Mini Mac: Hit Or Miss?

[Brian1405241474 0]

Well, microsoft writes for mac, as do Adobe and macromedia and many other higher end content production companies.  There are a couple of linux variants for the mac, the best known being yellow dog(which is rpm based like red hat).  You can also use debian.  And of course the 'compile your own' varients work just dandy.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Right. There are a lot of applications for the Mac and it's not that Apple makes their hardware so that only work with Mac OS X.

[NilsC 0]

OK, now I have listened to this Minie Mae and I'm wonderin?? :)does it come with a NIC card or is it only for dial up?? I was looking on brians forum, where he posted the "specs" for his brothers new "mini" and I saw 56k modem but no place did it say tcp/ip nic card 10/100 or anything like that!Soooo what is the deal does it come with it?BTW, (don't take it pesonally) I think is looks like a "snuff" tin, or one of those chewing tobacco tins... :P :PGee I gotta be old.Nils

[MajesticTreeFrog 0]

OK, now I have listened to this Minie Mae and I'm wonderin??

 

does it come with a NIC card or is it only for dial up?? I was looking on brians forum, where he posted the "specs" for his brothers new "mini" and I saw 56k modem but no place did it say tcp/ip nic card 10/100 or anything like that!

 

Soooo what is the deal does it come with it?

 

BTW, (don't take it pesonally) I think is looks like a "snuff" tin, or one of those chewing tobacco tins...  :P

 

Gee I gotta be old.

 

Nils

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, it comes with a 10/100 nic. You can also get it with wireless (802.11g) and bluetooth if you want.

[Brian1405241474 0]

OK, now I have listened to this Minie Mae and I'm wonderin??
does it come with a NIC card or is it only for dial up??

Oh, no! It definitely comes with ethernet so you can use your DSL or whatever. Thats just completely standard so it wasn't mentioned in that quick overview. And of course there is the Wi-Fi and the bluetooth. (Which I'm not sure if I added in that configuration you we're looking at.)

BTW, (don't take it pesonally) I think is looks like a "snuff" tin, or one of those chewing tobacco tins... 

Thats funny...
It does look about that size though!

[Jguy101 0]

It's very nice, 'cept I really think Apple should include the standard Apple USB keyboard & mouse with it, IMHO.

[Brian1405241474 0]

When you configure it at the Apple Store you can choose your RAM, HD, CD/DVD drive, and keyboard/mouse. They won't be in the same box* as the Mini, but you can get Apple's keyboard and mouse with it. The idea was that people who want a cheap Mac might want to buy a cheap third party keyboard and mouse instead of Apple's high-quality, high-priced keyboard/mouse.


*the box the Mini comes in is smaller than the box the iPod come in!

[MajesticTreeFrog 0]

Why? If you have a monitor, you have a keyboard. Chances are you even like the keyboard. Part of what apple is doing is getting people to realize that it will use a 2 button mouse, and that it will use 'standard' PC stuff. (That is one real criticism, cmon apple, stop the stupid one button mouse thing).

[Strykerclan Leader 0]

When I was offered to try out the G4 at my cousin's house...I had problems with the mouse.LoL...Anyway, anything cheap/free comes at a price and getting a custom build PC with a shuttle casing will be much nicer, if not ugly.iMacs are supposed to be nice but when coupled with third party items, it might not really be that impressive.

[pluperfect 0]

For any Mac though you can add a two-button mouse. The one I'm using in this Mac lab here is a Logitech brand and it definitely does increase the useability of the Macintosh. There is no plus side to single-button thing, I agree.That said I think there is a possibility that if the "Mini Mac" is marketed correctly it can swing some more people over to Macs because it is priced at about the same cost as a mid-range PC. But if they only remain within their established clique then their market base will not expand any more than it has. Because the biggest problem has been their increased cost over PCs as well as the relative inability for expansion/customizing. But you definitely get a faster machine that will stand up to the fastest PCs for an extended period of time (2-3 years). But after that time you'll find there's something brand new that's faster and your machine is lagging behind.So if the Mini-Mac was greatly customizeable they might have a recipe for success but since it seems like it's just the same standard box that they always issue that will be out of date in a couple years, then it probably won't shake up the industry to a great degree.

[MajesticTreeFrog 0]

For any Mac though you can add a two-button mouse. The one I'm using in this Mac lab here is a Logitech brand and it definitely does increase the useability of the Macintosh. There is no plus side to single-button thing, I agree.

 

That said I think there is a possibility that if the "Mini Mac" is marketed correctly it can swing some more people over to Macs because it is priced at about the same cost as a mid-range PC. But if they only remain within their established clique then their market base will not expand any more than it has. Because the biggest problem has been their increased cost over PCs as well as the relative inability for expansion/customizing. But you definitely get a faster machine that will stand up to the fastest PCs for an extended period of time (2-3 years). But after that time you'll find there's something brand new that's faster and your machine is lagging behind.

 

So if the Mini-Mac was greatly customizeable they might have a recipe for success but since it seems like it's just the same standard box that they always issue that will be out of date in a couple years, then it probably won't shake up the industry to a great degree.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

When people complain about expandability, the only valid thing I can see is the video card. Everything else can be daisy chained with either firewire or USB. Also, people generally don't need that much stuff. When I go visit my dad, he has the mouse, keyboard, monitor, a printer, and he used to have a scanner before that became part of the printer.

Even the sound card can be upgraded this way, though its a bit more expensive. Seriously though, how many people buying cheap PCs are into messing with computer upgrades. The one thing apple needs to do is up the base ram to 512, because OSX really needs it.

[Soleq 0]

It's very nice, 'cept I really think Apple should include the standard Apple USB keyboard & mouse with it, IMHO.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I believe that you can order them as a BTO option. In any case, the standard Apple keyboard and mouse is outclassed by 3rd party keyboard and mice combos. I just "upgraded" to a wireless keyboard and mouse, and I'm lovin' it.

 

I guess I'll give my two bits on this converstation. When I saw the initial rumors of a $500 mac, I knew it would be something I'd be interested in. Why? Because really, I don't play games. Nor do I care if a certain photoshop filter takes 15 more seconds. While speed is nice, pretty much anything today can outrun my old G4 (and yes, I do know that the mini has a G4 as well). I have always bought computers with the pretense of upgrading them in the future. However, for Macs, this is pretty much illogical, as most CPU upgrades cost tremendously more than their Intel/AMD counterparts, and Apple doesn't release stand-alone logic boards. For me to get the same performance in a CPU upgrade as a mini would give me, I'd have to spend about $150 more than a mini. Hence, the choice is obvious: keep the G4 tower the same, and add a mini. Shucks, I already love my monitor, and my new keyboard I can't dream of parting with, so this is a match made in heaven.

 

I guess that the average wintel user won't see a huge incentive to switch over to the mini. Sure, I guess that some people will, but as several people have stated prior to me, the primary purchaser will be Mac loyalists who want a simple upgrade without the famed Apple "premium."

 

I'll add a special note though: I have decided to postpone my mini purchase for one reason - my beloved iBook was stolen while being repaired at the local MacOnline. Thus, my next computer will be a new iBook covered by the insurance agency.

[musichere 0]

It's umm....interesting but I don't think it's practical enough for anyone to really consider it. People that want to buy this kind of product will probably not want to bother going out and buying another monitor and another keyboard just to save a few dollars. The audience is a bit confused and I think if apple made a screen + keyboard for this then it'd sell much better.

[Dyth 0]

It's really about the size and look, y'know. Not the processing power and not the need to buy a new keyboard, mouse, etc. IT'S PRETTY AND TINY. 'kay?

[amusedtoe 0]

I'd love to have a Mac, considered a Mac laptop for a while, but it's just so impracticale for me being a hardcore gamer with no software almost, and the few things that do get ported being months late and costing $50 years after release.