The Plasticsmith introduces the Mac mini Shack

[MacBytes]

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Category: Reviews
Link: The Plasticsmith introduces the Mac mini Shack (http://www.macbytes.com/link.php?sid=20050415100237)

Posted on MacBytes.com (http://www.macbytes.com)
Approved by Mudbug

[mkubal]

1) They're all ugly. No, fugly.

2) They're the size of the Mini. For a hub?

3) The BYOH version is the most absurd thing I've ever seen. Anyone who is buying a giant neon light for the bottom of their mini, which is the same size as the mini, needs to come over here so I can smack them. :p

Edit: BYOH = LED Light = $70 American = Ridiculous

[bentley]

that should be a lot smaller and alot more refined if it's gonna pass the Mac user test :)

[rtdgoldfish]

If it were half the size and had firewire, they would have a hit on their hands. Until then, I'm staying away.

[Bear]

If it were half the size and had firewire, they would have a hit on their hands. Until then, I'm staying away.Well they also offer it with use your wown hub at a lower cost, so you could find a combo firewire/USB 2 hub that would fit it.

They're just tossing an off the shelf hub into it. To be half the size, they would've had to have the hub integrated into it. And they should do that along with a firewire hub. Then it would be really useful.

[Jamvan]

Yes, I would like to take my small, elegant little Mac-mini and double it's size please!

[birdherder]

I don't want the USB hub close to the mini. I like having just one USB cable coming out of the back and the hub itself on another shelf next to the more cluttered part of my desk. I have 6 usb things to plug in. And there's no way I'd have all those cables next to the mini.

[MacPhreak]

$100 for a hub and glowy PeeCee piece of plastic that double the size of the mini...no thanks.

If it was <1" thick, aluminum/aluminum-colored, and <$40 (preferably ~$30), I'd buy.

[Peyote]

Here's what I think it should have been:

White or Aluminum color is ok with me

the top edges should be sharp right angles, not rounded off

Height should be less than 1"

the hub should slide into an opening the exact shape of the hub, but should still be removable for going on the road with your mini

the bottom clear or lighted "foot" should be the exact same size as what's above it. There's no reason to make it smaller, it looks goofy.


This would have been cheaper to produce, at it's a smaller shape and doesn't have a large cavity...I would buy that for $75, which is a lot, but worth it IMHO

[Peyote]

$100 for a hub and glowy PeeCee piece of plastic that double the size of the mini...no thanks.

If it was <1" thick, aluminum/aluminum-colored, and <$40 (preferably ~$30), I'd buy.


Hubs alone cost $30...you're never gonna get one with an enclosure like that, with a hub included, for the same price as the hub itself..

[SiliconAddict]

Yes, I would like to take my small, elegant little Mac-mini and double it's size please!

Elegant? Maybe but I'll double the size if it means I can plug in my USB scanner, my USB iPaq, my USB iPod (The FW cable I use for traveling and charging.), my USB printer, and the obvious keyboard and mouse. As it stand the Mini is small, elegant, and semi useless to me. Better to have a hub stacked under the mini vs. sitting next to it looking even fuglier then sitting under it.

The only thing I consider really fugly about this is the fact that they didn’t at the very least use a metallic paint job to match the mini. I mean PDA’s have been doing this for years. What would it have added? Another 5-10 bucks to the price?

[MacPhreak]

Hubs alone cost $30...you're never gonna get one with an enclosure like that, with a hub included, for the same price as the hub itself..

I just bought a nice Belkin hub for $16, retail. I wouldn't spend $30 on something as simple as hub. A FireWire hub, sure, but not a USB hub.

[Yvan256]

I just bought a nice Belkin hub for $16, retail. I wouldn't spend $30 on something as simple as hub. A FireWire hub, sure, but not a USB hub.

Is your Belkin hub USB 2.0 or USB 1.1? Does it have seven ports? I just bought one a week ago, and it was 60$CAD (USB 2.0, seven ports).

[feakbeak]

I think it is ugly. The best USB hub solution I have found is getting a nice LCD monitor with a USB hub. My Dell 2001FP paired with my mini takes care of all my USB needs and then some. Apple's LCDs can do this for you too, and they have FW as well I think. However, the Dells are nearly half the price when on sale.

What I might be interested in would be an enclosure that is styled after and fits under the mini and has a 3.5" 7200 RPM drive that you can connect via FW. It should also have another FW port or two for your other peripherals. They could offer 2 or 3 different capacities.

[Yvan256]

Is it me or are their current prices a lot lower than before?

[rtdgoldfish]

Is it me or are their current prices a lot lower than before?

The one with the LED lights is 99.95 and the one without them is 89.95. The one without the USB hub is 69.95. I think these are the same prices as when this was posted a few days ago.

[Peyote]

Is it me or are their current prices a lot lower than before?



Yes, it appears they slashed the prices. Good...now they are actually reasonably priced if you can get around the looks.