A True Mac Mini?

[Bazza1]

Invoking 'Memories of Commodore' perhaps, HP presented an all-in-one keyboard and computer at CES.

Short of the Frankencomputers I've seen articles about - hobbyists taking a laptop and removing its screen to create the same - it has surprised me that a notebook manufacturer hasn't come back around to this before. And especially Apple, who had the idea of a compact, standalone computer with the Mini. Why not encourage consumers to get a full-size Magic keyboard and Mini combo, all-in-one?

 

[EugW]

Better hope you like that keyboard, or else you'll have to get an external keyboard for that keyboard.

 

[popup]

Raspberry Pi 500+ all-in-one PC debuts for $200 with mechanical keyboard​

https://www.geeky-gadgets.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/raspberry-pi-500-keyboard-pc-design.webp

There is also Raspberry Pi 400

 

[Bazza1]

Better hope you like that keyboard, or else you'll have to get an external keyboard for that keyboard.

Well, for those who like that sort of thing, that's the sort of thing they'll like.

(For my part, I use a Logitech with my Mini. Still, there are those who swear by - not at - Apple keyboards.) 😏

 

[erihp]

Invoking 'Memories of Commodore' perhaps, HP presented an all-in-one keyboard and computer at CES.

Short of the Frankencomputers I've seen articles about - hobbyists taking a laptop and removing its screen to create the same - it has surprised me that a notebook manufacturer hasn't come back around to this before. And especially Apple, who had the idea of a compact, standalone computer with the Mini. Why not encourage consumers to get a full-size Magic keyboard and Mini combo, all-in-one?

because a keyboard is small, cheap, easily replaceable and typically it doesnt require any wires.

have you considered a laptop?

on a serious note, as you mentioned you -can- use a macbook lower without a screen. here is an example:

what more do you want?

 

[bapegg]

Raspberry Pi 500+ all-in-one PC debuts for $200 with mechanical keyboard​

https://www.geeky-gadgets.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/raspberry-pi-500-keyboard-pc-design.webp

There is also Raspberry Pi 400

I was going to post the same thing. And don't forget about the old Commodore and Texas Instruments TI-99 computers.

 

[EugW]

Those Commodore 64s were so unergonomic. They were THICC!

 

[Bazza1]

Those Commodore 64s were so unergonomic. They were THICC!

Well, the technology has improved. A bit. 😉

 

[skottichan]

I'll be honest, I know the marked for an AIO keyboard PC is minuscule, but I'd buy the **** out of one. Windows, Linux or Mac. The first computer I ever used as a kid was my dad's Apple IIc Plus, and I've been seriously pondering taking a new Mini and trying to Frankenstein it into a IIc Plus case.

 

[SevenTheGamingKitty]

Raspberry Pi 500+ all-in-one PC debuts for $200 with mechanical keyboard​

https://www.geeky-gadgets.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/raspberry-pi-500-keyboard-pc-design.webp

There is also Raspberry Pi 400

It's no mac mini though! It's deliciously underpowered

 

[MBAir2010]

Asus is releasing a silver 5" hockey puck yoga computer with SSD option
but RAM embedded in the logic board for this June.
no link since too many tech mags are covering this model.

 

[erihp]

Asus is releasing a silver 5" hockey puck yoga computer with SSD option
but RAM embedded in the logic board for this June.
no link since too many tech mags are covering this model.

this thread is about PCs with keyboards attached.

 

[Anonymous Freak]

You can always use one of the VESA mounts to just mount the Mini to the back of your monitor, that way it takes up zero desk space. Or get an iMac.

 

[MBAir2010]

this thread is about PCs with keyboards attached.

technically......"A True Mac Mini?" is the title.
as Asus made a Mac mini for June release.

 

[theluggage]

It's no mac mini though! It's deliciously underpowered

...at a fraction of the price of a Mini, though, is that a problem?

The Pi 4 and 5 processors are quite capable of basic communications, web browsing, WP, spreadsheets & media playing - for which the M4 Mini is a massive overkill.

However - I suspect the Pi 500+ is really targeted at retro-gaming using the various Spectrum/C64/Amiga/BBC emulators which are already available for the Pi, and adding the nostalgia of the whole keyboard-in-a-computer thing.

I can kinda see the appeal of a PC-in-a-keyboard... plug it in to pretty any modern TV or display, add a mouse and you've got a computer - but it's a fairly narrow niche between a mini-PC with more power and connectivity or a complete laptop.

 

[erihp]

technically......"A True Mac Mini?" is the title.
as Asus made a Mac mini for June release.

you didn't read the OP

even so,, a 'true' mac mini would run macos dont ya think?

what asus is doing is not relevant in either case.

 

[MBAir2010]

you didn't read the OP

even so,, a 'true' mac mini would run macos dont ya think?

what asus is doing is not relevant in either case.

oh well, whadda do?

 

[Starfia]

Er…

… that really feels to me like something the people at Apple have perhaps mentioned and pretty quickly dismissed. I'd normally feel obligated to elaborate at least a little, but this one resonates so strongly with my intuition that this self-reflective sentence feels like enough.

 

[SevenTheGamingKitty]

The Pi 4 and 5 processors are quite capable of basic communications, web browsing, WP, spreadsheets & media playing - for which the M4 Mini is a massive overkill.

I disagree from personal experience. it's not very good at web browsing and media, but you have a fair point on everything else

 

[kasakka]

IMO pairing input peripherals and computers together is stupid. In personal computing, there's probably nothing more personal than the input devices you use. The Commodore comparison is actually poor, because those things at least had a proper mechanical keyboard rather than a short travel laptop keyboard.

If you don't like the keyboard on the HP, then you have to plug in a separate keyboard which makes the built-in one pointless and now any form factor advantages are gone.

Similarly, I don't use Apple's input devices other than the Trackpad because I don't like their feel. The Magic Mouse is a pile of crap and the Magic Keyboard is ok at best.

I can make that sort of compromise on a laptop keyboard for portability, but I prefer a proper mechanical keyboard on my desk, and even within that category there's a massive amount of personal preference regarding type of switches, keycaps and form factor.

I think the Mac Mini is about right for the type of device it aims to be, penny-pinching base specs excluded.

 

[Jaap]

Announced at CES: HP EliteBoard G1a

 

[theluggage]

If you don't like the keyboard on the HP, then you have to plug in a separate keyboard which makes the built-in one pointless and now any form factor advantages are gone.

It looks boring and corporate, in which case you get what you're given. I still don't see what the use case is for this - maybe corporate hot-desking? But, increasingly, your files and apps are 'in the cloud' and you'd just have to log in to a shared terminal. Maybe you don't want to share the last person's finger grease and donut crumbs...?

Some people might buy a keyboard-computer if it looks cute or has retro-appeal. I did have to talk myself out of buying a Pi 500+ when it came out, but that puppy is cute, has fancy mechanical keys (plus unicorn vomit LEDs if that floats your boat) and is dirt cheap. ...but the HP looks as dull as ditchwater. I can't even see it appealing to the retro-gaming cloud (which I think is what the Pi 500+ is aimed at).

The Commodore comparison is actually poor, because those things at least had a proper mechanical keyboard rather than a short travel laptop keyboard.

...and really cheap systems like Sinclair/Timex had ultra-cheap membrane/rubber keyboards because there was nothing between that a fairly expensive mechanical keyboard with discrete switches.

Plus, in those days, an external keyboard would either need something like a 24-way ribbon cable with a non-standard interface & matching code in the OS to poll the key matrix or a whole bunch of discrete logic and a UART in the keyboard to send keyboard events over a serial interface... probably a single dirt-cheap chip today.

 

[kasakka]

It looks boring and corporate, in which case you get what you're given. I still don't see what the use case is for this - maybe corporate hot-desking? But, increasingly, your files and apps are 'in the cloud' and you'd just have to log in to a shared terminal. Maybe you don't want to share the last person's finger grease and donut crumbs...?

I could see it as a travel computer (hook up to a hotel TV or something). I carry a tablet and a foldable BT keyboard for this sort of purpose.

If it's cheap enough it might be e.g a secondary system for just googling stuff, watching YT or whatever. I could see myself using something like this in the garage again on a cheap TV or monitor, if I'm otherwise doing some woodworking, electronics etc.

But as your main computer, no way.