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Mac Mini End Of Life?

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i also hope the mini is not discontinued!

A mini with 2GB (4GB upgrade max) and dedicated graphics would be so amazing. For me it would be better than the mac pro. I could edit video on it well enough and do without the £2000 headache.

You could then buy a 7200rpm drive to boot off and another to use a scratch.

Here's hoping...
 
Hmmz, no news about the Mini so far. Apple clearly has a tendency toward smaller (and yes, trendier) products. The only problem is that this is at the expense of raw performance and/or price (just look at MB vs MB Air).

I for one hope they do not continue this trend. I think the Mini is already small enough. I even wouldn't mind if the Mini got three times as big, if that means that laptop parts can be dropped and expandibility increased. Of course they would never present it as such, instead they would EOL the current Mini and name it something else. But to be honest, I don't see it happen anytime soon.

I believe the Mac Nano actually has a chance of actually being released. It's that, a true EOL or just a refresh (upgrade to Santa).
 
*groan*

real shame that apple, real shame.

The mac pro only got a mention in passing apparently. I'm getting a bit worried about apples obsession with making useless toys.
 
Im surprised, I really thought they were going to kill it after such a lackluster bump that had almost no mention last time. Its why I use a iMac. Got to have GPU. Oh well maybe in March.:eek:
 
So, nothing new about the Mini. I have been planning to buy a Mini since Christmas, but decided to wait until today. Since they didn't even mention the Mini, how likely is it that they will upgrade it shortly? I'm a bit uncertain whether I shoud buy now, or wait (wait for what?).

I guess I could wait a month or so, but preferrably not more. What should I do?
 
kyrre12 said:
So, nothing new about the Mini. I have been planning to buy a Mini since Christmas, but decided to wait until today. Since they didn't even mention the Mini, how likely is it that they will upgrade it shortly? I'm a bit uncertain whether I shoud buy now, or wait (wait for what?).

I guess I could wait a month or so, but preferrably not more. What should I do?
Click to expand...

I was in your exact shoes at this exact moment last year...waiting for MWSF for a mini refresh and being disappointed. I ended up waiting until the August refresh and I'm quite happy with my mini, despite its critics (I won't get into the discussion again; you can always read the first 650 posts if this thread if you're interested:)), so with that hindsight I would recommend that you buy one now: it's a good little machine with a tiny footprint that rocks with my 22" monitor and an external HD. The odds of it getting the sort of upgrade that the people here (including me) would like (GPU, more upgradability, etc.) are pretty unlikely, and even if it did it would become a different computer in a different place in the Apple lineup. Of course you never know what's around the corner, but I can honestly say that I'd still be happy with my mini no matter what might come out tomorrow.
 
I'm in the same boat.

I was thinking the same since Christmas. I have some money put aside and was hoping for a mini with a GPU to hook up to my 40" bravia and use as a media centre. I've decided to just go for a top spec mini, and use the change to get a Ps3. At the end of the day, if the nano or whatever comes out a few months down the line, you can always stick the mini on E-bay....

A wee question, and excuse my ignorance, but can you get 1080p out the DVI, or VGA on the mini?
 
Guys, let's look at what happened today:
- new, smaller Core 2 Duo
- new MacBook Air SuperDrive (Size: 5.47 x 5.47 x 0.67 inches; 139 x 139 x 17 mm)
- Time Capsule (rougly the same size as an Apple TV, and it has a 3.5" drive)

So, either the Mac mini will get bigger, like a thick Apple TV with better features than the current Mac mini (such as X3100 or better and a 3.5" drive) or it will get even smaller (say, oh, about 5.47 x 5.47 inches?) :p

Take your Mac mini and remove about 1 inch on each side... then imagine the PC makers trying to match that - again!

This new Mac nano could be made even cheaper and smaller by not having an optical drive either, since they now have that drive in the same form factor available for sale separately! So, remove about half an inch in height from your current Mac mini too! That would be small!

If we take the current size of the Mac mini, that would mean a Mac nano around 5.47 x 5.47 x 1.5" :eek:

I, for one, would prefer a slightly bigger Mac mini with better features, however. :D
 
why does small always have to be better? Why does the mini need to be made smaller? Who is saying - "the mini is too big, i wish it was an inch smaller all the way round"

I'm quite happy with the mini becoming bigger if it means bigger HDD, graphics etc

The mini is not a portable device - it sits on/under your desk and size really doesn't come into it.
 
fluidedge said:
why does small always have to be better? Why does the mini need to be made smaller? Who is saying - "the mini is too big, i wish it was an inch smaller all the way round"

I'm quite happy with the mini becoming bigger if it means bigger HDD, graphics etc

The mini is not a portable device - it sits on/under your desk and size really doesn't come into it.
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I couldn't agree more on the size. However, the Mac mini doesn't even have to be this small in the first place. If they really only wanted to make an entry-level computer, then 2.5" hard drives and slot-loading optical drives weren't good choices to start with, price-wise.

The MacBook Air is a good example. Yes, a smaller keyboard and a smaller screen aren't as good as full-sized versions. However, making a laptop thinner doesn't make it more portable (IMHO). It sure is impressive, but if we purely talk about the required surface/area, the MacBook Air is too big and pratically the same size as a regular MacBook. Apple isn't really targetting the whole sub-notebook market, only the weight.

So, for the Mac mini, I guess Apple wanted to have the smallest desktop computer on the market, not the best or cheapest. The new smaller Core 2 Duo and the MacBook Air SuperDrive makes me think a "Mac nano" could be even smaller than a Mac mini, even if we could all use something a bit bigger with better specs. Let's just hope, if it comes true, that Apple doesn't put a 1.8" drive in the Mac nano. :eek:.

Bigger Mac mini or smaller Mac nano, what will Apple do? Only Steve Jobs knows. ;)
 
If Apple can put a 3.5" HD in a Time Capsule, then they can put one in a slightly larger Mac mini. The larger footprint leaves room for more RAM slots/ a better processor etc. Either way, in its current form factor, with Apple's current refresh cycle for the Mac mini (read: .1 GHz updates every 6 months), it just doesn't make sense to buy one over an iMac for many people.

As already mentioned, this is sitting on a desk, not travelling around the world.
 
BlizzardBomb said:
If Apple can put a 3.5" HD in a Time Capsule, then they can put one in a slightly larger Mac mini. The larger footprint leaves room for more RAM slots/ a better processor etc. Either way, in its current form factor, with Apple's current refresh cycle for the Mac mini (read: .1 GHz updates every 6 months), it just doesn't make sense to buy one over an iMac for many people.

As already mentioned, this is sitting on a desk, not travelling around the world.
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well i disagree as my mac mini has accumulated a hefty amount of miles over the years

i'm a student and i have my own flat/room for studying and at home in my parents house my own room ... and i change back and forth a few times a year for a few weeks/months for which a notebook would be overkill and i prefer having a nice external screen for main work (22" in my flat, 19" at home) and external keyboard

the mini easily fits into a backpack when traveling home by train so it's no hassle whatsoever

and looking at last 3 years with the mini now i never had a problem with my hardware or *grasp* a failing battery


the only problem is that for my next computer where i would want more 3D performance i'm stuck with the current line up from apple... before i buy an imac, which is just a laptop without being portable, i buy a normal cheap macbook and load it up with 4 GB of ram and forget about 3D performance in an mac yet again for another few years
 
takao said:
well i disagree as my mac mini has accumulated a hefty amount of miles over the years

i'm a student and i have my own flat/room for studying and at home in my parents house my own room ... and i change back and forth a few times a year for a few weeks/months for which a notebook would be overkill and i prefer having a nice external screen for main work (22" in my flat, 19" at home) and external keyboard

the mini easily fits into a backpack when traveling home by train so it's no hassle whatsoever

and looking at last 3 years with the mini now i never had a problem with my hardware or *grasp* a failing battery


the only problem is that for my next computer where i would want more 3D performance i'm stuck with the current line up from apple... before i buy an imac, which is just a laptop without being portable, i buy a normal cheap macbook and load it up with 4 GB of ram and forget about 3D performance in an mac yet again for another few years
Click to expand...

Hehe, it's why I said "for many people" not everyone. :)

Then again, I'd imagine you wouldn't too much of a problem fitting something roughly Airport Extreme sized in a backpack. And the gains would be up to 1 TB at 7,200rpm instead of a pricey 2.5" 160 GB at 5,400rpm.
 
BlizzardBomb said:
Hehe, it's why I said "for many people" not everyone. :)

Then again, I'd imagine you wouldn't too much of a problem fitting something roughly Airport Extreme sized in a backpack. And the gains would be up to 1 TB at 7,200rpm instead of a pricey 2.5" 160 GB at 5,400rpm.
Click to expand...

true but it also would increase amount of heat and power usage which might not really be worth it time wise especially since i can keep a quite bunch of space free with my, i don't even think it's 5,400 rpm, 80 GB harddisk

after all my big space wasters are all on the windows computers ( games use a lot ...)

sure the additional speed would be nice that's for sure but i think laptop drives will improve there too


one thing i found interesting though is that apple could produce an even cheaper low end computer the size of the mac mini: with using the Intel Essential Series D201GLY2 board for example....
mini-ITX with intigrated ultra low voltage celeron 1.2 ghz cpu, 6 usb, 2 sata and integrated graphics
price 50-60 euro
that's like nothing if you want to built a small no thrills computer for surfing, email etc.
 
Mac mini tower?
 

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I ordered my Mini today

Well, since they didn't get an update yesterday, I decided to pull the trigger on a 2GHz Mini today. I custom ordered it with 2G of RAM, the 160G hard drive, and the wireless keyboard and mighty mouse. My plan is to hook it up to my 42" Sharp Aquos in the living room to play our home movies on, and my iTunes music. I'll probably also order the NewerTech MiniStack v3 case and a Seagate hard drive to keep all of my media on. For what I'm doing with it, it should have no problems keeping up (heck, it's probably faster than my PowerMac 2.3GHz G5). I can't wait to try out Leopard and the new iLife suite.

Now if only Apple would update the Macbook Pro...
 
Hi,

im an online poker player and have both a 24'' and 20'' screen. My question is whether the graphics in the mac mini is fast enough for running 8 poker tables and some other stuff on a 24'' screen and whether it is possible to use 2 screens. Because im unsure between mac mini and imac (imac would mean i have 3 screen then lol). I also wnated to wait for the mac nano,...but there doesnt seem to come one out?
 
mwsh2000 said:
Well, since they didn't get an update yesterday, I decided to pull the trigger on a 2GHz Mini today. I custom ordered it with 2G of RAM... For what I'm doing with it, it should have no problems keeping up (heck, it's probably faster than my PowerMac 2.3GHz G5). I can't wait to try out Leopard and the new iLife suite.
Click to expand...
Congrats! 2 GB RAM was a good idea! You're gonna love your new Mac mini.
That Intel Core 2 Duo is very impressive at 667 MHz bus speed! My new 1.83 GHz Core 2 Duo with 1 GB RAM is awesome running a 22'' Samsung wide ratio LCD! Leopard is AMAZING!
Benchmark overall scores for your 2.3 GHz G5 are 2108.
The 2.0 GHz C2D Mac mini scored 2594!
Let us know how it runs with your 42'' Sharp!
Enjoy!
 

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I too was disappointed with the overall outcome of MWSF.

I already jail broke my iPod Touch so ive had those apps + some for free since day 1.

Mac Book Air is a waste of money. It truly is. Its a novelty computer.

The only thing that I saw thats awesome is Time Capsule. Wireless router and a media server basically.

I called Apple today to ask if the Mini at its highest specs could run Final Cut Pro 6, and they flat out said no. Which means that they have tested it with all the programs involved etc. and it really doesn't work since the GPU is drawing RAM from the entire system.

As previously said, the iMac is just a MacBook Pro on a stand. Which makes it a heck of a lot cheaper but leave a lot of people wondering 'why not just get a MPB?!?"

And the Mac Pro is uber expansive and not really necessary for the prosumer.

No one cares about the prosumer any more. Its either ****** and cheap or good an expensive. Or ****** and expensive as in the case of the Air.

IDK, im prob gonna have to bite the bullet and get a iMac within the next year. Maybe ill wait until MWSF 09 for a Mini Tower.
 
Won't say that I was disappointed by MWSF (Air is impressive), just was hoping for a bit more with the MacMini (and more synchronicity among the Mini and AppleTV, though the new TimeMachines make for a really workable home multimedia base, too late for though). Fortunately, I have the wherewithal to make a choice and spending the extra for the flexibility of the Mac Pro is an acceptable choice. I would have loved, however, if Apple had refreshed the Mini with a faster processor and some more hardward flexibility. Though I'm not a total Mac fanatic, Mac is still the most user-friendly software and hardware out there. I am willing to pay a bit more for the ease of use, and the trade-off is worth it to me.
 
arj8138 said:
I called Apple today to ask if the Mini at its highest specs could run Final Cut Pro 6, and they flat out said no. Which means that they have tested it with all the programs involved etc. and it really doesn't work since the GPU is drawing RAM from the entire system.
Click to expand...

I'm no expert on this subject, but I don't think it's quite as simple as Apple's official commentary: check out this thread in its entirety for some good advice:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/381344/

I looked into it because I too know some people who use various parts of the Final Cut Pro suite on integrated graphics machines with great results...apparently some parts of the suite work 100%, while others are problematic.
 
shikimo said:
I looked into it because I too know some people who use various parts of the Final Cut Pro suite on integrated graphics machines with great results...apparently some parts of the suite work 100%, while others are problematic.
Click to expand...

Yeah I had a friend that ran Final Cut Pro / LiveType / Soundtrack OK on her Mini, I mean not awesome but it launched...

She ended up ditching it for a MBP later on down the line. I always chalked it up to the PPC processor, but maybe it was the integrated graphics.


If im spending $700 on a suite I want to be able to use all of it....not too much to ask eh?
 
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