$499 plus is not that great of a deal these days. If you have any kind of decent pc then you can upgrade to out perform the mac mini fairly easily. If it came with a LCD then maybe, but other wise it is just another Compaq computer!
Some people know what they are talking about and others dont! Some people know how to mount drives and others dont. I click on the drive letter to mount my drive in Windows. I know what your saying though. People want a cool OS to look at as well.
I also use Azureus. It is one of the top bittorrent clients and it seems to work. I am still afraid of the MPAA though. Never know when the could get ya. I dl in spurts. Need to do some updating!
I tend to like my rechargable battery that came with my Nikon Coolpix. I may have to recharge it, but it last for laround 60-70 pics. That is plenty for me. That wont even fill up my memory card. Im just glad I dont have to keep buying batteries. It only takes a couple of hours to charge anyway.