The problems with this machine were that it was underpowered and too expensive. It was already smaller than it needed to be. So what does apple do? They "fix" the one thing that wasn't broken, keep lousy specs, and raise the price? Could the company be any more tone deaf to what consumers want when it comes to this model?
Seriously, they went to the trouble of a redesign and put all the effort into size, still at the expense of performance and high cost? I'd almost say apple went out of their way to try and get people to NOT buy this model and go with an iMac instead, but then they wouldn't have bothered to redesign. Just amazing how clueless the company is when it comes to desktops.
2. If you had a problem with a $300 Asus netbook and a $2500 MacBook Pro, which one are you more likely to take the time to have repaired?
Personally I would take both in for repair, if I had paid for both and either one had failed I would want it repaired, after all I did pay for a working computer
Oooohhhh. 3 years. That must be a really fine computer.
I have a couple of Macs that are coming on three years old now, am I to beleive that they are no longer a "fine computer"?
Quote:
Originally Posted by jragosta
Heck, the fact that you consider a 3 year old computer to be representative of quality proves my point as well as any thing.
How to expect to judge history without looking into history?
I currently have four Macs, two have failed, so am I meant to ignore that fact that I have had a 50% failure rate, or should I only take records for the latest one, which has failed so making it a 100% failure rate?
Speaking for myself, I would like to have seen Apple move away from c2d and IGPs, but the i3 isn't really an improvement over the c2d, especially if it means losing the Nvidia igp and using an Intel one. i5 and discrete GPUs are what should be aimed for as minimums, IMO.
You stated exactly what I wanted to concerning prcessor choice.
I would also have added that if they were looking at power savings and noise reduction they could also have added the option of an SSD, a la Macbook Air, but that's not an option in this build either. I find it interesting no one has addressed THAT little tidbit.
And the design seems to preclude self upgrade of the HDD as well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SSquirrel
Here in Kentucky sales tax is just 6%, so that still only makes $740.94. All these systems are being shipped from China, we know increased shipping prices aren't the cause of the price difference.
True, for the price increase the fact it is in a milled aluminum case just doesn't seem to cut it.
That having been said, I will more than likely purchase a 2.66 version with a 500GB HDD and give my current iMac Extreme to my mother, who is in great need of anythng newer than her current gateway PC running XP. That, coupled with the fact she is functionally PC iliterate would make this change a viable and welcome one for her.
I can now just run everything through my over large samsung TV and suppliment everything else with iPad appliances, iPhones, and Macbook Pros. Though I DO despise laptops, I now appreciate the minimalist approach when not wanting to dedicate an entire room to an iMac as a computer room/office, having elected to take a roommate in my apartment, as well as the fact I have cancelled comcast television and gone to straight broadband internet, with their television offerings being equal to shite.
I love how you people just grab the sale price, maybe to a conversion to same currency, but then don't factor a single thing into the additional charges one country might impose over another. No Eco 101 these days?
I love how people still defend increases in us:foreign currency differentials even though it has been shown multiple times over the past few days to be irrespective of taxation/duty
I love how people still defend increases in us:foreign currency differentials even though it has been shown multiple times over the past few days to be irrespective of taxation/duty
Again, that is not the only thing to consider when importing goods.
Again, that is not the only thing to consider when importing goods.
again,
when the normal costs are somewhere around ~US cost + 10%,
and then with an actual improvement in US:local exchange rate and no changes in warrenty requirements, labour prices, taxation, transportation costs and every other thing you like you bring up that doesnt actual relate to anything that is ever being discussed, it goes to ~US cost + 20%
there is something fishy going on
and the mac mini stinks of fish throughout most countries in the world
At this point, the entry point for Mac OS has just risen another notch. ... There's no technical reason that Apple can't offer a stripped-down unit (no disc burning, smaller HD, slower processor) for $500 and reclaim at lot more hobbyists.
It's impressive but it certainly doesn't seem like a practical expense for those looking for a low cost Mac, but maybe we're the ones looking at this wrong. Maybe Apple is focusing these on a different user.
When set up with the cheapest Mac peripherals, what is the total price? How does that compare with the entry level iMac?
Any chance that many people will hook it up to their existing TV, given the HDMI output?
I think that's what people have a problem with. Apple prioritized miniaturization, but for a stationary machine that seems to be an unsavory (and unnecessary) compromise. By shrinking the form factor Apple has both boxed themselves in a corner in terms of user-expandability AND added to the production costs. And for what?
Beauty and simplicity.
I've read comments, however, that they went with form over function this time around. I think that they'll sell plenty of them to various types of consumers.
But it is above that $500 barrier, and above the $600 barrier too. Could they have created a low-end variant to hit the $600 price point - slower CPU, no FW800, etc?
The iPad is available for those who are in that price range.
Even when taking sales tax into account. ?1 = US$ 1.23 currently. ?799 after sales tax = approximately (as sales tax differs per EU country but is roughly 20%) ?665 before sales tax. That is US$ 820 before sales tax. In other words, the mini is US$ 120 more expensive (before sales tax) in Europe than in the US, or a whopping 17%.
I wonder why (other than saying that European Mac buyers are less price sensitive than US buyers, or to keep demand artificially limited).
If we take the 699 base US price, the price in dollars in Japan would have been $768 on June 4, $735, and $794 on March 4. Today, it converts at $754. Three months saw 8% of fluctuation, something Apple must take in to account when setting their prices.
The Euro has fluctuated from .69 to .84 to the dollar over the past six months, which is a 22% change in just six months, far greater than the 8% seen in Japan, an uncertainty that must be considered and will thus be included in the price.
The same is true everywhere. These are just two examples, and Apple likely is looking at far longer periods than six months.
The iPad is available for those who are in that price range.
The iPad can't serve as a living room media server. The Apple TV can, but it can't play 1080p or iTunes Visuals or sync my iPods or download on BT or browse the internet or video chat on MSN and Yahoo or connect to my digital piano for recording, composing and sequencing or connect to my printer.
And I won't tolerate Windows.
So I guess I have no choice but to pay for a beautiful device that's about $200 too much, but is the only thing that suits my needs.
I currently have four Macs, two have failed, so am I meant to ignore that fact that I have had a 50% failure rate, or should I only take records for the latest one, which has failed so making it a 100% failure rate?
That's a 50% failure rate for Macs, in your experience. That's quite bad, actually. Of course, we can't extrapolate in any way, but... yours ain't the only story I hear.
Yes, I'm being a mopey mike here, but well... What were we talking about again? LOL
Comments
It looks like we are getting ripped off for the MacBook, MBP, and iMac here in the US! LOL!
Well the Euro is 1.2x the value of the dollar, so 1000 Euros is $1200. So no, not really
The problems with this machine were that it was underpowered and too expensive. It was already smaller than it needed to be. So what does apple do? They "fix" the one thing that wasn't broken, keep lousy specs, and raise the price? Could the company be any more tone deaf to what consumers want when it comes to this model?
Seriously, they went to the trouble of a redesign and put all the effort into size, still at the expense of performance and high cost? I'd almost say apple went out of their way to try and get people to NOT buy this model and go with an iMac instead, but then they wouldn't have bothered to redesign. Just amazing how clueless the company is when it comes to desktops.
2. If you had a problem with a $300 Asus netbook and a $2500 MacBook Pro, which one are you more likely to take the time to have repaired?
Personally I would take both in for repair, if I had paid for both and either one had failed I would want it repaired, after all I did pay for a working computer
Oooohhhh. 3 years. That must be a really fine computer.
I have a couple of Macs that are coming on three years old now, am I to beleive that they are no longer a "fine computer"?
Heck, the fact that you consider a 3 year old computer to be representative of quality proves my point as well as any thing.
How to expect to judge history without looking into history?
I currently have four Macs, two have failed, so am I meant to ignore that fact that I have had a 50% failure rate, or should I only take records for the latest one, which has failed so making it a 100% failure rate?
Well, I see you're up to your old tricks again. Let's review:
1. You're always wrong.
2. You're not as smart as you think you are.
3. See 1.
Others having reduced your argument to a tiny heap of rubble, nothing more needs to be said.
Nice rebuttal. I see you excelled in debate.
Could the company be any more tone deaf to what consumers want when it comes to this model?
The above is stated incorrectly.
Could the company be any more tone deaf to what I want when it comes to this model?
FTFY
The above is stated incorrectly.
Could the company be any more tone deaf to what I want when it comes to this model?
FTFY
LOL
Speaking for myself, I would like to have seen Apple move away from c2d and IGPs, but the i3 isn't really an improvement over the c2d, especially if it means losing the Nvidia igp and using an Intel one. i5 and discrete GPUs are what should be aimed for as minimums, IMO.
You stated exactly what I wanted to concerning prcessor choice.
I would also have added that if they were looking at power savings and noise reduction they could also have added the option of an SSD, a la Macbook Air, but that's not an option in this build either. I find it interesting no one has addressed THAT little tidbit.
And the design seems to preclude self upgrade of the HDD as well.
Here in Kentucky sales tax is just 6%, so that still only makes $740.94. All these systems are being shipped from China, we know increased shipping prices aren't the cause of the price difference.
True, for the price increase the fact it is in a milled aluminum case just doesn't seem to cut it.
That having been said, I will more than likely purchase a 2.66 version with a 500GB HDD and give my current iMac Extreme to my mother, who is in great need of anythng newer than her current gateway PC running XP. That, coupled with the fact she is functionally PC iliterate would make this change a viable and welcome one for her.
I can now just run everything through my over large samsung TV and suppliment everything else with iPad appliances, iPhones, and Macbook Pros. Though I DO despise laptops, I now appreciate the minimalist approach when not wanting to dedicate an entire room to an iMac as a computer room/office, having elected to take a roommate in my apartment, as well as the fact I have cancelled comcast television and gone to straight broadband internet, with their television offerings being equal to shite.
I love how you people just grab the sale price, maybe to a conversion to same currency, but then don't factor a single thing into the additional charges one country might impose over another. No Eco 101 these days?
I love how people still defend increases in us:foreign currency differentials even though it has been shown multiple times over the past few days to be irrespective of taxation/duty
I love how people still defend increases in us:foreign currency differentials even though it has been shown multiple times over the past few days to be irrespective of taxation/duty
Again, that is not the only thing to consider when importing goods.
Again, that is not the only thing to consider when importing goods.
again,
when the normal costs are somewhere around ~US cost + 10%,
and then with an actual improvement in US:local exchange rate and no changes in warrenty requirements, labour prices, taxation, transportation costs and every other thing you like you bring up that doesnt actual relate to anything that is ever being discussed, it goes to ~US cost + 20%
there is something fishy going on
and the mac mini stinks of fish throughout most countries in the world
At this point, the entry point for Mac OS has just risen another notch. ... There's no technical reason that Apple can't offer a stripped-down unit (no disc burning, smaller HD, slower processor) for $500 and reclaim at lot more hobbyists.
They cover that price point with the iPad.
It's impressive but it certainly doesn't seem like a practical expense for those looking for a low cost Mac, but maybe we're the ones looking at this wrong. Maybe Apple is focusing these on a different user.
When set up with the cheapest Mac peripherals, what is the total price? How does that compare with the entry level iMac?
Any chance that many people will hook it up to their existing TV, given the HDMI output?
I think that's what people have a problem with. Apple prioritized miniaturization, but for a stationary machine that seems to be an unsavory (and unnecessary) compromise. By shrinking the form factor Apple has both boxed themselves in a corner in terms of user-expandability AND added to the production costs. And for what?
Beauty and simplicity.
I've read comments, however, that they went with form over function this time around. I think that they'll sell plenty of them to various types of consumers.
But it is above that $500 barrier, and above the $600 barrier too. Could they have created a low-end variant to hit the $600 price point - slower CPU, no FW800, etc?
The iPad is available for those who are in that price range.
Here in Portugal it starts at ?799 = $980.
In the UK it starts at £649 = $956
I think they didn't convert the price right...
Even when taking sales tax into account. ?1 = US$ 1.23 currently. ?799 after sales tax = approximately (as sales tax differs per EU country but is roughly 20%) ?665 before sales tax. That is US$ 820 before sales tax. In other words, the mini is US$ 120 more expensive (before sales tax) in Europe than in the US, or a whopping 17%.
I wonder why (other than saying that European Mac buyers are less price sensitive than US buyers, or to keep demand artificially limited).
If we take the 699 base US price, the price in dollars in Japan would have been $768 on June 4, $735, and $794 on March 4. Today, it converts at $754. Three months saw 8% of fluctuation, something Apple must take in to account when setting their prices.
The Euro has fluctuated from .69 to .84 to the dollar over the past six months, which is a 22% change in just six months, far greater than the 8% seen in Japan, an uncertainty that must be considered and will thus be included in the price.
The same is true everywhere. These are just two examples, and Apple likely is looking at far longer periods than six months.
The iPad is available for those who are in that price range.
The iPad can't serve as a living room media server. The Apple TV can, but it can't play 1080p or iTunes Visuals or sync my iPods or download on BT or browse the internet or video chat on MSN and Yahoo or connect to my digital piano for recording, composing and sequencing or connect to my printer.
And I won't tolerate Windows.
So I guess I have no choice but to pay for a beautiful device that's about $200 too much, but is the only thing that suits my needs.
I currently have four Macs, two have failed, so am I meant to ignore that fact that I have had a 50% failure rate, or should I only take records for the latest one, which has failed so making it a 100% failure rate?
That's a 50% failure rate for Macs, in your experience. That's quite bad, actually. Of course, we can't extrapolate in any way, but... yours ain't the only story I hear.
Yes, I'm being a mopey mike here, but well... What were we talking about again? LOL
And the design seems to preclude self upgrade of the HDD as well...
Hard disk upgrading doesn't look too painful...
http://www.macminicolo.net/macmini2010.html
But yeah... Not quite a self upgrade, but just about as difficult(?) as the previous non-unibody model?