That exact memory is $429 plus shipping. Plus, you have to install it yourself. Plus, there's no Apple warranty on the memory. Plus, you don't know if it's going to work (there's a history of third party memory not working with Macs). Plus, if you break something while installing the memory, you're SOL.
Personally, I'd pay Apple $500 for the memory rather than buying it from a third party for $429 plus shipping. OK, you'll get $50 back by selling the 1 GB memory on eBay, but it's still not an overwhelming difference - certainly in line with what many computer vendors charge for RAM upgrades.
RAM has been dropping in price for a while. My point about that is, I don't need 8 Gigs of RAM right now, but i may need it in 2-4 years. My girlfriend just got a 13" MBP as was told that installing/updating the RAM was "out of the question". It either comes fully loaded with RAM or not. I'm glad to see that you can at least upgrade on the MINI, unlike before where you got it all or nothing style. I'll be happy to upgrade later, when i need it. not shell out $1300 bucks for right now just because i may need it in a couple years.
Just too expensive. Nobody wants to pay that kind of money for a stand alone desktop. $100 less and maybe it would be worth it. For what you would spend on a base mac mini and 24 inch apple display, you could just buy yourself a 3.06ghz 27 inch iMac for about the same price, and that comes with a bigger hard disk and twice the ram. Makes no sense.
Also, if you bought a mac mini with 4 gigs ram, 500gig hdd, shitty keyboard and mouse, and a cheap 22'ish inch 1080p display you could be spending more than the base 21.5 inch imac, which has same ram and hdd, better IPS display, and comes with a bluetooth keyboard and magic mouse???
This is absolutely, undoubtably, a complete ripoff even by Apple standards.
The thing you are forgetting is that the Apple TV is pitched at a lot of different uses.
One of them is indeed the AppleTV-esque do-it-all living room media computer you want it to be, but it's not the only market they are aiming at. With this revision, the Mac Mini becomes one step short of perfect for this kind of living-room use (because it lacks blu-ray), but it's still pretty darn close to perfect.
The fact is however, that there are lots of other use scenarios that it's also aimed at and also good for.
I really, really detest your use of the word "whiners". I detest you for this, and I detest everyone who uses this word in a similar way, to dismiss the opinions of people who offer reasoned criticisms of a product from which you evidently derive your sense of self-worth.
What exactly is the nature of your dysfunction? Why do you think it helpful, useful, or relevant for you to repeatedly state the obvious?
You disgust me.
You used a lot of words to prove that you're incapable of rational debate and are unable to do anything more than throw out personal attacks.
If you ever feel like a rational discussion, feel free.
I thought that hardware is supposed to be cheaper - not more expensive. At least Apple should have courtesy to keep previous level of pricing for Mac Mini, that is $599. Knowing their policy they will not drop the price (noyt likely), but they will keep introducing new models at the same price... which creates foolish threshold.
Besides that looks like replacement of Apple TV which is good as AppleTV sucks more and more (if you add a lot of media on network it cannot handle it and provides false reports on previously played movies "Format not supportted..." as it simply times out on communication with streaming by iTunes from other computers).
Now having that said, I still think that Mr. Jobs should reconsider his position on low end processors based computers and at least bring some nettop for less than that. Acer Aspire Revo at $209 can play HD content (based on ION) and it is more than enough with its hyperthreaded Atom 230 for daily tasks. If someone needs more than this then dual core based version with Atom 330 and ION also exists for only $360-$370 (not for $699 and having external optical drive is a good option for $70 for today's computers). Why do we have to cheat to install our licensed Mac OS X on those? I would love low end Mac and I do not consider Mac Mini low end enymore with this rising pricing.
Just too expensive. Nobody wants to pay that kind of money for a stand alone desktop. $100 less and maybe it would be worth it. For what you would spend on a base mac mini and 24 inch apple display, you could just buy yourself a 3.06ghz 27 inch iMac for about the same price, and that comes with a bigger hard disk and twice the ram. Makes no sense.
Actually if they had say, doubled the size of the Mini (which would have still been smaller than a Shuttle PC), they could have put i5 or i7 chips in, along with a better video card and still sold for well under a grand. People are willing to pay for what they view as a value and a small footprint Apple computer with an i5 and good video would be well worth it. Instead, they barely bump it at all spec-wise, shrink it down even more (admittedly it is a very pretty design) and raise the price. I would have considered switching from Windows over to OSX for a machine like that. Guess I'll keep watching and waiting to see if Apple produces a machine to fit my purposes anytime soon.
My girlfriend just got a 13" MBP as was told that installing/updating the RAM was "out of the question".
Whoever told your girlfriend that was either a complete liar or idiot. You can upgrade the ram or hard disk in any mac, even by yourself, without voiding the warranty. They only void the warranty if you damage the computer, and of course they don't cover replacement parts or issues caused by such parts. Anybody who says otherwise (including apple employees), is misinformed.
Considered together, blu-ray is a format that Steve dislikes, which consumes substantial power, competes with the iTunes store, and takes up space in mobile products that could be used for additional battery.
I suspect that we are within 12 months of seeing built-in optical drives become a thing of the past for Apple portables. Apple has shown a recent propensity to cater to the mass-market, even when it means delivering solutions that are not as tailored to the specialist as they once were.
I truly believe that the typical user hardly ever uses their optical drive. It definitely strikes me as a component that takes up much more space than it is worth in a portable device.
We're not talking about a mobile device here. So what that a BR device consumes power? This device of all Apple devices is crying out for a BR drive if it is to be positioned as a living room device.
Just too expensive. Nobody wants to pay that kind of money for a stand alone desktop. $100 less and maybe it would be worth it. For what you would spend on a base mac mini and 24 inch apple display, you could just buy yourself a 3.06ghz 27 inch iMac for about the same price, and that comes with a bigger hard disk and twice the ram. Makes no sense.
Also, if you bought a mac mini with 4 gigs ram, 500gig hdd, shitty keyboard and mouse, and a cheap 22'ish inch 1080p display you could be spending more than the base 21.5 inch imac, which has same ram and hdd, better IPS display, and comes with a bluetooth keyboard and magic mouse???
This is absolutely, undoubtably, a complete ripoff even by Apple standards.
I recall reading that they use a special connector for the SuperDrive in the Mac Mini. I have no idea if that is correct or was ever correct, but OptiBay offers a solution for the older Mac Minis. I have to assume they will be getting this machine immediately and offer a solution on their site this week if it's a straight drop in.
That would be nice from them, will love to see the take apart to have a better idea on how it can be done... should be sata as the other minis, specially since i am almost 100% sure that is the same board used on the server version. I think it will go down on how to attach the extra hd in the space left of the super drive.
The thing you are forgetting is that the Apple TV is pitched at a lot of different uses.
One of them is indeed the AppleTV-esque do-it-all living room media computer you want it to be, but it's not the only market they are aiming at. With this revision, the Mac Mini becomes one step short of perfect for this kind of living-room use (because it lacks blu-ray), but it's still pretty darn close to perfect.
The fact is however, that there are lots of other use scenarios that it's also aimed at and also good for.
Far away from perfect. Have you used it? I have been using it for last years daily with my family. I find it far away from prefect comparing to recently found XBMC or Boxeee. I could open list of flaws in design apprach to Apple TV not to mention its casual problems with content. Only rental works erelatively okay (excapt glitches when it can give you only 24 hours to play rented movie even though you have not started it yet... or some rented movies given FULL YEAR to watch which happened to me - both cases).
Just too expensive. Nobody wants to pay that kind of money for a stand alone desktop. $100 less and maybe it would be worth it. For what you would spend on a base mac mini and 24 inch apple display, you could just buy yourself a 3.06ghz 27 inch iMac for about the same price, and that comes with a bigger hard disk and twice the ram. Makes no sense.
Also, if you bought a mac mini with 4 gigs ram, 500gig hdd, shitty keyboard and mouse, and a cheap 22'ish inch 1080p display you could be spending more than the base 21.5 inch imac, which has same ram and hdd, better IPS display, and comes with a bluetooth keyboard and magic mouse???
This is absolutely, undoubtably, a complete ripoff even by Apple standards.
That's about it. But this new Mini does look really nice though.
antkm1 Your girlfriend got BS'd cause memory on ALL mac but old mini is user replaceable. Mini's was the more "difficult" to replace cause the many screws and take apart but now is a breeze.
Whoever told your girlfriend that was either a complete liar or idiot. You can upgrade the ram or hard disk in any mac, even by yourself, without voiding the warranty. They only void the warranty if you damage the computer, and of course they don't cover replacement parts or issues caused by such parts. Anybody who says otherwise (including apple employees), is misinformed.
she bought it at the Apple store. i don't exactly remember the conversation, other than the outcome made her just buy the "fully-Loaded" model because they were VERY hesitant about upgrading anything. I think the actual conversation was that upgrade cost alone would not be worth the money spent, so they encouraged just to have the RAM included in the computer she purchased. Since Apple Stores only sell the Base-Model and the Fully-Loaded-Model as your only options, upgrading can be costly and time consuming for THEM.
Personally, i've always purchased computers online or over the phone, customizing each option to my needs. I like purchasing low on RAM and upgrading in a couple years because it saves money (since tech. components usually go down in price over time) and i'm a pretty average user that doesn't need the top-line model right now. I've done this with the last 3 computers i've owned (since 1993) and it's always worked well.
The fact that Apple doesn't like to do this in the past, or charges you an arm and leg for is what's frustrating; until i saw that the new Mini will allow the user to change out the RAM now. That's a welcomed new direction. And, the fact they hid the access panel in a way that doesn't affect the "Apple Look" of the device is an added bonus.
Actually if they had say, doubled the size of the Mini (which would have still been smaller than a Shuttle PC), they could have put i5 or i7 chips in, along with a better video card and still sold for well under a grand. People are willing to pay for what they view as a value and a small footprint Apple computer with an i5 and good video would be well worth it. Instead, they barely bump it at all spec-wise, shrink it down even more (admittedly it is a very pretty design) and raise the price. I would have considered switching from Windows over to OSX for a machine like that. Guess I'll keep watching and waiting to see if Apple produces a machine to fit my purposes anytime soon.
Yeah, I can see why they keep the mini as an entry spec computer, in contrast to the iMac which I think is a good deal as a complete computer system. Having a lower spec mini allows people to get into using macs with their existing hardware without the expense of an iMac. Making the mini more expensive defeats the purpose.
Apple has actually made the mini more expensive than the iMac, for what you get.
I think they are moving the Mini slightly upmarket. I think at the $500-$600 pricepoint they had limited options w/r/t video/cpu cost. At the new pricepoint, with a more attractive design, they will try to leave behind the "entry level" or "basic" impressions and market as their proper desktop sans monitor.
I still can't buy it without a current processor (i5). Maybe we will see that for Christmas.
Comments
Maybe you should check on RAM prices before complaining. Laptop SODIMMs are expensive:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...844&CatId=4153
That exact memory is $429 plus shipping. Plus, you have to install it yourself. Plus, there's no Apple warranty on the memory. Plus, you don't know if it's going to work (there's a history of third party memory not working with Macs). Plus, if you break something while installing the memory, you're SOL.
Personally, I'd pay Apple $500 for the memory rather than buying it from a third party for $429 plus shipping. OK, you'll get $50 back by selling the 1 GB memory on eBay, but it's still not an overwhelming difference - certainly in line with what many computer vendors charge for RAM upgrades.
RAM has been dropping in price for a while. My point about that is, I don't need 8 Gigs of RAM right now, but i may need it in 2-4 years. My girlfriend just got a 13" MBP as was told that installing/updating the RAM was "out of the question". It either comes fully loaded with RAM or not. I'm glad to see that you can at least upgrade on the MINI, unlike before where you got it all or nothing style. I'll be happy to upgrade later, when i need it. not shell out $1300 bucks for right now just because i may need it in a couple years.
Also, if you bought a mac mini with 4 gigs ram, 500gig hdd, shitty keyboard and mouse, and a cheap 22'ish inch 1080p display you could be spending more than the base 21.5 inch imac, which has same ram and hdd, better IPS display, and comes with a bluetooth keyboard and magic mouse???
This is absolutely, undoubtably, a complete ripoff even by Apple standards.
The thing you are forgetting is that the Apple TV is pitched at a lot of different uses.
One of them is indeed the AppleTV-esque do-it-all living room media computer you want it to be, but it's not the only market they are aiming at. With this revision, the Mac Mini becomes one step short of perfect for this kind of living-room use (because it lacks blu-ray), but it's still pretty darn close to perfect.
The fact is however, that there are lots of other use scenarios that it's also aimed at and also good for.
"Blu-ray is a bag of hurt".
- Steve Jobs
I really, really detest your use of the word "whiners". I detest you for this, and I detest everyone who uses this word in a similar way, to dismiss the opinions of people who offer reasoned criticisms of a product from which you evidently derive your sense of self-worth.
What exactly is the nature of your dysfunction? Why do you think it helpful, useful, or relevant for you to repeatedly state the obvious?
You disgust me.
You used a lot of words to prove that you're incapable of rational debate and are unable to do anything more than throw out personal attacks.
If you ever feel like a rational discussion, feel free.
Could this announcement mean that the new Mac Pro, 6 and 12-core desktops are not far behind? Hope so.
The low end iMac with the integrated graphics also needs an upgrade now, it has lower graphics than the Mini.
Besides that looks like replacement of Apple TV which is good as AppleTV sucks more and more (if you add a lot of media on network it cannot handle it and provides false reports on previously played movies "Format not supportted..." as it simply times out on communication with streaming by iTunes from other computers).
Now having that said, I still think that Mr. Jobs should reconsider his position on low end processors based computers and at least bring some nettop for less than that. Acer Aspire Revo at $209 can play HD content (based on ION) and it is more than enough with its hyperthreaded Atom 230 for daily tasks. If someone needs more than this then dual core based version with Atom 330 and ION also exists for only $360-$370 (not for $699 and having external optical drive is a good option for $70 for today's computers). Why do we have to cheat to install our licensed Mac OS X on those? I would love low end Mac and I do not consider Mac Mini low end enymore with this rising pricing.
Just too expensive. Nobody wants to pay that kind of money for a stand alone desktop. $100 less and maybe it would be worth it. For what you would spend on a base mac mini and 24 inch apple display, you could just buy yourself a 3.06ghz 27 inch iMac for about the same price, and that comes with a bigger hard disk and twice the ram. Makes no sense.
Actually if they had say, doubled the size of the Mini (which would have still been smaller than a Shuttle PC), they could have put i5 or i7 chips in, along with a better video card and still sold for well under a grand. People are willing to pay for what they view as a value and a small footprint Apple computer with an i5 and good video would be well worth it. Instead, they barely bump it at all spec-wise, shrink it down even more (admittedly it is a very pretty design) and raise the price. I would have considered switching from Windows over to OSX for a machine like that. Guess I'll keep watching and waiting to see if Apple produces a machine to fit my purposes anytime soon.
The EASY user installed ram is huge.
Sales of putty knives will fall around the country to the great confusion of hardware store owners
My girlfriend just got a 13" MBP as was told that installing/updating the RAM was "out of the question".
Whoever told your girlfriend that was either a complete liar or idiot. You can upgrade the ram or hard disk in any mac, even by yourself, without voiding the warranty. They only void the warranty if you damage the computer, and of course they don't cover replacement parts or issues caused by such parts. Anybody who says otherwise (including apple employees), is misinformed.
Considered together, blu-ray is a format that Steve dislikes, which consumes substantial power, competes with the iTunes store, and takes up space in mobile products that could be used for additional battery.
I suspect that we are within 12 months of seeing built-in optical drives become a thing of the past for Apple portables. Apple has shown a recent propensity to cater to the mass-market, even when it means delivering solutions that are not as tailored to the specialist as they once were.
I truly believe that the typical user hardly ever uses their optical drive. It definitely strikes me as a component that takes up much more space than it is worth in a portable device.
We're not talking about a mobile device here. So what that a BR device consumes power? This device of all Apple devices is crying out for a BR drive if it is to be positioned as a living room device.
Compare Mac Mini, Mini Server, entry iMac
Just too expensive. Nobody wants to pay that kind of money for a stand alone desktop. $100 less and maybe it would be worth it. For what you would spend on a base mac mini and 24 inch apple display, you could just buy yourself a 3.06ghz 27 inch iMac for about the same price, and that comes with a bigger hard disk and twice the ram. Makes no sense.
Also, if you bought a mac mini with 4 gigs ram, 500gig hdd, shitty keyboard and mouse, and a cheap 22'ish inch 1080p display you could be spending more than the base 21.5 inch imac, which has same ram and hdd, better IPS display, and comes with a bluetooth keyboard and magic mouse???
This is absolutely, undoubtably, a complete ripoff even by Apple standards.
I recall reading that they use a special connector for the SuperDrive in the Mac Mini. I have no idea if that is correct or was ever correct, but OptiBay offers a solution for the older Mac Minis. I have to assume they will be getting this machine immediately and offer a solution on their site this week if it's a straight drop in.
That would be nice from them, will love to see the take apart to have a better idea on how it can be done... should be sata as the other minis, specially since i am almost 100% sure that is the same board used on the server version. I think it will go down on how to attach the extra hd in the space left of the super drive.
Redesigned Alu enclosure, HDMI, etc. etc. sexiness
http://www.apple.com/macmini/
Thanks mods for merging the threads
The thing you are forgetting is that the Apple TV is pitched at a lot of different uses.
One of them is indeed the AppleTV-esque do-it-all living room media computer you want it to be, but it's not the only market they are aiming at. With this revision, the Mac Mini becomes one step short of perfect for this kind of living-room use (because it lacks blu-ray), but it's still pretty darn close to perfect.
The fact is however, that there are lots of other use scenarios that it's also aimed at and also good for.
Far away from perfect. Have you used it? I have been using it for last years daily with my family. I find it far away from prefect comparing to recently found XBMC or Boxeee. I could open list of flaws in design apprach to Apple TV not to mention its casual problems with content. Only rental works erelatively okay (excapt glitches when it can give you only 24 hours to play rented movie even though you have not started it yet... or some rented movies given FULL YEAR to watch which happened to me - both cases).
Just too expensive. Nobody wants to pay that kind of money for a stand alone desktop. $100 less and maybe it would be worth it. For what you would spend on a base mac mini and 24 inch apple display, you could just buy yourself a 3.06ghz 27 inch iMac for about the same price, and that comes with a bigger hard disk and twice the ram. Makes no sense.
Also, if you bought a mac mini with 4 gigs ram, 500gig hdd, shitty keyboard and mouse, and a cheap 22'ish inch 1080p display you could be spending more than the base 21.5 inch imac, which has same ram and hdd, better IPS display, and comes with a bluetooth keyboard and magic mouse???
This is absolutely, undoubtably, a complete ripoff even by Apple standards.
That's about it. But this new Mini does look really nice though.
Whoever told your girlfriend that was either a complete liar or idiot. You can upgrade the ram or hard disk in any mac, even by yourself, without voiding the warranty. They only void the warranty if you damage the computer, and of course they don't cover replacement parts or issues caused by such parts. Anybody who says otherwise (including apple employees), is misinformed.
she bought it at the Apple store. i don't exactly remember the conversation, other than the outcome made her just buy the "fully-Loaded" model because they were VERY hesitant about upgrading anything. I think the actual conversation was that upgrade cost alone would not be worth the money spent, so they encouraged just to have the RAM included in the computer she purchased. Since Apple Stores only sell the Base-Model and the Fully-Loaded-Model as your only options, upgrading can be costly and time consuming for THEM.
Personally, i've always purchased computers online or over the phone, customizing each option to my needs. I like purchasing low on RAM and upgrading in a couple years because it saves money (since tech. components usually go down in price over time) and i'm a pretty average user that doesn't need the top-line model right now. I've done this with the last 3 computers i've owned (since 1993) and it's always worked well.
The fact that Apple doesn't like to do this in the past, or charges you an arm and leg for is what's frustrating; until i saw that the new Mini will allow the user to change out the RAM now. That's a welcomed new direction. And, the fact they hid the access panel in a way that doesn't affect the "Apple Look" of the device is an added bonus.
I did find the addition of the SD Card Reader interesting. An embedded reader could eventually replace optical if the costs become competitive enough.
I think that's exactly where they're going.
Actually if they had say, doubled the size of the Mini (which would have still been smaller than a Shuttle PC), they could have put i5 or i7 chips in, along with a better video card and still sold for well under a grand. People are willing to pay for what they view as a value and a small footprint Apple computer with an i5 and good video would be well worth it. Instead, they barely bump it at all spec-wise, shrink it down even more (admittedly it is a very pretty design) and raise the price. I would have considered switching from Windows over to OSX for a machine like that. Guess I'll keep watching and waiting to see if Apple produces a machine to fit my purposes anytime soon.
Yeah, I can see why they keep the mini as an entry spec computer, in contrast to the iMac which I think is a good deal as a complete computer system. Having a lower spec mini allows people to get into using macs with their existing hardware without the expense of an iMac. Making the mini more expensive defeats the purpose.
Apple has actually made the mini more expensive than the iMac, for what you get.
I still can't buy it without a current processor (i5). Maybe we will see that for Christmas.