hooking up DVI & audio out to any HDTV already. I've been doing it for 4 years already. Are you saying your HDTV doesn't have VGA and/or DVI with audio input connector(s)?
  • Reply 42 of 84
    whoamiwhoami Posts: 301member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by turbowv View Post


    I ordered a single Mac mini Leopard server, w/2 500GB HD's. I placed the order on April 20, through my Education Rep and was told it was in stock and ready for shipment. I have been notified 4 times that it is backordered and will ship at a later date. The latest E-Mail came yesterday and promised to ship it by June 9th.



    Something is certainly happening in the supply chain.



    If they ship on the 9th of June, it will have taken them 49 days to ship a single order for 1 Mac mini. I've never waited this long for any Apple Product.



    I hope they are upgrading. That would certainly make the wait worthwhile.



    i'd say the iMac's are about to be updated as well! You can't even configure them on the apple store right now!
  • Reply 43 of 84
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by turbowv View Post


    I ordered a single Mac mini Leopard server, w/2 500GB HD's. I placed the order on April 20, through my Education Rep and was told it was in stock and ready for shipment. I have been notified 4 times that it is backordered and will ship at a later date. The latest E-Mail came yesterday and promised to ship it by June 9th.



    That sounds pretty conclusive to me.



    I can't believe you have been waiting for so long. I would be pretty annoyed that point.
  • Reply 44 of 84
    bartfatbartfat Posts: 434member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DaveGee View Post


    What makes BluRay licensing a 'BAG OF HURT' while MPEG-LAs h.264 is fully backed and supported technology? Thats what *I* wanna know.



    The DRM that it imposes on consumers. The fact that it requires HDCP if the content producer said that it needed HDCP to watch it. You couldn't watch it on component or unprotected HDMI or any other type of connection. That plus the licensing costs and fees and the hassle of implementing the DRM make it all a "bag of hurt".



    H.264 doesn't have DRM mandated. That's the difference
  • Reply 45 of 84
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,301moderator
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by min_t View Post


    In 2010, Apple intro "lightpeak" in the new mac mini, signaling the end of FW and USB and eSata, and ...



    No, I don't think so. Light Peak won't be ready until 2011. USB 3 would be good if they can do it but even at that, I'd say not in the Mini first.



    I reckon this update will be to push the entry CPUs up a bit to either 2.4 or 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM, 250GB HDD, 320M. This would make it much more worth the entry asking price.



    Then they bump the entry iMacs to 320M also and that moves the entire lineup short of the MBA away from the 9400M.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Daemonk


    I'm desperately hoping for a Gamer's Edition of the Mac Mini.



    ATI HD4870

    no optical drive

    $1000



    It could go along so well with the recent release of Steam for Mac OS X.



    That's a 65W GPU though. The highest they could realistically go is the 15-19W Radeon 5650, which is only 20% slower than the 4870.



    The 320M is also only half of the 4870 so I personally don't mind the 320M - it's pretty amazing performance from an integrated chip and it runs CUDA code unlike ATI GPUs.



    I think the only way Apple would switch to ATI is with the Fusion processor next year as it uses a 5000-series GPU.
  • Reply 46 of 84
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Marvin View Post


    No, I don't think so. Light Peak won't be ready until 2011. USB 3 would be good if they can do it but even at that, I'd say not in the Mini first.



    And one that that seems to get overlooked is the "protocol independent" nature of LightPeak. I've read more than a few times that any protocol can be used over it so you won't have to alter your devices, but there is never a mention of the costly convertors from optical to copper for this to work.



    I had hoped Apple would use the USB3.0 chips that have been out for more than 6 months now, but it looks like they might be waiting for Intel's integrated solution.
  • Reply 47 of 84
    multimediamultimedia Posts: 1,034member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Feynman View Post


    Yeah it really is about time. If they got a 42" my current 40" HDTV would go the way of the living room. Currently I have a Mac mini and an external FireWire 800 based RAID for a movie server hooked up to the TV but watching movies, while nice, is not optimal due to the fact that most movies do not go "Full Screen" in DVD player and have a lot of space around them (no not the black bar at the top and bottom) but having an actual 42" display I think would take care of that problem.



    You can get rid of that black border by opening your Display System Preference and in the HDTV pane check the "Overscan" box. On my Sony 1080p @ 60 Hz Overscan is equal to full screen which you can check by clicking on the representations of each monitor in the Arrangement pane on your home screen which displays a RED box around each display. Overscan was in the Color pane in earlier versions of the OS. This is in Snow Leopard.
  • Reply 48 of 84
    2stepbay2stepbay Posts: 116member
    Certain models, including the iMac, 13 MacBook Pro, Air, Mini and Mac Pro's cannot be purchased/reconfigured at the Apple Store. Possibly, there is some site maintenance going on. However, certain models (15/17 MBP) can be purchased. e.g. http://store.apple.com/us/browse/hom...co=MTM3NDk3NzI



    Could it be Apple is ready to upgrade a substantial portion of its product line - perhaps on Friday???'



    ______

    Turns out it was probably maintenance as the buy section is now accessible - unless Apple is priming the site pages for a major refresh (file under "hope springs eternal".
  • Reply 49 of 84
    carmissimocarmissimo Posts: 837member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by svnipp View Post


    Hmm... I really had my heart set on one of the newly refreshed MBPs, but it's really tough to squeeze that into the budget. However, since we have an iPad now to cover the portability needs maybe we will just get a Mini to cover the need for a second computer. Really not sure, but I'm definitely interested in seeing the new Mini.



    As soon as Apple unveiled the iPad, I thought that it could signal a resurgence of the desktop. I think a lot of people are going to be looking to combine a unit like the Mini with the iPad. It makes a lot of sense for many, though certainly not everyone.



    My intention is to go that route being as I already have a Mini+Cinema Display that works rather well.



    Cost wise, here in Canada it's $899 for the top-end Mini, $999 for the 24-inch Cinema Display and $549 for a basic iPad = $2447. A MacBook Pro 17" is $2,349.



    The MacBook is more powerful but you get more screen real estate with the Cinema Display while the iPad has its advantages as a portable device. And as each generation of Mini ups the performance ante, horsepower becomes progressively less of an issue.



    I realize that for many having to be tied down to a fixed desktop system at any point is a deal breaker. I don't feel that way and I believe quite a few people will not mind a desktop/iPad combo. Laptop sales will take a hit but if the sales of Minis, iMacs, and of course millions of iPad sales, more than compensate, Apple will still come out ahead. And there is the incremental impact that would prompt some of us to spend more. I would, for example, balk at spending $2,500 for one computer but being as I've already paid for the first element of this overall package, putting the finishing touches on the arrangement by buying an iPad seems like a no-brainer.



    I also like that the Cinema Display is a product that could easily last more than a decade, meaning over the long haul this set-up could cost me less than springing for a new laptop every four or five years. I wouldn't want to be tied down to five-year-old technology in any event. The Mini retains a lot of its value so you trade it in every three years and in the process wind up with the latest Apple software at no additional cost.



    The best part is that the iPad will get more powerful, just as the Mini will continue to beef up so if I'm running a 2013 circa Mini/iPad combo, it will mean excellent performance. You're looking at less than a $1,000 every three years to keep your set-up current. Every fourth refresh you spring for a new monitor.



    Considering I paid close to $7,000 (including upgrades made later in graphics and memory) for a first-generation g4 DP500 tower, that strikes me as being a great bargain.
  • Reply 50 of 84
    fyngyrzfyngyrz Posts: 61member
    ...I'm hopeful with regards to where the price will land for the new machines.



    Most people that I talk to about moving to Mac lose interest when they hear how much a Mini costs. At $600, they're far above the entry price for a (lousy) PC, and while I feel the price is worth it and the Mini anything but "lousy", that's not going to mean a lot to someone who is unable to squeeze another few hundred dollars out of the budget -- it goes from "doable" to "forget it" pretty quickly.



    At the higher end, prices are more comparable, but again... a lot of people aren't at the high end, especially these days.



    Well, prices probably won't change, but... I am hopeful.
  • Reply 51 of 84
    sc_marktsc_markt Posts: 1,401member
    I wonder if the new mini's will have the newer processors in them (such as the i5).
  • Reply 52 of 84
    bigdaddypbigdaddyp Posts: 811member
    [QUOTEThat's a 65W GPU though. The highest they could realistically go is the 15-19W Radeon 5650, which is only 20% slower than the 4870.[/QUOTE]



    Does anyone remember what the wattage was on the first minis that had PPC chips in them? I was not a Mac user then but was under the impression that even a G4 chip was pretty hot and power hungry. I am thinking that if they could reliably cool those then maybe they could cool a little hotter gpu.
  • Reply 53 of 84
    bigdaddypbigdaddyp Posts: 811member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    This was solved eons ago, it's just hasn't been used by Apple yet. I already stated how it's trivial to copy your Restore Disc to another drive. Compared to the cost of a DVD drive used in Mac notebooks the cost of a USB or SD card is less. And that's without considering the limitations an optical drive adds to engineers of modern computers.



    Imagine how much smaller an Upgrade Disc box would be if it came as an SD card (which Apple oddly added to their machines so late in the game)?



    Apple is in a unique position in that they can afford to do this better than other OEMs. The HP Envy's don't come with internal optical drives, yet the Windows install discs come on a DVD. Oddly, they do come with a 2GB SD card containing the User Guide.



    We can argue that the price per machine is still too high. I can find 8GB SD Card for $8 retail and I'm sure Apple can get cheaper, slower NAND than that. That's beside the point since Apple hasn't enacted this option. The optical drive going away in notebooks and NAND getting cheaper are inevitable. They still have a couple Macs that don't have SD card slots yet. If the next Mac Mini, MBA and even Mac Pro get SD card slots then I think we shouldn't be surprised to see the next version of Mac OS X be shipped on SD cards and as optical discs.



    The only thing is why get rid of the optical on the desktops? Those are the machines that most people, IMHO, would still want an optical in. You know how Apple works, and if they remove the optical from the mini, imac etc they won't give you a useful option like a second hard drive they will instead make em 3/8 of an inch smaller and raise the price.



    I do believe that within the next 18-24 months Apple will start phasing out the optical drives off of all portables. That's my simple W.A.G.
  • Reply 54 of 84
    macdanboymacdanboy Posts: 39member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by min_t View Post


    In 2010, Apple intro "lightpeak" in the new mac mini, signaling the end of FW and USB and eSata, and ...



    How about an eSata connector. The current choices for external storage even with Firewire 800 limits the throughput to less than half of eSata. With internal drives from Apple being limited to laptop drives at 5400 RPM with slower response time and less reliability it makes the MacMini server less than exciting. How about an external eSata port, an option for one of the internal drives to be an SSD with the second drive bay as optional with choices of 7200 RPM drives in the second bay. Then again who says the new MacMini has to stay the same height. Add another 1/2" to the height and we now have room for an SSD and twin HD's for mirrored storage.
  • Reply 55 of 84
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anonymouse View Post


    Just out of curiosity, what does one do for major OS upgrades, or full reinstalls (well, I haven't had to do that on a Mac since... since I can't remember) if you have a MBA and no other computer to share the disk from?



    I'm assuming you have to have an external optical drive available to plug in? I would think Apple can't really get rid of the optical drive until they solve this problem and I'm not sure the world is ready for OS installs over the Internet. I suppose they could throw it on a little USB drive, but that wouldn't be the cheapest solution, especially for upgrades.



    All good points...I want to end up with an MBA, iPad and an iPhone 3Gs.... in that mix for the time being I will have a separate optical drive to do just what you say, upgrade OS's!
  • Reply 56 of 84
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mdriftmeyer View Post


    I can literally feel the 10oz difference.



    it all adds up! 10 oz over 365 days is like carrying 8,000 oz per year...



    OK! Sorry! I didn't have a pencil and paper when I made that last calculation!
  • Reply 57 of 84
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bigdaddyp View Post


    The only thing is why get rid of the optical on the desktops? Those are the machines that most people, IMHO, would still want an optical in.



    This is different than serial and parallel ports, and even different from the floppy drive depreciation, which it has the most in common with. There is no reason to remove the optical drive from most desktops. They tend to have the room for such a large component and they can use a larger, cheaper and more capable ODD than notebooks use. When this inevitable change happens I would not be surprised to see Apple include AACS in Mac OS X.
  • Reply 58 of 84
    john.bjohn.b Posts: 2,742member
    IMO, it doesn't need an HDMI connector, it just needs to pass audio over the mini-DisplayPort connector (and Apple needs to sell six-foot or ten-foot *cables* that convert mini-DP to HDMI.)
  • Reply 59 of 84
    imatimat Posts: 208member
    Although having a MacMini with HDMI as a media center will appeal to some, I don't think it is the right direction for Apple to go.



    In order to capitalize on the "App store" and hence have an interesting box for the TV, they should fit it with an A4 processor or another ARM.



    Steve Jobs said, during AllthingsDigital, that no one wants to buy "another box" to watch TV... I agree with this opinion. Another matter would be to buy a box for the TV that does things a cable box cannot do, for instance run all or some of the apps available on the app store, play music from iTunes, download movies and tv series from itunes and maybe even be "cloud connected".



    Apple, in my opinion should:

    1. Get their act together on MobileMe. Not only calendar and address book (and mail and findmyiPhone) but also, more importantly, sync apps you purchased, store music you purchased, and movies and tv series

    2. provide a set top box, small form factor, HDMI connected, which doesn't need a power plant to supply energy (go for A4 instead of Intel), which doesn't double as a stove (go for A4 instead of Intel) but which doesn't need a 400 bucks TimeCapsule to store some stuff.

    3. Provide content for "the rest of the world". Part of the reason the AppleTV never took off is due to lack of content outside a small set of countries. Provide more, as Apple did for the iPhone and the iPad, and people might actually see a benefit (there is no Netflix, nor Hulu in place in Europe)

    4. Let the developers create games for the TV, they will know how to, provide the possibility to create Bluetooth controllers so that not everyone has to own an iPad or an iPhone (or iPod Touch)

    5. Either put a big HDD drive in it (500GB) or leave a USB port open for adding one. I know the 2nd option is not going to happen, besides it will be bad from a design point of view (as well as cluttering the living room with yet more stuff). Some have data caps, others don't want to have a Mac constantly on and running for listening to their music collection or watching pictures (which belong to the main benefits of the AppleTV in my opinon).

    6. Design it in such a way that it can actually sit next to the TV and not look ugly (but I don't worry in this regard).

    7. Allow it to capitalize on the App Store ecosystem and the lively community around it.



    Price? Price it below the current AppleTV, but not too cheap. It still has to make a profit. But it will be made of parts readily available for Apple, so cost is not going to be a major issue, also because the minaturization required is less than a Phone or Pad, and it doesn't need batteries.



    Give me:

    True surround sound

    1080i



    And keep prices as they are. You might actually have a winner.



    Ah.. Apple also needs to fit it in the current ecosystem (iMovie still cannot create an HD movie formatted for AppleTV...).

    Don't get me started... iMovie reads my HDV videos, I can edit them.. But then I have to scale them down on a DVD or view them in standard def on the AppleTV?? Where is my HD???
  • Reply 60 of 84
    hattighattig Posts: 860member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by requieminadream View Post


    That HDMI photo is poorly photochopped. Don't even need to run it through Curves or anything to see that.



    Yeah, when AI used that image before they clearly stated it was a mock up of how it would appear, yet the entire thread was still full of OMG PHOTOSHOP posts.
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