Did you forget to see that the new mac mini release included hdmi out? Too me that screams HTPC.
I didn't forget, but that is a recent development and it doesn't change the fact that you still cannot rent the vast majority of HD movies in iTunes from a Mac-Mini or any other "Mac". You must use Apple TV or you get about 2 dozen (mostly b) movies to rent or buy in HD. Everything else is off limits.
If the Mac-Mini were truly being marketed as a HTPC by Apple, they would have rectified this the day the new model was released and allowed it to rent those titles just like an AppleTV (and/or updated the FrontRow interface to act as an AppleTV on models with HDCP support (HDMI isn't necessary, just HDCP so any Mac with HDCP on it could be supported including Mini-Display Port). I'm all for this, BTW. I just don't believe Apple ever marketed the Mini as a HTPC. It also has no UpNP support and neither does iTunes or Apple TV (shame on the latter since it then could use a NAS or Router with UpNP/DLNA and attached storage to access a movie/music library without requiring a Mac or Windows PC running iTunes to be present to access the library.
Apple is YEARS behind on this technology and they don't appear to care one bit. Apple TV has been described as a "hobby" for Steve Jobs and unfortunately, this means it gets no attention because Steve is way too busy worrying about iPHones and iPads to play with any hobby devices. Like the Mac, if Steve wants to focus on iOS devices, he should appoint someone else to be in charge of Macs and Apple TV as he clearly does not have time to keep them properly up-to-date and in good competition with the rest of the industry.
And have you ever used a Imac? Not seeing how the current version is using mobile parts and you cant beat that 27 in display. Seems like a true Desktop to me.
The 27" model (only) has an option for a quad-core CPU and they (all) do use 3.5" hard drives, but the GPU used in ALL iMacs are mobile versions from everything I've read (some mobility chips are desktop chips purposely clocked lower to reduce heat/power consumption, but it's still the "mobile" version of the chip).
2.5" hard drives can be just as fast as 3.5" ones (my new replacement drive for my MBP is a 7200 RPM 500GB model and it's slightly faster than my 3.5" Seagate 1.5TB Barracudas used in my server) so that's not the real problem. GPUs are the real problem. The primary advantage of desktop computers over mobile ones is the ability to do things like play games and gaming needs good GPUs. Even the Mac Pro is using out-of-date desktop GPUs so it's not exactly a great option even if you have the money.
My point here is that Apple needs a real consumer desktop for things like gaming and other GPU intensive tasks. A mobile chipset just doesn't cut it. With companies like Steam TRYING to support Apple it's a shame Apple doesn't really want to support them. You'd think that Steve would have learned from the iPod Touch that gaming is IMPORTANT and that it shouldn't be overlooked just because he isn't very interested in it. Computers aren't about Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs is supposed to be about computers.
Let consumers determine what they want to do with the product. Apple's job is to provide the hardware and software support needed to facilitate that. Apparently movies and music is good, but gaming is not except on touch-screen devices? That makes no sense. I hate a lack of real controls on the iPod Touch for many games for that matter. It cannot replace a joystick or keyboard/mouse combo for certain types of games. In fact, they should have a way to use those on iPads, for example with the docking station if they even want to think about real gaming support. It would also make sense for a future AppleTV to be able to play those types of games, but that means it needs a remote/pad or joystick controls to replace the touch screen.
For that matter, I don't understand why Apple doesn't have an iOS gaming interface for Macs (maybe inside iTunes?). There is no technical reason iOS apps couldn't run on a Mac and there are a lot of games that would be fun to play on a larger screen/controls than an iPod Touch can offer. I mean if I'm at home and want to play a certain game, why should I have to suffer with a tiny screen when I've got 24" monitors nearby? Either that or the developers should offer (and Apple should support an easy conversion method) Mac versions of their games assuming they think they're worth more than a cheap diversion on an airplane. This would also give Mac gaming a bit of a boost.
It would entirely destroy the mini HD camcorder market and get more iOS devices in the consumer's hands.
