i cant find the thread that mentioned this, but the AppleTV is 7.5 by 7.5 as is the new airport extreme...
this lead me to thinking that "perhaps" if the mini got a redesign (after all its 2 years old now, isnt it?) then it might get these beefier proportions would 7.5 by 7.5 allow for a FULL SIZE HD ? or even a HD-DVD/Blu-Ray drive?
just a thought
That'd be nice, doing that and apple the ability to customize it but I just don't see it happening. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for a mid tower one day.
i cant find the thread that mentioned this, but the AppleTV is 7.5 by 7.5 as is the new airport extreme...
this lead me to thinking that "perhaps" if the mini got a redesign (after all its 2 years old now, isnt it?) then it might get these beefier proportions would 7.5 by 7.5 allow for a FULL SIZE HD ?
That would be the hope. Probably why the iMac destroyed the Mini in the previous posts.
7.5x7.5 for easy stacking with the aTV, full sized HD and GMA 3000 would be awesome. Tho'd I'd like it to have G72M...
Why on Earth would you want to stack an aTV on a Mac Mini? The point of the aTV is to store or fetch content from a PC that's somewhere else in your house and display it on your TV.
If your Mac Mini is under the TV anyway, then just hook it up directly. Having an aTV there to stream files from the box underneath it and present them in the same way Front Row does seems a bit pointless. You can connect a Mini to a TV via DVI or VGA if your TV supports either of those, or via HDMI, S-Video or Composite with an adapter.
I'd guess that the "next generation of Front Row" that was mentioned as being part of Leopard during the WWDC keynote is going to look almost exactly like the aTV interface.
Why on Earth would you want to stack an aTV on a Mac Mini? The point of the aTV is to store or fetch content from a PC that's somewhere else in your house and display it on your TV.
If your Mac Mini is under the TV anyway, then just hook it up directly. Having an aTV there to stream files from the box underneath it and present them in the same way Front Row does seems a bit pointless. You can connect a Mini to a TV via DVI or VGA if your TV supports either of those, or via HDMI, S-Video or Composite with an adapter.
I'd guess that the "next generation of Front Row" that was mentioned as being part of Leopard during the WWDC keynote is going to look almost exactly like the aTV interface.
I was wondering the same thing. Part of the reason I am looking for the Blu-Ray MacMini, ideally with an HDMI port. DVI works, too, though.
That'd be nice, doing that and apple the ability to customize it but I just don't see it happening. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for a mid tower one day.
i dont see it happening either... but i suppose thats the fun of not knowing we really DONT know, and so its interesting to guess. after all it kept blogers on coffee guessing about the iPhone
---
why would you stack them? i dont know.. but then i dont know why some people are buying the aTV.. yet they are, in their thousands..
my plan is to bung my current mini under the TV, but if i had an iMac instead of the mini.. would i buy a mini to bung under the TV or an aTV?
if i had an iMac and bought the aTV but decided to get a mini so i could browse in the TV room, then i would end up with a mini and aTV together, be real nice if they could stack, keep things neat... also nice if i could buy an HD in the same form factor, it would be aesthetically pleasing to the eye (something apple IS known for) rather than a dispirit collection of boxes which most AV equipment looks like... unless you buy it all from the same company... which it would be as its all from apple....
the more i think about it the more im hopeful.
i DOUBT it.... but im not going to be all that surprised.
still... C2D is all i REALLY want ...and a price drop would be cool...and...and..and
Why on Earth would you want to stack an aTV on a Mac Mini?
Yes, mental lapse on my part. That and the lack of HDCP on the aTV by reports. Before the DVI connection on the mini was subject to down rez. aTV will be as well without HDCP.
i cant find the thread that mentioned this, but the AppleTV is 7.5 by 7.5 as is the new airport extreme...
this lead me to thinking that "perhaps" if the mini got a redesign (after all its 2 years old now, isnt it?) then it might get these beefier proportions would 7.5 by 7.5 allow for a FULL SIZE HD ? or even a HD-DVD/Blu-Ray drive?
Can you even get a slot-loading laptop size Blu-Ray drive yet? A full size desktop 5.25" Blu-Ray drive is still $600.
Putting Blu-Ray in the Mini when it isn't even an option on the Mac Pro is just bonkers.
Hopefully they'll bundle a DVI to HDMI adaptor rather than the DVI to VGA one in the C2D versions.
Panasonic unveiled a slot-load Blu-Ray laptop drive (Model # UJ-215) over a year ago but I don't know if it's available yet. It has probably seen delays as I have not heard anything about it lately.
Panasonic unveiled a slot-load Blu-Ray laptop drive (Model # UJ-215) over a year ago but I don't know if it's available yet. It has probably seen delays as I have not heard anything about it lately.
Well I'm glad to know they exist. So it won't be too long before the *option* appears on the iMac and MBP - still think we are years away from the Mini getting it though. Actually my TiBook needs a new optical drive......
i cant find the thread that mentioned this, but the AppleTV is 7.5 by 7.5 as is the new airport extreme...
this lead me to thinking that "perhaps" if the mini got a redesign (after all its 2 years old now, isnt it?) then it might get these beefier proportions would 7.5 by 7.5 allow for a FULL SIZE HD ? or even a HD-DVD/Blu-Ray drive?
just a thought
This was my fault I think. The ATV is 7.5x7.5, which got my hopes up for a mini with a 3.5 inch HDD.
But the new Airport Extreme shares the same footprint as the curent mini, meaning their still pushing that form factor.
If Minis are for PC switchers then a software package which is the coolest, latest, greatest, easiest to use...etc. would convert more of them than any picayune 7.5 X 7.5 form factor changes. Maybe Leopard, iWork, iLife 07 and more will come soon and the new Minis will too. Of course C2Duo is a must.
I'm not saying it will be marketed as such, but it certainly will fill a need for the following:
1. AV nuts who refuse to adopt a comprehensive AV solution that doesn't support 1080p.
2. Switchers who want an AppleTV solution, but don't have an apple to begin with.
3. Geeks who ask why can't the AppleTV also play games, share USB, funciton as a wireless base station, do iChat, surf the web, etc...
4. Sentient beings who consume oxygen and recognize that anyone that spends twice the money as an AppleTV on a mac mini is going to expect it to at least be able to do what an AppleTV does.
Apple could move the mac mini from the hobbiest's media mac to the standard media mac by doing the following-
1. Add HDMI or create a DVI to HDMI cable that somehow gets the audio feed into the hdmi.
2. Add DVR support either with a tuner or acting as a virtual dVHS (a la the feature already available in the firewire SDK).
I would suspect they won't do #2, but #1 is a no brainer.
The mini needs upgrading--it's not insulated from the competition, and, being arguably targeted at switchers, it just needs to get up to speed. Also, the mini released will be competing as is for the next six months, which on Intelland, is for serious. I think Jobs does indeed want more market share, around 10% in a reasonable amount of time (I've heard him mention the number recently, and having the best 10% of the market would be bliss for the Mac, and 2007 is the year to begin, and the mini is a not-unimportant part of it).
The entry-level mini has always been one step behind the iMac in its processor: when the iMac was G5, the mini was G4; iMac Core Duo, mini Core Solo; iMac Core 2 Duo, mini Core Duo.
So, the possible two ways:
1.
March or early April
Core 2 Duo
about two of the following:
away with the Combo Drive silliness, the unpopular GMA950, the laptop hard drive, or the 512 MB RAM (what with them Leopards, and PCs getting more RAM for Vista and due to falling prices)
2.
March, April, or May
seriously redesigned mini (could be the reason C2D hasn't happened, even though it's an easy and significant upgrade, as evidenced in http://www.hardmac.com/articles/69/)
A brilliantly designed case could make heat and space less of issues, and those are the only issues--battery life is not a concern, and the mini isn't used on your lap, so if you can get the air out, that's it. Maybe vents in the upper side, ingenuous use of materials and airflow, etc. If heat and/or space weren't such limiting factors, the demand for more of a "Mac middle" could be partly addressed, with desktop hard drives, better processors, maybe better graphics (or at least the choice), somewhat more expandability, more room for the optical drives, etc. Obviously, not all of this will happen, and maybe none, but some, sometime, wouldn't be too much to expect.
Comments
Or they could keep the specs the same and knock $100 off the price.8)
i cant find the thread that mentioned this, but the AppleTV is 7.5 by 7.5 as is the new airport extreme...
this lead me to thinking that "perhaps" if the mini got a redesign (after all its 2 years old now, isnt it?) then it might get these beefier proportions would 7.5 by 7.5 allow for a FULL SIZE HD ? or even a HD-DVD/Blu-Ray drive?
just a thought
That'd be nice, doing that and apple the ability to customize it but I just don't see it happening. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for a mid tower one day.
i cant find the thread that mentioned this, but the AppleTV is 7.5 by 7.5 as is the new airport extreme...
this lead me to thinking that "perhaps" if the mini got a redesign (after all its 2 years old now, isnt it?) then it might get these beefier proportions would 7.5 by 7.5 allow for a FULL SIZE HD ?
That would be the hope. Probably why the iMac destroyed the Mini in the previous posts.
7.5x7.5 for easy stacking with the aTV, full sized HD and GMA 3000 would be awesome. Tho'd I'd like it to have G72M...
Vinea
If your Mac Mini is under the TV anyway, then just hook it up directly. Having an aTV there to stream files from the box underneath it and present them in the same way Front Row does seems a bit pointless. You can connect a Mini to a TV via DVI or VGA if your TV supports either of those, or via HDMI, S-Video or Composite with an adapter.
I'd guess that the "next generation of Front Row" that was mentioned as being part of Leopard during the WWDC keynote is going to look almost exactly like the aTV interface.
Why on Earth would you want to stack an aTV on a Mac Mini? The point of the aTV is to store or fetch content from a PC that's somewhere else in your house and display it on your TV.
If your Mac Mini is under the TV anyway, then just hook it up directly. Having an aTV there to stream files from the box underneath it and present them in the same way Front Row does seems a bit pointless. You can connect a Mini to a TV via DVI or VGA if your TV supports either of those, or via HDMI, S-Video or Composite with an adapter.
I'd guess that the "next generation of Front Row" that was mentioned as being part of Leopard during the WWDC keynote is going to look almost exactly like the aTV interface.
I was wondering the same thing. Part of the reason I am looking for the Blu-Ray MacMini, ideally with an HDMI port. DVI works, too, though.
That'd be nice, doing that and apple the ability to customize it but I just don't see it happening. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for a mid tower one day.
i dont see it happening either... but i suppose thats the fun of not knowing
---
why would you stack them? i dont know.. but then i dont know why some people are buying the aTV.. yet they are, in their thousands..
my plan is to bung my current mini under the TV, but if i had an iMac instead of the mini.. would i buy a mini to bung under the TV or an aTV?
if i had an iMac and bought the aTV but decided to get a mini so i could browse in the TV room, then i would end up with a mini and aTV together, be real nice if they could stack, keep things neat... also nice if i could buy an HD in the same form factor, it would be aesthetically pleasing to the eye (something apple IS known for) rather than a dispirit collection of boxes which most AV equipment looks like... unless you buy it all from the same company... which it would be as its all from apple....
the more i think about it the more im hopeful.
i DOUBT it.... but im not going to be all that surprised.
still... C2D is all i REALLY want
If it was under a $1000, would people purchase a Mac-mini with the Blu-Ray drive
and HDMI interface, instead of buying a Blu-Ray Player?
I would, but I think its a bit of ahead of the curve.
So, I know we won't get it, but here is my suggestion:
2GHz Core2 Duo
100GB HD @7,200 rpm
1GB RAM (with 2 slots, one empty)
Blu-Ray Drive (plays and records CD, DVD, and BD,)
Intel graphics (no comment on what)
802.11n
HDMI out
Optical SPDIF out
$999
I'm thinking your realistic specs + the GMA 3000
Macbook should get the GMA 3000 too btw, then I can buy one
The G965M is still three months away.
What would happen if they packaged a Blu-Ray drive with the mini?
If it was under a $1000, would people purchase a Mac-mini with the Blu-Ray drive
and HDMI interface, instead of buying a Blu-Ray Player?
I would, but I think its a bit of ahead of the curve.
So, I know we won't get it, but here is my suggestion:
2GHz Core2 Duo
100GB HD @7,200 rpm
1GB RAM (with 2 slots, one empty)
Blu-Ray Drive (plays and records CD, DVD, and BD,)
Intel graphics (no comment on what)
802.11n
HDMI out
Optical SPDIF out
$999
Can you even get a slot-loading laptop size Blu-Ray drive yet? A full size desktop 5.25" Blu-Ray drive is still $600.
Putting Blu-Ray in the Mini when it isn't even an option on the Mac Pro is just bonkers.
Hopefully they'll bundle a DVI to HDMI adaptor rather than the DVI to VGA one in the C2D versions.
Why on Earth would you want to stack an aTV on a Mac Mini?
Yes, mental lapse on my part. That and the lack of HDCP on the aTV by reports. Before the DVI connection on the mini was subject to down rez. aTV will be as well without HDCP.
Vinea
i cant find the thread that mentioned this, but the AppleTV is 7.5 by 7.5 as is the new airport extreme...
this lead me to thinking that "perhaps" if the mini got a redesign (after all its 2 years old now, isnt it?) then it might get these beefier proportions would 7.5 by 7.5 allow for a FULL SIZE HD ? or even a HD-DVD/Blu-Ray drive?
just a thought
Mini^3
Mini^3
care to share?
Can you even get a slot-loading laptop size Blu-Ray drive yet? A full size desktop 5.25" Blu-Ray drive is still $600.
Putting Blu-Ray in the Mini when it isn't even an option on the Mac Pro is just bonkers.
Hopefully they'll bundle a DVI to HDMI adaptor rather than the DVI to VGA one in the C2D versions.
Panasonic unveiled a slot-load Blu-Ray laptop drive (Model # UJ-215) over a year ago but I don't know if it's available yet. It has probably seen delays as I have not heard anything about it lately.
LINK
IMAGE
Panasonic unveiled a slot-load Blu-Ray laptop drive (Model # UJ-215) over a year ago but I don't know if it's available yet. It has probably seen delays as I have not heard anything about it lately.
LINK
IMAGE
Well I'm glad to know they exist. So it won't be too long before the *option* appears on the iMac and MBP - still think we are years away from the Mini getting it though. Actually my TiBook needs a new optical drive......
i cant find the thread that mentioned this, but the AppleTV is 7.5 by 7.5 as is the new airport extreme...
this lead me to thinking that "perhaps" if the mini got a redesign (after all its 2 years old now, isnt it?) then it might get these beefier proportions would 7.5 by 7.5 allow for a FULL SIZE HD ? or even a HD-DVD/Blu-Ray drive?
just a thought
This was my fault I think. The ATV is 7.5x7.5, which got my hopes up for a mini with a 3.5 inch HDD.
But the new Airport Extreme shares the same footprint as the curent mini, meaning their still pushing that form factor.
But hope srpings eternal...
But hope srpings eternal...
oh how true
http://www.hardmac.com/articles/69/
1. AV nuts who refuse to adopt a comprehensive AV solution that doesn't support 1080p.
2. Switchers who want an AppleTV solution, but don't have an apple to begin with.
3. Geeks who ask why can't the AppleTV also play games, share USB, funciton as a wireless base station, do iChat, surf the web, etc...
4. Sentient beings who consume oxygen and recognize that anyone that spends twice the money as an AppleTV on a mac mini is going to expect it to at least be able to do what an AppleTV does.
Apple could move the mac mini from the hobbiest's media mac to the standard media mac by doing the following-
1. Add HDMI or create a DVI to HDMI cable that somehow gets the audio feed into the hdmi.
2. Add DVR support either with a tuner or acting as a virtual dVHS (a la the feature already available in the firewire SDK).
I would suspect they won't do #2, but #1 is a no brainer.
The reasoning:
Santa Rosa probably won't be out till May (http://www.macrumors.com/2007/02/25/...king-for-may/), and even if it was out by April, it's unlikely it would make it to the mini before May, if even.
The mini needs upgrading--it's not insulated from the competition, and, being arguably targeted at switchers, it just needs to get up to speed. Also, the mini released will be competing as is for the next six months, which on Intelland, is for serious. I think Jobs does indeed want more market share, around 10% in a reasonable amount of time (I've heard him mention the number recently, and having the best 10% of the market would be bliss for the Mac, and 2007 is the year to begin, and the mini is a not-unimportant part of it).
The entry-level mini has always been one step behind the iMac in its processor: when the iMac was G5, the mini was G4; iMac Core Duo, mini Core Solo; iMac Core 2 Duo, mini Core Duo.
So, the possible two ways:
1.
March or early April
Core 2 Duo
about two of the following:
away with the Combo Drive silliness, the unpopular GMA950, the laptop hard drive, or the 512 MB RAM (what with them Leopards, and PCs getting more RAM for Vista and due to falling prices)
2.
March, April, or May
seriously redesigned mini (could be the reason C2D hasn't happened, even though it's an easy and significant upgrade, as evidenced in http://www.hardmac.com/articles/69/)
A brilliantly designed case could make heat and space less of issues, and those are the only issues--battery life is not a concern, and the mini isn't used on your lap, so if you can get the air out, that's it. Maybe vents in the upper side, ingenuous use of materials and airflow, etc. If heat and/or space weren't such limiting factors, the demand for more of a "Mac middle" could be partly addressed, with desktop hard drives, better processors, maybe better graphics (or at least the choice), somewhat more expandability, more room for the optical drives, etc. Obviously, not all of this will happen, and maybe none, but some, sometime, wouldn't be too much to expect.