Apple Releases New Mac Mini

[brianus]

What were you planning on doing with Core Image that you won't be able to do now?

Another nonsense argument: "all that matters in a PC is what you're planning to do with it at precisely the time of purchase." No, it certainly doesn't matter that a non-upgradeable machine won't be able to support programs that'll be written 6 months from now.. because we all have tons of money to blow on a new computer on a yearly basis, right?

No, it's saying that hardware makes LESS difference than OS and software. (Yes, many people are ignorant of that reality.)

Great. Wake me up in 2 or 3 years after some joker has hacked the Intel OS X so I can run it on any of the 8 bazillion different PC models/options I have to choose from. Until then, hardware does matter, because we have literally no choice than to accept whatever piddling, crippled, obsolete-out-the-gate non-updates Apple has to offer.

You apologists are incredible.

 

[syklee26]

Dual 2.7ghz

why is Power Mac Dual 2.7ghz taking 5-7 days to ship anyway?

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APP...V3wKL1rj5zSJl/2.0.11.1.0.6.23.1.3.1.3.0.0.1.0

 

[GFLPraxis]

Wow, look at the ratings on this... Apple sucks.

God, intel isn't going to cure this...the sad matter of fact is it's going to cause greater heart-break and dissapointment.

Right now.. we don't know what motorola has tucked up their sleeves, we really don't know what Apple has hidden behind the curtain... but once Apple goes to intel, we'll know exactly how fast the intel chips are.

We'll be sitting on the side-lines, waiting for an update... we'll jump on pricewatch.com and see "Oh.. Intel has a new 4GHz chip.." and then on Tuesday we'll see that Apple decided to use the old 3.6GHz chip in the new machine. That will suck, morre then even this sucks.

****ers.

What the heck are you talking about? Here we have a $999 laptop with a *decent* though *slightly* underpar processor, but not terrible by any means. Built in 802.11g AND Bluetooth 2.0. A Radeon 9550 graphics card. THIS IS NOT BAD. Go to your local Best Buy and try to find a laptop with a graphics card (ANY graphics card other than an 'Intel Integrated' with 0 MB of VRAM) for under $1500.

 

[space1nvaders]

Boy are we spoiled.

How dare Apple make an update that does not blow us all away.

 

[nagromme]

Beware extremes

Another nonsense argument: "all that matters in a PC is what you're planning to do with it at precisely the time of purchase."

Core Image does run (CPU-based) on Mac Minis. 64 MB VRAM would make it run much faster.

You could say ANYthing will be needed someday (quad 64-bit CPUs?) and that therefore it MUST be in the bottom-end Mac today.

But that's not what bottom-end is. 64 MB would be nice--I too would love to see it. Preferably for $100 cheaper than the current Mini. But I compare the Mini to other PCs in the price range, and I still find they can't compete.

Until then, hardware does matter

Correct. As I said, hardware DOES matter. Less than the OS and software, but it does matter.

My position is not on either extreme. Better hardware would be, well, better... but the Mini is still an excellent value.

 

[Fabio_gsilva]

There always choice...

And, if Apple hardware line up is so bad, so lame, like a lot of people use to say, you always have Dell to fulfill all your needs of power and speed, for a decent price...

It's up to you.

It's a nonsense for me, though, that a lot of people complain about the Mini specs but use a 4 year old 400 mhz iMac...

This is a nonsense.

 

[Lord Kythe]

ARGH! PCs WON'T GET MAC OS X!!!!

Looks like I'll be buying a new PC this fall and not a new mac. But the good news is I'll also be upgrading my old PM. So, then I'll have two OS X machines even though the mini won't be one of them yet.

Over and over, people keep saying they'll just grab a PC and it'll be an OS X machine... What can we do do break it to them; I keep posting replies like these and yet people still say things like that (refering to quote above).

MAC OS X x86 WILL NOT WORK ON x86 PCs!!!!! Get that into your head.

 

[Fabio_gsilva]

How dare Apple make an update that does not blow us all away.

Hehehehe!

 

[MudLake]

Core Image does run (CPU-based) on Mac Minis. 64 MB VRAM would make it run much faster.

You could say ANYthing will be needed someday (quad 64-bit CPUs?) and that therefore it MUST be in the bottom-end Mac today.

But that's not what bottom-end is. 64 MB would be nice--I too would love to see it. Preferably for $100 cheaper than the current Mini. But I compare the Mini to other PCs in the price range, and I still find they can't compete.



Correct. As I said, hardware DOES matter. Less than the OS and software, but it does matter.

My position is not on either extreme. Better hardware would be, well, better... but the Mini is still an excellent value.

Making a claim that CoreImage will run on a Mini is too general and not really informative

What we do know for sure is the Quartz 2D Extreme won't run on the Mini. Though Apple has not really unleashed Q2DE yet, it's been widely reported that it's central to Apple's attempts to bring overall user interface speed up to par on Mac OS X. And it's the lower end machines, like the Mini, that exhibit the greatest need vis-a-vis Windows machines for interface speed improvement.

This is the reason why a GPU upgrade was probably the most important thing that could have or should have been done to the Mini. Sure, more RAM was needed, too, but that was already available either as BTO or with a putty knife. Instead, we get standard Bluetooth which probably has the least appeal of any possible feature to the target market.

 

[remingtonhill]

What the heck are you talking about? Here we have a $999 laptop with a *decent* though *slightly* underpar processor, but not terrible by any means.

It was *slightly* underpar TWO YEARS AGO.

Intel chips with 800 Mhz FSB run at 3.8 Ghz, and dual core Pentium D's are available.

And don't give me that "Mhz Myth" crap. No one is buying it anymore.

No core image support in the mac mini? sheesh.

 

[nsjoker]

It was *slightly* underpar TWO YEARS AGO.

Intel chips with 800 Mhz FSB run at 3.8 Ghz, and dual core Pentium D's are available.

And don't give me that "Mhz Myth" crap. No one is buying it anymore.

No core image support in the mac mini? sheesh.

bro, what the **** are you asking for? a 3.8 ghz p4 in a mini for 499/599? get over it. nobody delivers that kind of value, why are you expecting apple to?

 

[aviationwiz]

MAC OS X x86 WILL NOT WORK ON x86 PCs!!!!! Get that into your head.

Why surely it must, otherwise it would be like Windows. The x86 version of Mac OS X will surely work on the x86 versions of Apple PC's.


Remember... PC means Personal Computer, not Windows Personal Computer.

 

[quackattack]

Dont count on anything revolutionary until the intel macs.

Sounds about right, except for maybe non-computer stuff. Crosses fingers for Video iPod/Video APE.

 

[shompa]

I wanted to replace my only PC with a MacMini.

My HTPC.

Apple don't have any computer that can be used as a HTPC.
The minis are to slow to play HDTV files.
The Powermac is to loud and big.
The imacs have the power, but have a screen that I dont need and cant hide in the living room.

The macmini with 1.8 ghz G4 meaby could play HDTV.
Using the soundblaste USB, you get 5.1 sound.
And last: An EyeTV
The ultimate HTPC.

 

[Lord Kythe]

It was *slightly* underpar TWO YEARS AGO.

Intel chips with 800 Mhz FSB run at 3.8 Ghz, and dual core Pentium D's are available.

And don't give me that "Mhz Myth" crap. No one is buying it anymore.

No core image support in the mac mini? sheesh.

Ok, ok, no MHz Myth crap. How 'bout this though: try finding a PC laptop under $1500 that runs Mac OS X (which, by the way let's be honest, is the only area where Apple has the edge right now, in these transition times).

Dual core Pentium D, eh? Let's be honest... right now, they can only run Windows (until Apple puts its hands on them), which means they'll run at less than 50% their potential, which makes the G4 1.42 GHz pretty competitive still. And don't give me that "Mac fanatics always trash Windows for no reason". I have a P4 3.6 GHz PC at home, and I use it for the only task it does right: gaming. It doesn't come close to my 1.25 GHz G4 tower's efficiency running Photoshop, AfterEffects, WebObjects, not even talking about multi-tasking because... well just not talking about it so that I don't go crazy and put my PC in the trash right now. Call it whatever you like: MHz Myth, OS issues, the Banana syndrome, I don't care. Windows won't deliver the goods as long as it's, well, crappy.

 

[Lord Kythe]

Why surely it must, otherwise it would be like Windows. The x86 version of Mac OS X will surely work on the x86 versions of Apple PC's.


Remember... PC means Personal Computer, not Windows Personal Computer.

If you wanna play with words, go play wheel of fortune. The context of this post clearly identified the term PC as a Wintel PC.

Cheers.

 

[Plecky]

Yeah, I don't see anything that's changed on the mini that you couldn't already get via BTO options. I mean, I have my BTO Rev. A mini and I could make it again out of the 699 mini with some options for about a hundred dollars cheaper, but this isn't a update - its a price drop in my opinion! They might as well just had a sale on the Rev. A mac mini's and BTO options and said something like "employee discount for everyone" like car dealerships have started doing. I don't see a single update, well other then the removal of the modem port that cost extra to add on now. Just have a sale next time, not call it a update. Cool price-drop though I guess, but I was also on the expecting side of either a better GPU, a better Hard Drive, or a better superdrive (still the 4x one while the 14" ibook even has the powerbook 8x superdrive? sad). That being said, people will get more for their money and the mac mini will still be the low-price piece it was suppose to be, but its not updated - just discounted on base model and parts. Get more for less money, but the more you get is nothing new OR updated - just same parts being thrown in. The iBooks at least did get some updates and totally new aspects! Oh well... Now time to speculate/rumor the powerbook updates for fall I guess

 

[MarkCollette]

I'm only talking about sales taxes. That's without counting the 25 to 50% deductions on our pay checks!

What province are you in ?!? Luckily we have no PST here in Alberta.

I lose 21% to income tax, and have to pay 7% GST on purchases.

 

[Lord Kythe]

Yeah, I don't see anything that's changed on the mini that you couldn't already get via BTO options. [...] Cool price-drop though I guess, but I was also on the expecting side of either a better GPU, a better Hard Drive, or a better superdrive (still the 4x one while the 14" ibook even has the powerbook 8x superdrive? sad). That being said, people will get more for their money and the mac mini will still be the low-price piece it was suppose to be, but its not updated - just discounted on base model and parts. [...] Now time to speculate/rumor the powerbook updates for fall I guess

Well put. Just stressing out the "expectations" factor here. Rumor sites are there to satisfy our lowly need to know what's next. Speculations of Mac Mini powerhouses (with dual core or even a video card at 64 MBs with GPU) is obviously harmful to anything Apple can release in the short term. People are acutally pissed Minis got a price drop... How odd is that?

I really like your "Price Drop and not Update" position. I share it.

 

[Pining4Fjords]

[...] Here (Sweden) we pay 25% VAT on everything we buy except basics like food. And we pay 32% income tax, except if we make enough money to "qualify" for paying goverment taxes. In that case it can sometimes be as much as 48%. And in addition to this our employers has to pay about half of our wages to the goverment as "social fees". So, basicly, if I cost my employer 60,000 skr a month I get to see about 18,000 skr, and the rest dissapears as different taxes. Then again, we do have free health care, free education, including colleage and university etc etc wich is great, but it still sucks paying this much taxes.

What are a few thousand Crowns here and there compared to $80-200K USD in college costs, the financial exposure in the event of catastrophic illness and the utter lack of retirement security? Our taxes are lower but they are not that much lower, especially in light of the Social Security payments I've made but will likely never see again. I love Scandinavia and I would gladly trade places with you in a heartbeat. Unfortunately the Scandinavian countries only allow unskilled (EU/EEA) labor to immigrate so that there is a workforce to do the menial jobs but not compete with the professional labor pool. Not unlike the ongoing H1-B vs. Mexican alien issue here.

Back to the topic, the mini updates are just enough to get me off the fence. As pointed out, the $599 system is at a sweet spot for a quiet, lower-power home server or media station.

 

[GulGnu]

Somewhat perversely, I'm a bit happy they didn't do anything too fancy with the mini, as I got one not too long ago

Seriously though, the 512 MB standard thing is a big boon, perhaps not to enthusiasts, but for Joe Average, who will now get a much better mac experience when getting the basic setup. (The same goes for the iBook) Mac OS X really needs those 512 megs in order to operate smoothly when doing basic tasks.

 

[jicon]

My disappointment is that DVI issues still remain with the mini.

The 9200 had apparently been implemented poorly in the box to begin with (Poor cooling, underpowered - hence darker VGA output)

There are likely engineering/electrical/heat issues in putting a 64MB edition of a card in the machine... though it really is a sore thumb that such issues even exist on the unit.

 

[msb221]

Performance.. Confused

Apples best is good, but the already bad consumer line is worse.. except the new imac. But i wouldnt even touch one of them because doom 3 will only just run on it as a 2ghz g5 is the minimum requirement (we all know what that means.. lowest setting graphics etc). You only have to look at the most graphicly intensive game for the time to see how far into the future your computer will last.


I think people are just waiting to buy a new mac, but there waiting for a major speed upgrade. somthing to compare and be pround of next to a pc. Thats somthing mac customers cannot do at the moment because pc's are much faster. Thats hardware.

Software wise, mac customers are proud. We just want the machines to run it at a decent and RESPONSIVE level.

STOP CRIPPLING YOUR MACHINES WITH LOWER PROCESSOR CACHE LEVELS.

p.s. If anyone knows how to take apart the processor and add a larger L2 cache that would be great.

 

[jiv3turkey748]

How dare Apple make an update that does not blow us all away.

were not spoiled at all with the exception of the last imac update their updates are always pitiful and their computers are always overpriced its like they dont even pay attention to the rest of computer world

 

[FaasNat]

You beat me to it.

Worse than the recent PM updates?