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[ Edited by Velcro_SP 05.10.2011 - 17:09 ]

...actually we are very pleased to see this. If this is not market comfirmation nothing is.

When we see the Mac Mini, we have the impression that it is targeted to compete with the ODW. Interestingly, the Mini has an external power supply (which our opinion is too big). We had expected Apple to reuse the ibook/powerbook adaptors.

A good strategy for Apple would be to make these machines detect each other using wireless/bluetooth. Want an eight-way cluster, just stack eight of them on top of each other and there you go (idea ). It will even be possible to market the Mini as a blade, given an optional frame to add them to a blade chassis (another idea!).

However, we think they made a big mistake by not introducing a screen to go with this. A 12-inch ibook TFT in an ALU case would have been an excellent choice. Customers visiting the San Francisco store after the keynote are going to visit the Dell shop a few blocks down the road to buy a cheap PC monitor. An Apple mouse and keyboard cost almost half price of the machine! The current Apple monitors are way too expensive to be usable with this new product. Most people would rather spend $5000 on an expensive PowerMac and a cheap monitor, than $5000 on an expensive monitor and a cheap computer. There is clearly a gap left to be bridged by a system manufacturer

R&B

@Velcro_SP

To my eyes it looks more of a toy than a computer, can't really say the looks pleases me at all. But quess its whats inside that counts.

@bbrv
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Considering the shelf full of iPod gizmos... socks?? It should not be long before 3rd parties bring all sorts of Mac mini stuff to market. Should be quit a ride.

[ Edited by DSLCC on 2005/1/12 4:56 ]

[ Edited by DSLCC on 2005/1/12 4:59 ]

Can't wait to see matching drive enclosures (stackable), media readers etc.

One thing that pizzles me most is why they didn't make it match the styling of the new mac monitors rather than the iMac look....still I s'pose the resemblance is to the iPod/iDock.

Still a nice piece of kit for the moolah even if it does hit $952 properly configured

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But at least it's so small you can easily hide it out of sight.

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[ Edited by Velcro_SP 19.07.2011 - 06:05 ]

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... or just use the one they got at home. Who hasn't got a monitor these days?

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Maybe but again you can just use any PC USB keyboard and mouse with this thing, no need to Mac keyboard/mouse.

Steve called this "BYODKM" - "Bring Your Own Display Keyboard Mouse". So it's aimed at the folks who already got monitor, keyboard, mouse at home - just connected to the "wrong" system.

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I've heard that it has one very quiet fan. It'll need good cooling though cause I tend to leave my computers on all the time crunching dnetc - for the MorphOS team of course. :)

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My delema is that I don't know which of my systems is the "wrong" system. I've got a Mac and my Pegasos and need to sell one or the other to buy this new Mac.

There is another Thread open in the forum about minimal MiniMAC.

https://morph.zone/modules/newbb_plus/viewtopic.php?topic_id=3188&forum=27

In which there are considrations about EU variations of prices...

...and the lack of features, i.e.:

- It is sold without mouse or keyboard

(and remember that ONLY expensive Apple Keyboards have USB replicator.
Logitech ones for example will occupy permanently one USB port if you don't use a USB HUB.)


- Poor graphic capabilities.

(With only 32 meg graphic Ram you can't run big graphic CAD projects Macs are aimed to; recent 3D games are cut off from this Minimac platform; Photoshop could not deal with HUGE images, so you could barely work with graphics at its best; etc., etc.)


- Poor audio output capabilities

(No 5.1 Audio to see some good home-Theater movies)


- No AirPORT and Bluetooth modules in standard Minimac model.


- Only 2,5" Hard Disk

(say "bye bye" to any serious Desktop Video usage).


- No standard DVD Writer (only Combo Drive, [DVD Read - CD ReadWrite])
You must order it apart and choose a "slot insertion one" only, which is more expensive than standard DVD writers.

(You mist consider to buy an external USB one)


And think of the target market...

After all these discussions I had with a lot of other people, and having reasoning on it so much, I fell to admit that this new Minimac has so poor features because it is aimed only at internet usability.

This will mean you will see Minimacs only (for example):

- In cool expensive fashion stores, in which sellers want to appear "Thinking different" and being "cool" in using tiiiiiny computers...

- Into Exhibits to allow visitors of booths navigate in internet;

- Also you will see it into Libraries, Stations, other public places, again as internet point;

- And finally you will find it into Universities as MINIMAL (minimal minimac ) remote terminal for students helping them navigate (yes, again an internet point use-only), to perform easy wordprocessing purposes, and to access on-line universitary services...
(And about this fact I can offer you the example of Naples University - Literature dept. - in which I am studying, and in which we have a battery of 20 IMac machines, which are of free use for study purposes.
And think that these machines are good only to accomplish this simple and non-stress-computing task for these "simple" low performance platforms such as IMacs.

Also I hate them because Mac have non-standard "QWERTY" keyboards [used in italian Layout keyboard for computers] and uses the ancient typewriter-like keyboard style with italian layout "QZERTY"...
This will mean it has also "shift inverted" key characters such as "." ":" ";" "," and no "DEL" key at all...
Only "Backspace" allowed.
Standard "QWERTY" italian Mac keyboard costs TWICE!!!
Absurd!).

But please if you want to write something about the things this new mac lacks of, then use already existing thread.

Ciao,

Raffaele

Sell the old G4 Mac. With the new Mac you'll get a new OS X workstation for most of your needs, with the additional Peggy still in the house you'll get:

- Morphos to play around with
- have a quite geeky maschine
- Linux to learn how nice MOS and OS X is
- MOL to have a 2nd OS X setup

With two Macs you'll just get two Macs

@Raf_MegaByt

1.who needs an apple keyboard/mouse when she/he can use a PC keyboard/mouse(USB).

2.who for God's sake expects that on a mini computer of 499$ will work with pro CAD applications! (photoshop btw works fine with this videocard).

3.no there is no digital-output, but it is possible with the M-Audio ( http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Transit-main.html )

4.well, they dont fit in there.

5.with extra 100$ you have a DVD-burner inside.

apple site say you are not allowed to open the box yourself
now, check the price including a real hd and the correct amount of ram requiered to run smoothly the supplyed os
after that, this box dont look so attractive anymore and it is unexpandable

People if you never used a Mac before you have no clue what you are talking about. I will admit its specs are a bit lacking. I have a G5 powermac, but I also have a G4 ibook 1.33 G4. Its got the same video card in it as the new mini mac with the same 32MB of RAM. The spcs of the latest Mac games will work on the minimac just fine. I play unreal 2004 with great speeds and have no problems at all on the ibook. People said the ipod would sell well at first too, now they are at 10,000,000 sold as of the first of the year. Only time will tell, but I think these will sell like mad. I went to the apple store last night and they have a waiting list going with huge numbers on it, and they will even sell you one now and people are doing that to make sure they get it.

Well I most say that I was inpresed to I saw what they were charging for it here in Sweden. 500$ should be around 3500 SEK not 4695 SEK and that is for the cheapest one. And then you need extra RAM and you have to pay at least 5395 SEK. And that is for a 40 GB HD with no expansion possible, for me it would be better to buy a eMac....

Raf_MegaByte:
Oh come on ... the new mac is *not* meant for huge CAD projects, it is *not* meant to be used for HDTV video cut, it is *not* meant for Photoshopping GByte-sized images while rendering three complex raytracing scenes in the background.

If it were suited for all that, I wonder why they didn't announce at the same time that they'd drop the PowerMac line since the Mini would fill that slot from now on.

Most ordinary computer users just don't need much computing power. I know some folks who just read emails and surf the web, and after a vacation they touch up their holiday photos from their 2 MPixel digicams. And they got a huge bulky tower under their desk just for that.

Some folks don't even know something like WLAN, let alone Bluetooth, exists. Others know about it but don't need it. The point is they don't have to pay for it.

Look on my father's desk ... he's got a Win95 machine with a 90 MHz Pentium and 24 MByte RAM. So far he can do all he wants to do with this thing. If he'd go Mac mini the basic model would be completely sufficient and it would be a huge step forward for him.

And as for RAM expansion prices ... you don't want to buy RAM from Apple. Never. Apple's RAM prices are the one thing that are *absolutely* insane.

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That's probably what I'll do. Although I've added a bunch of stuff to this old Mac and could improve it's performance by getting a new processor.

I already have 832 MB of memory, a DVD/CDRW, a Radeon card, PCI slots for more expansion. Other than the Mini Mac being cute, it really doesn't do anything more than my existing machine already does.

I still want one though. :)

[ Edited by DSLCC on 2005/1/13 22:29 ]

@tomjoad

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Exactly. I always buy my memory from OWC. Very good pricing compaired to Apple.

I agree with bbrv about the market confirmation, but I think that for the same reason, many on this site wanted this machine from the first time they saw it. Me included!

I still prefer my Pegasos (more expandable, MorphOS, more OSs), but Mini's price makes it two things in one: an optimal "extra" computer for geeks and a great budget system.
Without saying that its size could easily make it a cheap HTPC!!

I don't want to be pessimistic, but I think it could represent a trouble for Genesi...

I m considering getting one of those Mac mini, use it as a client, and leave the Peg 2 as a server.

However, I may get a PSP first (they are sold out!)

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I don't think Genesi/bplan planned to only sell the Pegasos2 forever. Times move ahead and new products come out. Hopefully from Genesi/bplan aswell. Perhaps this small form factor and limited expandability should be compared to a "Portable/Desktop computer" design instead?

http://www.genesi.lu/olp.php?slide=8

Actually, here is how we see it:

bbrv blogspot

R&B

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As long as you're not counting on random chance to emerge a mutation that makes the species stronger. :) Most mutations weaken the species (Albino Rabbit). Better to screw evolutionary random chance and make it happen yourself. Good luck. :)

If the specs were better I'd consider it. Now you would have to buy dvd-writer and more memory aswell. Lousy 256mb mem included.. like that will be enough for any serious work. BTW, what kind of graphicscard it has.. any good?