Some of you spec-whores are way over the top on the Mini. I bought mine in Feb, full knowing that it would not support the wobble effects in dashboard. Do I regret it? Nope.
(...)
At least I hope Apple has learned the lesson from the Cube desaster and the way iMac sales have tanked after the move from G3 -> G4 (and the price bump). Bottom line is about compromises.
Absolutely. Every bit.
The mac mini fits perfectly well in the
targeted market (people who do need a budget
computer and want get rid of windows).
If you need plenty power for various reasons (Photoshop extreme),
than you should reconsider buying a mini. If you
need a small computer for writing, internet
purposes and casually tormenting PC friends
with the amazingly ease of use of macintosh,
than the mini is a good investment - right out of the box.
When it does get bumped, I hope it's a complete bump like the iMac G5 was just bumped. I'm talking 1.7GHz G4, Radeon 9600 with 128MB RAM (the old one had 64MB right?), Gb ethernet (semi useful for a consumer network, very useful for business), maybe pretty please Firewire 800?
Well my friend, i dont see that happening unless they want to price it like an iMac. I dont see that as being reasonable.
I say:
$499
1.42 Ghz (like many have said)
60 GB HD
256 MB RAM (though i wish otherwise)
64 MB VRAM
Same ports and an Audio In.
$599
1.6 Ghz
80 GB HD (100GB BTO)
256MB RAM
64 MB VRAM
same ports, audio in
Theres no chance in a built in stick of RAM like the Ibooks. There making too much of a profit off the people who use the BTO option. $450 for a 1 GB stick of RAM. Outrageous. 300$ profit.. and so on. Another plus would be a bump in Bus speed. Will it happen, we have no idea.
. . . There making too much of a profit off the people who use the BTO option. $450 for a 1 GB stick of RAM. Outrageous. . .
Apple dropped the price of RAM a bit. $225 extra for 1 GB, $50 extra for 512 MB. A good price would be $150 extra for 1 GB. Many folks would go for that to avoid doing it themselves.
its good, and if i ever get money and such w/ a job, then ill also buy a mac mini for more or less a host/mini server for all my pics and such which would be dumb of me to use it for that b/c my imac has 250GB.. but you know, itll still be fun i like the way it looks and its lil screen w/ it
A good friend of mine is about to buy a mini. He has always used PCs. Recently, he began using new Macs in school and fell in love with them. I've told him to make sure to upgrade the RAM.
I am considering buying a mini for work. All computers here are PCs, but with a KVM, the mini would be a great addition. I am the inhouse designer and prefer Macs. The problem is to get work to shell out the cash for the Mac version of software that, in some cases, we already have PC versions of.
Apple dropped the price of RAM a bit. $225 extra for 1 GB, $50 extra for 512 MB.
So they have. wise choice. And with school discounts:
512 MB RAM - $45
1 GB RAM - $202
Thats still like a $90 price differential than the 1 GB module from Crucial, but its a whole hell of a lot better than $450. And great for the people who get queezy at the site of a computers insides. lol
The Mini is not bad as it is. I've used them in the Apple store and was impressed. I'll probably get one in a few weeks to use as a second computer. I'd like to have something for recording radio and digital TV (Eye TV 500) when I take the PB on the road.
Two things I'd like to see in future Minis:
1. H.264 decoding. This would be awesome. With a 10" monitor and a small keyboard (and a huge external FW drive) this could be a fine entertainment center.
2. One PCI slot. Not standard but as an optional version. This would be a great embedded system. For about $600 you get a complete system with development system in a tiny package. Plug in a board for driving stepper motors, D/A converters, A/D converters and have fun. Use WiFi to remotely control the device or to reap data.
Why does Apple finally make a product that can sell and hamper it by not advertising it and not updating it?
They don't really need to update, not for that market... and certainly not considering XGrid is included with them. Just buy another one and update it yourself ? link them together for more processing power.
The spec whores are doing the Mac mini a huge disservice.
I recently bought a 1.25Ghz mini, thinking that I would use it for light duty only; especially since I haven't gotten around to putting more RAM into it. As an experiment, I loaded a few modestly resource-hungry applications onto it: Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks, Photoshop, Blender, Soldier of Fortune II & Command & Conquer Generals (the games' preferences are set up very modestly, of course).
The spinning beach ball certainly appears every now and then for a second or two. The thing has to flog the hard drive; due to virtual memory. And there are times when I use 100% of the processor & I can hear the fan come on. But it all works just fine. Nothing screeches to a halt. There's a hiccup every once in a while; something I assume will mostly go away once I give the poor thing more memory (for my uses). Tiger works very nicely!
My experiences with the Mac mini are that I don't see any reason for Apple to give it a speed bump any time soon. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if we didn't see an upgrade until next January. Remember, it's a budget computer; and does its job (and then some) with admirable ability. If Apple does decide to upgrade the Mac mini sooner than a year after its introduction, we should all thank our good fortune; rather than assuming that there was something fundamentally wrong with the first models.
The spec whores are doing the Mac mini a huge disservice.
...
My experiences with the Mac mini are that I don't see any reason for Apple to give it a speed bump any time soon. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if we didn't see an upgrade until next January. Remember, it's a budget computer; and does its job (and then some) with admirable ability. If Apple does decide to upgrade the Mac mini sooner than a year after its introduction, we should all thank our good fortune; rather than assuming that there was something fundamentally wrong with the first models.
Thank you to back up my prior estimation a little bit.
1. H.264 decoding. This would be awesome. With a 10" monitor and a small keyboard (and a huge external FW drive) this could be a fine entertainment center.
2. One PCI slot. Not standard but as an optional version. This would be a great embedded system. For about $600 you get a complete system with development system in a tiny package. Plug in a board for driving stepper motors, D/A converters, A/D converters and have fun. Use WiFi to remotely control the device or to reap data.
3. What about a PC-card slot? There are several TV-Tuners
available for this technology. PC-cards are small, powerfull and
easy to exchange, if there is something better released.
As an experiment, I loaded a few modestly resource-hungry applications onto it: Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks, Photoshop, Blender, Soldier of Fortune II & Command & Conquer Generals (the games' preferences are set up very modestly, of course).
.........Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks, Photoshop, Blender, Soldier of Fortune II & Command & Conquer Generals. Modestly resource hungry? LOL
Comments
Originally posted by steve666
why would anyone buy it now if it is already outdated? Do you see what I mean?
Would you buy it?
I sure as shit won't
...
"outdated" is a bit harsh, isn't it? At least it is not a
description which is used in my neighborhood.
Originally posted by steve666
...
Improve it and I'm there. I don't care if it came out last month, it can't handle the newest OS and that is unacceptable.
What gave you the impression, that it can not
handle the latest OS? The mini is brilliantly
constructed and runs Tiger quite well.
Originally posted by Smircle
Some of you spec-whores are way over the top on the Mini. I bought mine in Feb, full knowing that it would not support the wobble effects in dashboard. Do I regret it? Nope.
(...)
At least I hope Apple has learned the lesson from the Cube desaster and the way iMac sales have tanked after the move from G3 -> G4 (and the price bump). Bottom line is about compromises.
Absolutely. Every bit.
The mac mini fits perfectly well in the
targeted market (people who do need a budget
computer and want get rid of windows).
If you need plenty power for various reasons (Photoshop extreme),
than you should reconsider buying a mini. If you
need a small computer for writing, internet
purposes and casually tormenting PC friends
with the amazingly ease of use of macintosh,
than the mini is a good investment - right out of the box.
Originally posted by Outsider
When it does get bumped, I hope it's a complete bump like the iMac G5 was just bumped. I'm talking 1.7GHz G4, Radeon 9600 with 128MB RAM (the old one had 64MB right?), Gb ethernet (semi useful for a consumer network, very useful for business), maybe pretty please Firewire 800?
Well my friend, i dont see that happening unless they want to price it like an iMac. I dont see that as being reasonable.
I say:
$499
1.42 Ghz (like many have said)
60 GB HD
256 MB RAM (though i wish otherwise)
64 MB VRAM
Same ports and an Audio In.
$599
1.6 Ghz
80 GB HD (100GB BTO)
256MB RAM
64 MB VRAM
same ports, audio in
Theres no chance in a built in stick of RAM like the Ibooks. There making too much of a profit off the people who use the BTO option. $450 for a 1 GB stick of RAM. Outrageous. 300$ profit.. and so on. Another plus would be a bump in Bus speed. Will it happen, we have no idea.
-Terry
Originally posted by The Big L
. . . There making too much of a profit off the people who use the BTO option. $450 for a 1 GB stick of RAM. Outrageous. . .
Apple dropped the price of RAM a bit. $225 extra for 1 GB, $50 extra for 512 MB. A good price would be $150 extra for 1 GB. Many folks would go for that to avoid doing it themselves.
this
Hear that noise? In the distance? That'll be Apple lawyers.
Originally posted by Vox Barbara
What gave you the impression, that it can not
handle the latest OS? The mini is brilliantly
constructed and runs Tiger quite well.
Classic apologist antics.
the specs are weak and make for a chunky experience.
new apple systems should be able to do the dashboard ripple effect and all transitions in keynote.
the farthest i would go is "okay" "alright" or "decently"
512 RAM and 64mb VRAM standard and then we can talk.
Originally posted by nathan22t
the specs are weak and make for a chunky experience.
Obviously you don't own one.
I am considering buying a mini for work. All computers here are PCs, but with a KVM, the mini would be a great addition. I am the inhouse designer and prefer Macs. The problem is to get work to shell out the cash for the Mac version of software that, in some cases, we already have PC versions of.
Originally posted by nathan22t
Classic apologist antics.
fantastic, now i am puzzled.
...
the specs are weak and make for a chunky experience.
new apple systems should be able to do the dashboard ripple effect and all transitions in keynote.
...
Really, i don't argue on this subject.
Nowadays a computer is much more than
the sum of its components. Anyway.
Of course, you are allowed to call the mini "weak"
specwise. Me, I don't pitty the lack of some experimental
GUI effects.
But do you agree, that the mini is pretty overpowered,
if you merely going to use iTunes, Safari, Mail, Office?
See, 95% of mini customers use exactly these apps.
Most mini customers judge the mini as pretty fast.
To argue about weak specs regarding the mini
is flogging dead horses - and drives me nuts anyway.
Do you want to drive me nuts?
cheers
Originally posted by snoopy
Apple dropped the price of RAM a bit. $225 extra for 1 GB, $50 extra for 512 MB.
So they have. wise choice. And with school discounts:
512 MB RAM - $45
1 GB RAM - $202
Thats still like a $90 price differential than the 1 GB module from Crucial, but its a whole hell of a lot better than $450. And great for the people who get queezy at the site of a computers insides. lol
-Terry
Two things I'd like to see in future Minis:
1. H.264 decoding. This would be awesome. With a 10" monitor and a small keyboard (and a huge external FW drive) this could be a fine entertainment center.
2. One PCI slot. Not standard but as an optional version. This would be a great embedded system. For about $600 you get a complete system with development system in a tiny package. Plug in a board for driving stepper motors, D/A converters, A/D converters and have fun. Use WiFi to remotely control the device or to reap data.
Originally posted by steve666
Why hasn't the Mac Mini been updated?
Why does Apple finally make a product that can sell and hamper it by not advertising it and not updating it?
They don't really need to update, not for that market... and certainly not considering XGrid is included with them. Just buy another one and update it yourself ? link them together for more processing power.
I recently bought a 1.25Ghz mini, thinking that I would use it for light duty only; especially since I haven't gotten around to putting more RAM into it. As an experiment, I loaded a few modestly resource-hungry applications onto it: Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks, Photoshop, Blender, Soldier of Fortune II & Command & Conquer Generals (the games' preferences are set up very modestly, of course).
The spinning beach ball certainly appears every now and then for a second or two. The thing has to flog the hard drive; due to virtual memory. And there are times when I use 100% of the processor & I can hear the fan come on. But it all works just fine. Nothing screeches to a halt. There's a hiccup every once in a while; something I assume will mostly go away once I give the poor thing more memory (for my uses). Tiger works very nicely!
My experiences with the Mac mini are that I don't see any reason for Apple to give it a speed bump any time soon. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if we didn't see an upgrade until next January. Remember, it's a budget computer; and does its job (and then some) with admirable ability. If Apple does decide to upgrade the Mac mini sooner than a year after its introduction, we should all thank our good fortune; rather than assuming that there was something fundamentally wrong with the first models.
Originally posted by dws
The spec whores are doing the Mac mini a huge disservice.
...
My experiences with the Mac mini are that I don't see any reason for Apple to give it a speed bump any time soon. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if we didn't see an upgrade until next January. Remember, it's a budget computer; and does its job (and then some) with admirable ability. If Apple does decide to upgrade the Mac mini sooner than a year after its introduction, we should all thank our good fortune; rather than assuming that there was something fundamentally wrong with the first models.
Thank you to back up my prior estimation a little bit.
Well a friend of mine bought a mini recently
and he is everything but bummed. Very same
experience as yours.
Originally posted by neutrino23
...
Two things I'd like to see in future Minis:
1. H.264 decoding. This would be awesome. With a 10" monitor and a small keyboard (and a huge external FW drive) this could be a fine entertainment center.
2. One PCI slot. Not standard but as an optional version. This would be a great embedded system. For about $600 you get a complete system with development system in a tiny package. Plug in a board for driving stepper motors, D/A converters, A/D converters and have fun. Use WiFi to remotely control the device or to reap data.
3. What about a PC-card slot? There are several TV-Tuners
available for this technology. PC-cards are small, powerfull and
easy to exchange, if there is something better released.
my2cents
Originally posted by Vox Barbara
Thank you to back up my prior estimation a little bit.
Well a friend of mine bought a mini recently
and he is everything but bummed. Very same
experience as yours.
People forget a 2005 Mac Mini very nearly equals a 2003 Powerbook, for $1500 less.
Tiger runs fine on it too, complete with ripple effect.
Originally posted by dws
As an experiment, I loaded a few modestly resource-hungry applications onto it: Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks, Photoshop, Blender, Soldier of Fortune II & Command & Conquer Generals (the games' preferences are set up very modestly, of course).
.........Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks, Photoshop, Blender, Soldier of Fortune II & Command & Conquer Generals. Modestly resource hungry? LOL