Mac Mini Update?!?!

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  • Reply 81 of 110
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Royboy View Post


    Since we are making up a product that doesn't exist (Mac mini Pro), sure it will drive a 30" and also a 42".



    ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



    For some people speculation is reality.



    Dave
  • Reply 82 of 110
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sparker View Post


    I Celeron would also work! Cost would go up, however



    You jest, but Intel has announced the first dual-core Celeron. Dual 1.6GHz, Allendale core with cache disabled on an 800MHz bus. $50
  • Reply 83 of 110
    You can get amd dual core for just a about that price with better MB that cost less then intel system.



    Also the lack of cache will be a big slow down with intel FSB.
  • Reply 84 of 110
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Joe_the_dragon View Post


    You can get amd dual core for just a about that price with better MB that cost less then intel system.



    Also the lack of cache will be a big slow down with intel FSB.



    True about the price, we'll see what the lack of cache does when reviewers get their hands on them. It is an important step, though- the "budget" line is going dual-core. It might not be long before Intel and AMD stop making single-core processors, apart from embedded solutions.
  • Reply 85 of 110
    eckingecking Posts: 1,588member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sequitur View Post


    Just curious, Ecking, is that notice of banning something AI does or do you add it because you like it?

    Again, I'm just curious. I'm not attacking you.



    I got banned and the added the notice as my signature because I liked it.
  • Reply 86 of 110
    amorphamorph Posts: 7,112member
    I don't understand the hostility toward the mini either. It's a proven way to sell people up to the iMac. It's also a good way for switchers to dip a toe in, and I've idly contemplated setting one or two of the little buggers up as headless servers.



    It's not an AppleTV replacement. The AppleTV is $299, down in the consumer appliance price range. It's not that an HDMI port would cost so much, it's that the mini already costs too much for this purpose.



    It has done a brilliant job of selling the AIO, though, so it can stay.
  • Reply 87 of 110
    jowie74jowie74 Posts: 540member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Amorph View Post


    It's not an AppleTV replacement. The AppleTV is $299, down in the consumer appliance price range. It's not that an HDMI port would cost so much, it's that the mini already costs too much for this purpose.



    Why does the Mini cost too much to act as a media server? Tell me another box for the same money (or cheaper) that can do the following:
    • work as a PVR

    • run a torrent server

    • display both SD and HD signals on a TV (using adapters)

    • play DVDs and other files via optical media storage

    • burn CDs and DVDs

    • 5.1 digital sound via optical out

    • fit neatly in a home cinema system

    • play virtually any video/audio format

    • play video at pretty much any crop/aspect ratio via QuickTime Player and VLC

    • ability to connect to it via IR remote, bluetooth devices and/or remote desktop

    The above list is not just a catalogue of all the things the Mini can do, only the things that are useful as a media server. It's still a pretty impressive list.



    Bear in mind people will pay a lot more than $1000 for a decent TV or surround system. Paying about $800 for a device like this suddenly sounds a lot more reasonable. So if you can tell me about a device for a similar price that can do all of the above, I'm listening.
  • Reply 88 of 110
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Amorph View Post


    ... It's not that an HDMI port would cost so much, it's that the mini already costs too much for this purpose...



    No, it doesn't.... I would be perfectly happy to pay the current price to use it as an Apple TV... but I want HDMI so that it can see the entire screen of my TV.

    I'm willing to pay the extra $ BECAUSE it is so much more capable than the aTV.



    Now, for the wish-list.... Mini with HDMI and Blu-Ray
  • Reply 89 of 110
    jowie74jowie74 Posts: 540member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by KingOfSomewhereHot View Post


    I want HDMI so that it can see the entire screen of my TV.



    Why, does a DVI-to-HDMI converter not give you the entire screen of your TV?
  • Reply 90 of 110
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jowie74 View Post


    Why, does a DVI-to-HDMI converter not give you the entire screen of your TV?



    To be honest, I haven't tried that yet, but using the DVI-VGA adapter, the Mac will only display 15xx by ???, rather than 1920 by 1080. Perhaps the -HDMI adapter would work properly, but why should I need an "adapter" at all ??
  • Reply 91 of 110
    amorphamorph Posts: 7,112member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jowie74 View Post


    Why does the Mini cost too much to act as a media server? Tell me another box for the same money (or cheaper) that can do the following:
    • work as a PVR

    • run a torrent server

    • display both SD and HD signals on a TV (using adapters)

    • play DVDs and other files via optical media storage

    • burn CDs and DVDs

    • 5.1 digital sound via optical out

    • fit neatly in a home cinema system

    • play virtually any video/audio format

    • play video at pretty much any crop/aspect ratio via QuickTime Player and VLC

    • ability to connect to it via IR remote, bluetooth devices and/or remote desktop




    OK, how many people are going to buy a $500 machine to set up a torrent server and install VLC or use the machine with remote desktop?



    You would. I'd do something not entirely unlike that after cracking it open and swapping in a bigger hard drive. I'm sure a few more A/V geeks will chime in. But if most of the value adds you get by more than doubling the price are mostly geeky, how many people are going to buy it?



    I'm not suggesting that the AppleTV can't be improved. Right now it's... interesting. But I'm not sure that its OK reception in the market is a reason to sell a more complicated version at more than twice the price.
  • Reply 92 of 110
    jowie74jowie74 Posts: 540member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by KingOfSomewhereHot View Post


    To be honest, I haven't tried that yet, but using the DVI-VGA adapter, the Mac will only display 15xx by ???, rather than 1920 by 1080. Perhaps the -HDMI adapter would work properly, but why should I need an "adapter" at all ??



    I agree, it would be better to not have to use an adapter, but it's still only an extra $20 over the cost of a Mini.



    I'm not talking about a DVI-VGA adapter, I'm talking about a DVI-HDMI adapter. The former is analogue and the latter is digital. I can't see any reason why the adapter, working in tandem with software such as SwitchResX, can't output a resolution of 1920 x 1080. The video memory can handle up to 1920 by 1200.
  • Reply 93 of 110
    jowie74jowie74 Posts: 540member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Amorph View Post


    OK, how many people are going to buy a $500 machine to set up a torrent server and install VLC or use the machine with remote desktop?



    Not many I know! You were saying the Mini costs too much to act as a media server. I'm saying it doesn't, not for what I want a media server for anyway.
  • Reply 94 of 110
    mdriftmeyermdriftmeyer Posts: 7,503member
    I see convergence of the Mac mini and AppleTV.
  • Reply 95 of 110
    amorphamorph Posts: 7,112member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jowie74 View Post


    Not many I know! You were saying the Mini costs too much to act as a media server. I'm saying it doesn't, not for what I want a media server for anyway.



    By that definition, nothing is too expensive to use as a media server provided someone will buy it; but to take the argument ad absurdam, how many people would buy CNN's media server farm? CNN did!



    The issue is whether there are enough people to pay a 150% premium over an AppleTV for a few geeky features. I don't think there are.



    A machine with mini-like features will eventually appear at the AppleTV's price point. That's inevitable, and that might be what it takes.



    I'm also pessimistic about adoption of HD video, especially the flavors of 1080. HD-DVD and Blu-Ray screwed their respective pooches by building in paranoid levels of DRM so I consider them both stillborn (but at least Blu-Ray points the way to better optical storage). As portable devices take off but wireless bandwidth remains a choke point, YouTube-grade video will predominate (ironically, just as the lights go out on old fashioned TV in the US) and this will be a good thing for indie and grassroots production.
  • Reply 96 of 110
    vineavinea Posts: 5,585member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Amorph View Post


    I'm not suggesting that the AppleTV can't be improved. Right now it's... interesting. But I'm not sure that its OK reception in the market is a reason to sell a more complicated version at more than twice the price.



    I think its more along the lines of giving the Mini a better feature set as a home media server than upgrading the aTV to mini like specs given the thread title.



    I dunno that there is a home media server for cheaper than the mini. The only thing it lacks is hard disk space (solvable via a NAS) and the lack of HDMI out.



    The mini is quiet enough for the living room...especially if you stick the active drives on a NAS in the den or something. 1080p web surfing is "good enough" that it doesn't suck quite as bad as WebTV did back when so a bluetooth keyboard allows it to also serve light duty as a general family PC (email, web, pictures, etc).



    Apple COULD potentially just drop the mini and go the aTV + iMac route and just add Safari, Mail and iTunes to the aTV with slightly more memory and perhaps a slightly better processor. And it should be able to manage at the $299 price point.



    But that would be a real shame and really...for a lot of folks a 1080 "monitor" + the mini + BT keyboard & mouse + airport extreme + disk + 802.11 enabled printer would be a perfectly fine for home use.



    Heck, while I fiddle around with photos and movies, 90% of the time I barely do anything in iLife that I couldn't comfortably do from my couch. I'd rather have a mini + PS3 for $1100 than aTV + 20" iMac for $1500 assuming I had a decent HDTV already.
  • Reply 97 of 110
    dobbydobby Posts: 797member
    I think merge of the Mini and Apple TV would be ok. Losing the mac mini would be a silly thing as Apple now have a product range that can attract many new buyers. Not every wants (or can afford) a $2500 Mac Pro that is the begining of the pro range. Nor do people (like myself) want an all-in-1 imac when I already have an older mac and a PC and a half decent LCD.



    I would like to see a speed bump and perhaps GPU bump or HDMI.



    Dobby.
  • Reply 98 of 110
    So since it is the week of: what is the consensus regarding Apple's entry-level computer? I still am leaning towards a new Mini and not aTV. The Mini needs the upgraded video, faster processors, and maybe dual output(? I wish). What do you guys think?
  • Reply 99 of 110
    tx65tx65 Posts: 31member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by LaEsperanza View Post


    So since it is the week of: what is the consensus regarding Apple's entry-level computer? I still am leaning towards a new Mini and not aTV. The Mini needs the upgraded video, faster processors, and maybe dual output(? I wish). What do you guys think?





    I think a new Apple TV is a definite to build on the expanded movie selection for purchase or rent on I-Tunes. Obviously, the Apple TV needs 1080p capability to deliver HD content to the current high end standard.



    I think the Mac Mini will also evolve because it a great product for people on a budget wanting to transition from a Windows Desktop... They can get a Mac Mini, plug into their current monitor and get started with the Mac Experience. Amongst my collection of technology, I have a mac mini and love it for what it is.



    That being said, I think the evolution of the Mac Mini will also make it an up level offering of the Apple TV bringing full computer functionality into the game.
  • Reply 100 of 110
    We'll find out tomorrow.
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