for the same price as the previous 20" iMac you get a 30% larger screen (i.e. which is the new 24" iMac)
20" iMac Radeon 2600: £900
24" iMac GeForce 9400M: £1200
for the same price as the previous 20" iMac you get a 30% larger screen (i.e. which is the new 24" iMac)
That has to be the funniest, absurdest, and possibly the truest description of the Apple blogosphere I have EVER seen! I'm bookmarking that forever!
I wasn't impressed with the mini (for the price). I like the form factor, not too fussed about the optical drive and would prefer a faster 3.5" disk - but that's not hugely feasible (unless the optical was removed).
My idea mini would have had hdmi instead of mini dvi -
The new mini, with its processor, NVIDIA, and more, is the best value Mac ever sold. (Value = what it can do vs. what da $$$$) Whether or not you're impressed does not change that.
Apple's laptops and mini's are easy to move around, and surely plugging into a tv is something people often want to do? HDMI still lets you to use an adapter to plug into a monitor,
I don't agree. The WhiteBook is the current best value - more so in the UK and probably elsewhere outside of the US.
The Mac mini is simply the cheapest.
You got it backwards. The Mini and Macbooks are computers. In computer world, DVI is it. The good thing is that it isn't harder to convert DVI to HDMI with off the shelf parts.
For sound, the only option that isn't available out of the box with an off the shelf cable is COAX and that is getting rarer and rarer. I've been using a mini jack to Stereo RCA audio cable for like 15 years now, they're available everywhere for peanuts and everything is compatible with that if you can't get optical audio to work.
Basically, your gripes are that the AppleTV isn't more of an HTPC, not that the Mini isn't an HTPC.
Enlighten me please, how do you output to multiple monitors using a whitebook ? And no, the laptop's 13" screen doesn't count.
Quite possibly, they're both just small pcs that sit behind the tv and are relatively portable - why should either of them be unnecessarily nonfunctional.
I havn't got it backwards. They're just standard connectors that transmit a standard digital signal. As you know they're interchangeable so having either doesn't make a huge difference, but one sends sound (hd sound too, that you can't get through a toslink cable) and is compatible with all hdtvs. Like I said, many hdtvs have a selection of alternative inputs, not all of them. DVI/vga/component often have strange limitations on tvs, and just as commonly have issues with lipsync or not mixing an audio input with a certain video input. It's limiting for no reason (other than your suggestion of mixing product lines?....)
Why doesn't it count?We're talking about value here, not ultimate feature count. You may value a small desktop Mac. Others may value the better flexibilty of a notebook - especially given that there is no performance penalty in this comparison.
In any case, you can run 2 external 24" DVI monitors from a WhiteBook - using a Matrox DualHead2Go Digital Edition.
It's only a limitation if you intend to connect the Mac Mini to a TV, which is probably not the majority of Mini users nor is it the Mini's market segment.
Like I said, the Mini isn't a HTPC out of the box. It's not a failure of the product, it's just that you aren't the target market. You can adapt the Mini to be connected to a TV, but again, you are using the product for something it was not designed for.
Hence why I don't see how lacking a HDMI output is a negative in any way.
And like I said, it's limited for no reason
Why not 'design' it plug into tv's easily too if there isn't a drawback? Why not do the same (slightly less relevent now with display port - if and when there's ever suitable cables for it...and sound?...) for their laptops - surely people are plugging those into tv's occasionally too? The atv isn't really a htpc, it's just itunes with an hdmi connector, and an 'htpc' is basically just a pc plugged into a screen in front of a seat.
It's not just people that want a permanent (or portable) home theater from their machines that would benefit from being less limited (the hardware output and unnecessarily gimped software) either.
You said the whitebook was the best value. You just contradicted yourself when you say that not everyone has the same needs. Hence the Whitebook isn't the best value to everyone.
The Macbook's display doesn't count because of it's small size and resolution. The Matrox solution is also available to a mini, bumping up it's display count too (as long as the nVidia chip can keep up) to about 4 or 5 (since you will be able to use a TripleHead2go digital on the miniDisplayPort) so I don't see how that's a + for the whitebook.
Like you said, different strokes for different folks, my point was that there is no absolute answer as to what Mac is the best value right now.
You just contradicted yourself:
"The new mini, with its processor, NVIDIA, and more, is the best value Mac ever sold".
Then you say:
"my point was that there is no absolute answer as to what Mac is the best value right now".
QED![]()
No, the first quote is not mine so I haven't contradicted myself.
You said the whitebook was the best value. You just contradicted yourself when you say that not everyone has the same needs. Hence the Whitebook isn't the best value to everyone.
The Macbook's display doesn't count because of it's small size and resolution. The Matrox solution is also available to a mini, bumping up it's
Like you said, different strokes for different folks, my point was that there is no absolute answer as to what Mac is the best value right now.
Sure there is. It's called a Hackintosh. Look into it. Apple's Mac offerings are overpriced and underpowered for their market segments.
I'm supposed to pretend that is NOT two monitors when it clearly is despite the fact you don't seem to approve of the SIZE of the 2nd monitor? Give me a friggin' break already.
Sure there is. It's called a Hackintosh. Look into it. Apple's Mac offerings are overpriced and underpowered for their market segments.
If you find value in a hulking plastic case with huge power draw and a cheap price, then go ahead with your hackintosh.
A hackintosh is only cheap if your time costs nothing.![]()
You could buy/build a machine in any case you want. Huge power draw (did you make this assumption after watching a 'green' apple advert on telly?) is simply an ignorant comment. Cheap prices are good, I'd feel a bit dumb if I paid more for the same thing - especially when we're talking about identical chips put inside a metal (or plastic...ohh the horror) box.
Spend an hour reading and fiddling and you might be surprised with the results, have a bit of fun doing it and learn a bit more about osx.