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Did you get the feeling that Steve Jobs hates the Mac mini?

L

lem0nayde

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 26, 2002
171
0
NYC
I thought it was funny watching the keynote last night, it seemed to me that Jobs couldn't give a lesser s**t about the Mac mini. I was surprised that he didn't chuck it off to the side when he was done talking about it.

I got the sense that he had total disdain for the idea of a low-end and inexpensive Mac and would rather keep Apple products geared towards the upper middle class and above. I've never seen him introduce something with so little fanfare. Especially since the machine could have a huge impact on Apple's marketshare.

Then again, maybe he was just bummed that the secret was spilled pre-show. That's the only problem with rumors, they are fun while they're are happening...but then it's kind of like seeing your presents before Christmas morning. Oh well, that won't stop me from reading them! :)
 
Well I believe the Mac mini and iPod Shuffle are two products that go against his previous statements including the iMac G5.


Yes, I did get that feeling that he didn't like both and to a point the iMac G5 products. :)
 
Look at some history, Jobs said no more crts next thing you know is the Emac is introduced just as he said not interested in this bottom segment of the market and the next thing is a cheap Mac minus a few things. But if you cant make new machines based on new cpu's then why not new cheap ones based on older cpu's. They are still using the videochips to seperate the lines. This shows how moto/IBM have hit the wall. My 2 year old upgrade in my 4 year old quicksilver is still current maybe even better :)
 
Yes, he once said along the lines of, "those little flash players everyone gets for xmas but throws in a drawer" and now he's brought one out himself! Also he once said about horizontally placing a CD drive making performance drop .. then he brought out the iMac G5. I'm not sure when he's cheeked little low end PCs... but im sure he has.

Anyway... i'm going to go the Apple Regent Street London next month (my first visit) and buy a Mac Mini :p
 
Dont Hurt Me said:
Look at some history, Jobs said no more crts next thing you know is the Emac is introduced just as he said not interested in this bottom segment of the market and the next thing is a cheap Mac minus a few things. But if you cant make new machines based on new cpu's then why not new cheap ones based on older cpu's. They are still using the videochips to seperate the lines. This shows how moto/IBM have hit the wall. My 2 year old upgrade in my 4 year old quicksilver is still current maybe even better :)
Click to expand...

Absolutly true! Hit a wall indeed! Sad to make a new computer with such old technology. Why even bother - but on the other hand I really hope this is something BIG for Apple (like the ipod) and more users will upgrade to Power Macs. :D
 
I think that little machine is the most exciting thing to come out of Apple since the Powermac G5. Now my family can afford a Mac, and I can get one to replace my boyfriend's ancient Blue and White G3. It's so perfect for folks that just surf the internet and write emails. It's a Mac for the rest of us (well, except me - I have to have my Dual 2gig G5.) :p
 
Perhaps he was expecting a better crowd reaction. The rumor seemed to kill it. I also agree that he didn't spend a lot of time with it or show those comparisions that he likes to show comparing it to PCs in price and features.
I expect it to run faster than today's $500 dollar PC. Perhaps he does hate it. Afraid it will hurt the Apple brand for premium prices.
 
BornAgainMac said:
Perhaps he was expecting a better crowd reaction. The rumor seemed to kill it. I also agree that he didn't spend a lot of time with it or show those comparisions that he likes to show comparing it to PCs in price and features.
I expect it to run faster than today's $500 dollar PC. Perhaps he does hate it. Afraid it will hurt the Apple brand for premium prices.
Click to expand...


Time issues with the Keynote, that is all too much to cover in a short time. :)

Jobs just starts sounding like a hypocrite when he states one thing and then he releases something he bashes. It seems he keeps slapping himself in the face.
 
m a y a said:
Time issues with the Keynote, that is all too much to cover in a short time. :)

Jobs just starts sounding like a hypocrite when he states one thing and then he releases something he bashes. It seems he keeps slapping himself in the face.
Click to expand...

No, he's just marketing. You say exactly what makes people buy your product at the needed time. Back then Apple didn't have a flash player now they do...
 
Diatribe said:
No, he's just marketing. You say exactly what makes people buy your product at the needed time. Back then Apple didn't have a flash player now they do...
Click to expand...

Sure what next Mac OS X on x86. :rolleyes:


He should really watch what he says, marketing can work both ways however it doesn't do any good for your credibility. :)
 
I was shocked too at how little time he speant on it. It was more of a product that people have been demanding, and finally Apple decided to give it to them. It wasn't Steve's "creation" like the iMac.

Keep in mind, Jobs didn't originally like the iPod... but since its now a huge seller... he appreciates it more.

However, I believe its going to be a huge seller. I bought one, and there seems to be a lot of press and fan fare over the product.

I personally feel like the Mac mini should have been the "one more thing.." instead of the Shuffle.
 
I didn't really notice any disdain for the Mac Mini, however, was I the only person who felt there was some sort of awkwardness during the speech by the Sony Pres?
 
I think you folks should consider what this little box can accomplish.

I'm a technology professional that does consulting, db development, media production on a 1.25 G4 PB. This laptop cost me $1,999 refurbished only last year. The Mac mini has almost identical specs as my laptop. With the biggest difference being the video card.

So, for someone who doesn't need all the ports that are available on a PB, they can get a comparable machine for $499. That's insanely great. I'm considering a second machine for home use to run headless just for rendering media projects and encoding DVD assets.

I'm also getting one to have a supremely portable Mac OS X system to leave with prospective clients who are considering the platform switch. I can bring it over in a tiny bag, and they can try it out at home for two weeks before deciding.

Lastly, I've got clients who have wanted in-house Unix servers, but were worried that they'd never be able to administer or troubleshoot the box after I left. This box is the solution and they can work with an OS that they're already intimately familiar with.

I'm very excited.

Best,
Logicat
 
As much as i like Mr Jobs, and as glad i am that he is in charge of apple, i do think he is a bit of a middle-class neo-hippy snob. A man who dresses like hes casual and easy going, but is actually quite a shrewd, curt, and aggressive business person. Who isnt afraid to kill off rivals.

He makes computers for the middle class, you can see it by the software which is brought out, all the iapps are quite typically middle-class creative leisure apps. They're for a group of people who have enough money for a variety of high-end peripherals, and want to create videos of "the kids" or some self indulgent music, or a family newsletter. Theyre what i would call creative-leisure apps.
Really most of them are gonna be just messed about with, but by actually creating something, the user feels more sophisticated than, say, the average online-gamer.... even though the outcome is normally an abomination of colour and visuals that would have made Van Gogh drop the knife and just stick his face under a lawnmower.

It doesnt take a great leap of the imagination to work out that all the iapps are aimed at young professionals, or families with 2 working parents.

Anyway, yeah i dont think he likes the mini mac. Especially when i heard him say "now there is no excuse for not buying a mac", pretty aggressive statement considering its aimed at people who genuinely cannot afford an imac. Due to no fault of their own.

I dont think he likes the emac or mini-mac or that flash-shuffle-stickpod-thing.
Im buying a mini-mac, its a simply a perfect product for me. Steve, thankyou.
 
m a y a said:
Sure what next Mac OS X on x86. :rolleyes:


He should really watch what he says, marketing can work both ways however it doesn't do any good for your credibility. :)
Click to expand...

I totally agree with you, forced marketing is never good if you plan on producing the things you said to be bad...
As other people have said though, Stevie didn't like the box that much but saw it as a necessity or else it wouldn't have been produced at all. If there's a need to produce a certain product in order to manifest your market position you need to overthrow previous arguments... It's a small loss for what you gain.
Building a flash player is just another thing to stay on top of everyone else and to keep iTMS no.1
It's the bigger scheme that counts not whether you lose a bit of credibility (that will be forgotten fast by most of the people, it's just the way it is).
 
Maybe the little thing is really HEAVY.

It was weird that he didn't like it, and how much he was in love with the stupid "themes" of Pages, iDVD, etc.
 
Diatribe said:
I totally agree with you, forced marketing is never good if you plan on producing the things you said to be bad...
As other people have said though, Stevie didn't like the box that much but saw it as a necessity or else it wouldn't have been produced at all. If there's a need to produce a certain product in order to manifest your market position you need to overthrow previous arguments... It's a small loss for what you gain.
Building a flash player is just another thing to stay on top of everyone else and to keep iTMS no.1
It's the bigger scheme that counts not whether you lose a bit of credibility (that will be forgotten fast by most of the people, it's just the way it is).
Click to expand...

Agreed, no point carrying this any further. Since one day Jobs will state he doesn't care about market share when he actually does.

Well this is good news since Jobs also hates Blu-Ray and HD-DVD burners in Mac's enabled so this means it WILL be available after all. :)

And he did state that Apple and SONY are going to work closer together down the road,hmm is Apple going to adopt Blu-Ray and not HD-DVD or is this another DVD RAM and DVD-R/RW to then admitting to DVD±R/RW issue. :)
 
Rootman said:
Maybe the little thing is really HEAVY.

It was weird that he didn't like it, and how much he was in love with the stupid "themes" of Pages, iDVD, etc.
Click to expand...

Get it straight, this thing is LIGHT. :)


Jobs cares about music and that is his passion. Remember he is a hippie. ;) :) Music before Movies. :)

That is why the love for iPod, you will not see a portable movie player yet. :)
 
m a y a said:
...
Well this is good news since Jobs also hates Blu-Ray and HD-DVD burners in Mac's enabled so this means it WILL be available after all. :)

And he did state that Apple and SONY are going to work closer together down the road,hmm is Apple going to adopt Blu-Ray and not HD-DVD or is this another DVD RAM and DVD-R/RW to then admitting to DVD±R/RW issue. :)
Click to expand...

He did mention in the keynote that they are eagerly awaiting Blu-Ray burners to put them into macs... I hope that Sony can produce those fast, so they're ready for the G5 PBs this year ;)
 
Diatribe said:
He did mention in the keynote that they are eagerly awaiting Blu-Ray burners to put them into macs... I hope that Sony can produce those fast, so they're ready for the G5 PBs this year ;)
Click to expand...


Sorry missed that part, too much load on the network. :(


ROTF, I hope this is not another DVD-RAM then convert to DVD-R/RW issue. :)

or in this case Blu-Ray and then convert to HD-DVD :)
 
this might not be the right thread, but one poster stated using the Mac mini for rendering and using it as a headless machine...

1) would this computer be good enough for rendering?

2) maybe i am just too tired to think, how could this machine be used, headless? with remote desktop?
 
Blackheart said:
I didn't really notice any disdain for the Mac Mini, however, was I the only person who felt there was some sort of awkwardness during the speech by the Sony Pres?
Click to expand...


The guy did make a good attempt in speaking in english, he didn't use a translator. Give him that much, he was excited due to Steve's RDF and it also was a last minute invite. :)
 
I couldn't agree with you more on all points (and that Van Gogh comment was hilarious.)

I don't like Steve Jobs, when he first came back to Apple he lent a certain excitement to a dying brand and he is no doubt a great leader for a business. But, as with most high-level business people I've met, there is an obvious falsity and ugliness when it comes to personality. His Keynotes don't excite me anymore, they are scripted down to the last word and he is way too easily flustered (did anyone else see the rage boiling beneath the surface when OS X kept asking him if he wanted to open the applications? I hate that feature, by the way.) When it comes down to it, it's just about money for him - it's the creatives at Apple that are the genius and magic behind the operation. He is just a great ringleader/slave driver.

As an artist/designer I shudder at the Martha Stewartesque themes included with the iApps. They are so indicative of upper-middle-class faux elite tastes. I would like to see some more funky stuff in there, more playful and colorful. Enough with the bent, shadowed Polaroids and whispy quasi-cross cultural ambience.

I'm not knocking the iApps themselves though - they are really wonderful for everyday people to use. I'd just like to see a little more branching out in the theme offerings. Maybe i should learn how to make and sell them. :)





V.A.Toss said:
As much as i like Mr Jobs, and as glad i am that he is in charge of apple, i do think he is a bit of a middle-class neo-hippy snob. A man who dresses like hes casual and easy going, but is actually quite a shrewd, curt, and aggressive business person. Who isnt afraid to kill off rivals.

He makes computers for the middle class, you can see it by the software which is brought out, all the iapps are quite typically middle-class creative leisure apps. They're for a group of people who have enough money for a variety of high-end peripherals, and want to create videos of "the kids" or some self indulgent music, or a family newsletter. Theyre what i would call creative-leisure apps.
Really most of them are gonna be just messed about with, but by actually creating something, the user feels more sophisticated than, say, the average online-gamer.... even though the outcome is normally an abomination of colour and visuals that would have made Van Gogh drop the knife and just stick his face under a lawnmower.

It doesnt take a great leap of the imagination to work out that all the iapps are aimed at young professionals, or families with 2 working parents.

Anyway, yeah i dont think he likes the mini mac. Especially when i heard him say "now there is no excuse for not buying a mac", pretty aggressive statement considering its aimed at people who genuinely cannot afford an imac. Due to no fault of their own.

I dont think he likes the emac or mini-mac or that flash-shuffle-stickpod-thing.
Im buying a mini-mac, its a simply a perfect product for me. Steve, thankyou.
Click to expand...
 
redAPPLE said:
1) would this computer be good enough for rendering?
Click to expand...
"Good enough" is very subjective. All I can say to you, is that I'd rather offload my renders to a $500 machine than let it completely drain the CPU of my laptop. Whether or not it's worth spending $500-700 for a tiny machine to render depends entirely on your budget and specific needs.

2) maybe i am just too tired to think, how could this machine be used, headless? with remote desktop?
Click to expand...
Sure; Remote Desktop would work. So would VNC. As a Unix server, I can simply ssh into the machine to work.

Best,
Logicat
 
this might not be the right thread, but one poster stated using the Mac mini for rendering and using it as a headless machine...

1) would this computer be good enough for rendering?

2) maybe i am just too tired to think, how could this machine be used, headless? with remote desktop?
 
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