polymnia

SpamSandwich said:

netling said:

$4,199 for the Maxed out mini! While I'm hopeful that the ram will be upgraded via third party ram (read $1,000 less!), the fact is the SSD is Apple proprietary and so either you upgrade when you order or your pretty stuck until used minis start showing up on eBay. 

Unfortunately, I feel Apple is losing touch with reality and that Tim Cook has surrounded himself with rich "yes" people, as the mini was originally made so the "poor" could afford a entry level computer, today that stopped as $800 is not affordable compared to entry level PC's, this logic also applies to iPads.  Apple needs to introduce a sub-$500 entry level computer that would allow the masses to embrace.  Ie, the mini default ram should be 16 and 8 for a true entry level $499 (today's offer is an insult to anyone with any computer knowledge!!)

Long Live Steve Job and I hope he visits Tim Cook in his dreams to wake Tim up to the masses that need better access... (Tim, this is why Android is still around, offer an actual affordable, true lowend product for the poor!!)

The US dollar isn’t worth what it used to be. Yesterday’s $500 computer now costs $800 thanks to dollar devaluation. Don’t think even for one minute that purchasing power is unchanging over time.

And if a person is as impoverished as you seem to be suggesting, their last concern is a cheap computer.

To extend your point about the impoverished not needing to worry about the cost of Macs:

I imagine many people came up like I did, without the money for a Mac. We built crappy PCs or bought them inexpensively from Gateway200. We developed some skill. We translated that skill to a career. And poof, we can afford Macs now.

I love the 180° turn in Mac design. Maybe I'm living in the reality distortion field, but the last few Mac hardware updates seem much more substantial. I love seeing them move their T chip technology through the Mac line. One could argue that the most likely Mac to leave off the T chip is the Mini—its (traditionally) such minimalist Mac. Putting a T chip in the Mini sends a signal that this is a core component fo the Mac platform moving forward.

When Intel leaves Apple with no significantly new tech for years, Apple has gotten resourceful and developed some great supporting technology. Best part about it is no other vendor can just order T chips from Intel to make equivalent secure machines. Apple is designing they own differentiating tech and they don't have to share it. Apple has been crafting a PR story about privacy and security for years. Now they have that strategy baked into silicon that will soon be shipping in every Mac.

Puling in a tangential story: The way the iPad Pro is evolving points to a possible future where Macs and iOS devices are less separate systems designed to communicate with each other and become planets orbiting the binary star of MacOS & iOS. Some devices are close in to their host star (Macs, iPhones) some will orbit both as a binary system (iPad Pro). As time & tech move forward, it seems likely that more devices will jump to the higher orbit. Longer term, perhaps the distinction between MacOS & iOS will become insignificant for all but the most technical users.

To sum up: It appears to me that Apple is navigating its own path and developing its own technology to get it where it's going. I'm happy to be on board the platform that makes it's own OS's, develops almost all its own processing chips and isn't afraid to charge what the resulting products are worth, ensuring viability of the platform long-term.

Forget about texting in the rain...

This invention is meant for hot tub use!

racerhomie3 said:

hentaiboy said:

Shame. Competition is healthy despite what some here think. 

What are you talking about? Appleinsider & its readers are not stupid. Competition is always healthy. 

Like Steve Jobs said ‘For Apple to succeed, Microsoft does not have to lose’ 

Will you bring this point up after the next Apple vs. Sonos article?

Am I the only one not grumpy? I think this thing looks awesome. 

My my favorite part is the (reasonably) affordable FTZ adapter that will let me use my 3 nikkor Pro zoom lenses. The new 70-200 FL tele zoom is an amazing lens. And I’m so glad they seem to fully support most actively used existing lens functionality, while enhancing them by allowing the in-body stabilization to enhance the lens VR. My investment in lenses is far greater than in the camera, and I really love these lenses. But it’s time to go mirrorless. I’ve gas a micro four thirds Camera (Panasonic GX7) and though I love the size, I don’t love the lenses, less depth of field control, noiser RAW files. Happy that Nikon has a way into mirrorless for those of us who love our Nikkor F mount lenses. 

And the USB-C plug enables charging in body, right? Kiss all those proprietary mains power supplies goodbye, not to mention one less device forcing me to live in dongle town.