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Apple Updates Mac Mini and Adds Server Option
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that sucks.. but i'm sure if its running SL you could install some sort of media sharing software?
3 Words...
And it should be $999 or less. I've pretty much decided that other than a laptop possibly, I'm not buying another "disposable" iMac or other over-priced Mac desktop until this beast is released.
The whole concept of the iMac is ANTI-GREEN since they are ultimately disposable and non-upgradeable and the screens are useless once the machine is outdated, meaning short life-spans. I've never liked this Apple marketing strategy. I'm surprised no one has called Apple out on this yet.
Maybe this Mac Mini server will have a niche market possibly, but that market is not my expertise so I'll leave that to others to comment on.
Unfortunately, I want a Mac with that power w/ a tiny bit of expandability that doesn't exist as Apple just refuses to release such a Mac.
I think tons of PC switchers would jump on board too for such a machine and seriously increase market share. Something bigger than a G4 Cube, but around the same size or smaller than a G4 tower, such that it doesn't compete with the Mac Pro line. What Apple has done with the Mini proves this is easily possible.
It's just plain crazy in my opinion that Apple doesn't do it.
I'd have bought another Mac already if such a Mac existed.
What a lost opportunity. 🙁
PS: I know people are going to scream that Apple just posted its biggest sales in history, but guess what? Those were largely laptop sales, NOT desktops.
Steve Jobs needs to stop being stubborn and release this type of beast.
3 WORDS... Mythical Mac Mini-tower!
And it should be $999 or less. I've pretty much decided that other than a laptop possibly, I'm not buying another "disposable" iMac or other over-priced Mac desktop until this beast is released.
The whole concept of the iMac is ANTI-GREEN since they are ultimately disposable and non-upgradeable and the screens are useless once the machine is outdated, meaning short life-spans. I've never liked this Apple marketing strategy. I'm surprised no one has called Apple out on this yet.
Maybe this Mac Mini server will have a niche market possibly, but that market is not my expertise so I'll leave that to others to comment on.
Unfortunately, I want a Mac with that power w/ a tiny bit of expandability that doesn't exist as Apple just refuses to release such a Mac.
I think tons of PC switchers would jump on board too for such a machine and seriously increase market share. Something bigger than a G4 Cube, but around the same size or smaller than a G4 tower, such that it doesn't compete with the Mac Pro line. What Apple has done with the Mini proves this is easily possible.
It's just plain crazy in my opinion that Apple doesn't do it.
I'd have bought another Mac already if such a Mac existed.
What a lost opportunity. 🙁
PS: I know people are going to scream that Apple just posted its biggest sales in history, but guess what? Those were largely laptop sales, NOT desktops.
Steve Jobs needs to stop being stubborn and release this type of beast.
awesome mini server
K, folks, think about it. This new mini server is a steal. Look, it comes with the unlimited version of MacOS X Server which would be $999 by itself! So... you're getting Snow Leopard Server and a "FREE" computer. What's to complain about?
Is it an Xserve? No. It's not meant to be. It's a great small business/home server. Two 2.5" 500GB drives are just fine. BTW - most major server products are migrating to 2.5" drives. And, in case you haven't figured this out... all Macs support software RAID 1/0. So, set up your two disks for a fast 1TB volume, or a mirrored 500GB set for redundancy. And/or connect an external 500GB-1TB hard drive via FW800 for Time Machine backup, and you're set 5 ways 'til Sunday. This is a great server for small specialized purposes.
Could Apple do more with this box? Sure. Hopefully they will in a future release. eSATA would be a good feature to add to a server appliance. But for now, this is still a killer package. Count me in - I'm starting to save up pennies at this moment.
K, folks, think about it. This new mini server is a steal. Look, it comes with the unlimited version of MacOS X Server which would be $999 by itself! So... you're getting Snow Leopard Server and a "FREE" computer. What's to complain about?
Is it an Xserve? No. It's not meant to be. It's a great small business/home server. Two 2.5" 500GB drives are just fine. BTW - most major server products are migrating to 2.5" drives. And, in case you haven't figured this out... all Macs support software RAID 1/0. So, set up your two disks for a fast 1TB volume, or a mirrored 500GB set for redundancy. And/or connect an external 500GB-1TB hard drive via FW800 for Time Machine backup, and you're set 5 ways 'til Sunday. This is a great server for small specialized purposes.
Could Apple do more with this box? Sure. Hopefully they will in a future release. eSATA would be a good feature to add to a server appliance. But for now, this is still a killer package. Count me in - I'm starting to save up pennies at this moment.
Bubba Satori
Suspended
Yep, by about $150 each. But I guess enough people will buy them that Apple will make up in margin what they lose in volume. Sorry, I'm not going to play that game and neither will my customers when they see what $600-$800 buys these days.
No blu-ray is really a bummer. I can (only just) understand Apples reluctancy to add blu-ray if they feel it will be a competition to renting in iTunes store but if that is the case then, please introduce movie rentals into the swedish itunes store already
What a wierd offering. The target market is very unclear.
For business, this machine does not have adequate storage or speed.
So I have to assume the target market would be home users. But for a home user its nearly useless with only one network port. You need two ports. One for the external network (internet connection), and one port for the internal network (home router). Network Address Translation for the internal ips to share the external connection.
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For business, this machine does not have adequate storage or speed.
So I have to assume the target market would be home users. But for a home user its nearly useless with only one network port. You need two ports. One for the external network (internet connection), and one port for the internal network (home router). Network Address Translation for the internal ips to share the external connection.
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LEStudios
macrumors 6502
yes it is
Actually, iTunes is a media sever as well as a client. I've been using it to serve media for quite some time. Works great.
MacOS X Server includes very robust tools for serving media, including QTSS.
Actually, iTunes is a media sever as well as a client. I've been using it to serve media for quite some time. Works great.
MacOS X Server includes very robust tools for serving media, including QTSS.
calderone
Cancelled
OS X Server is not a media server. I run a Mini with OS X Server, I know what it does. I wasn't talking about the Mini itself.
Did you read the question I responded to? He asked if they added a wizard for media sharing. The obvious answer is no, because OS X Server's primary function is not to serve media. IF you want to do that, client can do it just fine.
If you buy this (particular version of the Mini) to serve media, you are an idiot.
EDIT: Let me add to this. I know not saying OS X Server cannot do media sharing, I am saying that you would be wasting money and you would probably never properly set it up if you don't know how to configure a server.
Mac Mini Server - that is exactly what I am looking for...
Just two weeks ago I was configuring a Mac Mini with 4GB memory and 320 GB harddrive plus Mac OS X server on the New Zealand Apple Online Store. The total price was around
NZD 3,000.00
I thought 'No, that's a little bit too much money'. Now you get the combo for
NZD 1,750.00
And you can even add the external 4 TB Raid Storage system for a total of
NZD 3,100.00
I would call this is a significant improvement.
Just two weeks ago I was configuring a Mac Mini with 4GB memory and 320 GB harddrive plus Mac OS X server on the New Zealand Apple Online Store. The total price was around
NZD 3,000.00
I thought 'No, that's a little bit too much money'. Now you get the combo for
NZD 1,750.00
And you can even add the external 4 TB Raid Storage system for a total of
NZD 3,100.00
I would call this is a significant improvement.
LEStudios
macrumors 6502
You know its really amazing how many companies still uses the 2007 Mac mini as a Server. It's not a hard concept I been using my Western Digital Studio II 2TB (two 1TB in Raid-0) for storage of my music and videos from iTunes going on 2 years. Technically that is a storage because Apple implementing sharing and streaming of music and videos since AppleTV (since I notice with AppleTV) so yeah 5400RPM 8MB Cache can work for you. Lot of you guys need to think outside the box. 😀
jaw04005
macrumors 601
Well, Phil Schiller seems to think it is:
As many probably already know, it turns out that many Mac Mini owners use their machines as inexpensive servers. Seeing an opportunity — Apple’s Xserve professional server line starts at $2,999 – Apple has launched a Mac Mini server for $999. The target Schiller says is small businesses for whom an XServe would be too expensive, as well as enthusiast consumers looking for an inexpensive, small-footprint media server server to share files around the house.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/ByteOfTheApple/blog/archives/2009/10/apple_announces.html
Which is why I asked, I thought maybe they were shipping a new media sharing/Windows Home Server-type wizard for OS X Server. The last version of Server I used (10.3) was overly complicated to setup for a home server device.
Looks like they missed an opportunity here.
it is enough
Actually, 1TB is more than enough space for business. I'm running an entire dept. of 120+ people on an older Dell file server with a 365GB array. I might just evaluate this mini for feasability as a economical replacement.
No, you don't need two network ports. You should already have a router in place running NAT, even at home (like a wireless base station). 95% of the time your servers will be using just one port. We have over 60 servers in our data center, and 2 of them are dual homed (using 2 ports) and none of them are running NAT.
Actually, 1TB is more than enough space for business. I'm running an entire dept. of 120+ people on an older Dell file server with a 365GB array. I might just evaluate this mini for feasability as a economical replacement.
No, you don't need two network ports. You should already have a router in place running NAT, even at home (like a wireless base station). 95% of the time your servers will be using just one port. We have over 60 servers in our data center, and 2 of them are dual homed (using 2 ports) and none of them are running NAT.
calderone
Cancelled
I am guessing Phil Schiller hasn't setup an OS X Server. Mac OS X server is fair too complex to passed of as a media server.
They are going to be inundated with phone calls from users who bought this thing and can't get it work. I guarantee it. And I don't think those users are going to go out and find a consultant.
OS X client does everything a home user would need, in a much more user friendly way.
Utter and complete tosh I'm afraid. The company I was working a year ago had over 30 servers, not a one of them rack mountable, and between them we just about topped 1TB of useable storage. And this was not a small business, we were turning over about £30 Million a year and running about 3,000 users across the business.
Yes, if you're running big databases etc then you need more grunt. But as a basic server for small businesses or as task-specific servers? Perfect. Those that think you MUST have a quad core server-class processor for even the smallest server are deluding themselves. Are there performance improvmenets to be gained from an XServe? Of course but a LOT of businesses don't require them and this gives them a lovely introduction to OS X Server without the need to invest a ton of money in infrastructure they don't really need.
Le Big Mac
macrumors 68030
jaw04005
macrumors 601
I agree. I havent used it since 10.3, but its too complicated to use in a home environment.
Unless they did what Microsoft did and used OS X Server as the backbone and created a new console app/setup wizard for home users that could let them administer iTunes remotely. That would be awesome.
calderone
Cancelled
Even so, it should be priced at at LEAST $1099 (assuming the base Mini). But this is the higher end Mini, with another 500GB hard drive. They are essentially giving you Mac OS X Server.
QuickTime Streaming Server
QuickTime Broadcaster
Podcast Producer
Standard file serving (guess what, that includes media files)
No "wizard" needed
-- All features of MacOS X Server
You're talking to an IT Admin, yes I know how to set up a server.
And I have an existing mini running as a media server at home. Works great. This offering from Apple is even better, and a great deal.
Mini Price
The mini did get a price drop....
In Canada anyways. $80 bucks less today than it was yesterday... makes it much less cost effective to drive across the border and buy one.
The mini did get a price drop....
In Canada anyways. $80 bucks less today than it was yesterday... makes it much less cost effective to drive across the border and buy one.
LEStudios
macrumors 6502
Because Apple don't want spend money on licensing technologies from Sony and Microsoft that really don't work. Why do a Google Search for 1080p Bluray rip you'll see at least 400 movies! with Transformers Revenge of the Fallen being one of them! 15GB 1080p X264 MKV with DTS 1.5Mbps!