Mac mini Now Shipping

[Platform]

If anyone is interested I've set up a project to build a Mac Media Center based on the Mac mini.

Have quite a few members, still looking for programmers and suggestions.

http://mrzippy.org.uk/macmediacenter/

Sounds very good but I don't know any programing on mac
Looks like we are going to have a lot of good stuff comming for the mac mini and a big community dedicated to it

 

[mrzippy]

If Mac mini as a Media Center takes off I bet Apple with suddenly add 5.1 out and release their own Media Center.

We can only hope.

Lets hope the MMC project takes off

 

[Platform]

If Mac mini as a Media Center takes off I bet Apple with suddenly add 5.1 out and release their own Media Center.

We can only hope.

Lets hope the MMC project takes off

I hope that it does not go too far becasue i want to be able to use this as a good computer for Tiger, iLife, iWork, Photoshop ++ not just a box to record from the TV with or as an iTunes streaming center

 

[ntg]

If Mac mini as a Media Center takes off I bet Apple with suddenly add 5.1 out and release their own Media Center.

We can only hope.

Lets hope the MMC project takes off

...It makes you wonder about 'Asteroid' doesn't it.....

Is that mac mini audio socket also fibre?

Nig.

 

[nagromme]

The only problem that the Mac mini has is that it has no major function that will draw in people like the iPod did. The OS is not enough, if it was more Macs would be sold. The Mac mini needs a killer app that will make having a second computer something anyone can swallow.

First-glance draw: small size and price. Both NEW factors to the Mac world.

Second-glance draw: the OS IS enough, IF people know about it. Reliability and ease-of-use matter.

Killer app: iLife '05 has several--bundled free!

But more universally desired: the lack of viruses/spyware.

Working against all those positives: ignorance of non-Windows options and the comfort of following the herd.

Working against those negatives: the iPod, Apple style, massive Apple press presence, growing Apple mindshare, and growing awareness of Windows' flaws. Every person who sees the light bulb adds more momentum.

Conclusion: the Mac Mini IS enough to draw significant numbers of new Mac users. Some right away--but most over time as awareness snowballs. One day that critical mass will be reached when the choice to use a Mac is widely seen as "OK" and not "out there." Macs will be on the radar of the uninformed majority.

Icing on the cake: if Apple actually PROMOTES the Mac Mini and Tiger in advertising. (I'm not one who thinks ads can explain OS details effectively--but they CAN draw people to the web site.) They might wish to wait until Tiger is out and/or Mac Mini supply/demand stabilizes.

 

[Laurent]

Just go into system prefs and set the perferred language to French... All your Apple apps will speak French just by turning that pref on. I could never understand people ordering a French version in America... Je parle de nous, évidemment.

The only benefit you will have will the French print on the box, the small highly illustrated manual (it is real tiny) and a delay.

On the other hand someone has to ask for a French box, but you realize you get the system that is sold in France, thus the delay.

c'est beaucoup plus rapide de prendre ce qui vient. Mac OS X est un système multilingue.

Voyons donc, comme si je n'avais jamais utilisé Mac OS X de ma vie! ;oP

The thing is, I like having my stuff (box, etc.) in french and honestly don't care about the delay that much. It shows that french is my first language, which can only help in maintaining french support in the future...

 

[JGowan]

Er, you're off by a factor of ten or so. I heard that there were 20,000 available at the SF Apple Store on release day, sold out within hours, and they're scheduled to manufacture 500,000 a month. I'm sure hundreds of thousands are preordered at this point.

Er, you heard wrong. Thanks to those who posted before me to validate what I said.

 

[LinuxGigolo]

I've had the same issue with Apple in the past. It's a good thing to know. They don't change orers, they cancel them and create new ones. Buyer beware...

They explained to me that this is what they were going to do when I called back on the 12th to change the RAM and HD in my mini. I was paranoid at first, but they told me it wouldn't affect my ship date. And it didn't.

 

[mikehelmick]

Mine Shipped

Mine just shipped & I actually ordered on the morning of the 12th.

FedEx from China - No estimated delivery date.

I ordered
1.25/512MB/80GB/SuperDrive
Didn't get wireless since this machine will sit next to my switch

I also ordered iWork, but that hasn't shipped yet..... I imagine that this is coming from California instead of China?

 

[ASP272]

Good job to Apple on the fast shipping!

 

[Lord Bodak]

Without a TV card the media center idea doesn't really work. eyeTV is nice, but I want the ability to have real-time TV (for the PS2 hooked up to it-- the 1-2 second delay doesn't really matter for regular TV).

 

[Azeron]

Mac mini vs Xbox

You know this little mac would be the perfect gaming console. With wifi and bluetooth, you can have quite a few wireless controllers, it connects to the internet, and the graphics processer is pretty good.... so yah, it would be pretty cool if it was a game system. Ship a stripped down version of OSX for gaming so you didn;t have all of the aqua overhead, and I could see this working pretty good.

Just a thought....

 

[spercharged69]

Congrats to those who got em. Me? The wait continues til the release of Tiger.

I'm beginning to wonder if you just have this reply on your clipboard so you can paste it in to any thread regarding the Mini. I think everyone here knows you're waiting for Tiger.

mikehelmick, what was your original ship date when you ordered on the 12th? I ordered two BTO Minis on the morning of the 15th, and my ship date STILL is 2/15. Hopefully I'll get them much sooner.

 

[azentropy]

Split Order

I ordered two Mac minis on the same order. One a stock 1.42, the other a 1.42 BTO w/AP. My order shows the BTO has shipped but not the stock... Thought it would have been the other way around...

Order Date
01/11/2005
12:50 PM PST

 

[sinisterdesign]

You know this little mac would be the perfect gaming console. With wifi and bluetooth, you can have quite a few wireless controllers, it connects to the internet, and the graphics processer is pretty good.... so yah, it would be pretty cool if it was a game system. Ship a stripped down version of OSX for gaming so you didn;t have all of the aqua overhead, and I could see this working pretty good.

Just a thought....

except for the high-def graphics & surround sound...

cool little 'puter, though. i'm just not sure the little 32MB Radeon could pump out frame rates like an Xbox. i could be wrong. i own an Xbox & a dual G4 and i've been bummed w/ the graphics on Worlds of Warcraft lately. i bought a new 128MB video card only to find that it didn't really help. it's still laggy & jittery even w/ the graphics level set low to moderate. so i have my doubts that a single G4 and a 32MB card could do any better.

 

[azentropy]

I ordered two Mac minis on the same order. One a stock 1.42, the other a 1.42 BTO w/AP. My order shows the BTO has shipped but not the stock... Thought it would have been the other way around...

Order Date
01/11/2005
12:50 PM PST

FedEX posted an update...

Estimated delivery date Jan 24, 2005 by 10:30 am

That stinks, especially when I upgraded to 2 day shipping.

Still keeping my fingers crossed for delivery Friday.

 

[wPod]

I bet they will ship by fri or sat. they are supposed to be in the mac stores by sat morning at 9am. i stopped by my local store hopping to pressure an employe into some insider information and sure enough i got what i came for. he said the store would have mini's in on the morning of the 22nd and that they would be opening early at 9am!!! i really want to go pick one up but if my gf gets her way in it then i wont be getting one :-/ i have a perefectly well working PB 867 so how can i convince her that i need a mini for fun and entertainment?!?! oh well, i guess i dont *need* one.

 

[Captnroger]

So anyone have any opinions on a switchbox to use to allow me to use my existing USB mouse/keyboard and vga display and flip-flop between the mini and my PC? I don't have any other USB perf. to share, just the mouse/keyboard and the display.

This is going to be cool.

 

[stealthboy]

If anyone is interested I've set up a project to build a Mac Media Center based on the Mac mini.

Have quite a few members, still looking for programmers and suggestions.

http://mrzippy.org.uk/macmediacenter/

Why not just work on MythTV? I have it running on my iMac, and it's the main reason why I'm buying a Mac mini. I have a Linux backend that records shows for me, then the frontend can run on my Mac or other Linux boxes.

http://www.mythtv.org/

There are plugins for videos, DVD, music, weather, etc, in addition to the standard Television capabilities.

 

[mikehelmick]

mikehelmick, what was your original ship date when you ordered on the 12th? I ordered two BTO Minis on the morning of the 15th, and my ship date STILL is 2/15. Hopefully I'll get them much sooner.

My ship date read "est. before Jan 21st" until this morning when it shipped

 

[nina]

So anyone have any opinions on a switchbox to use to allow me to use my existing USB mouse/keyboard and vga display and flip-flop between the mini and my PC? I don't have any other USB perf. to share, just the mouse/keyboard and the display.

This is going to be cool.

Freaky.. I was JUST looking for this, too.

If you're in Canada, Future Shops sells a powered Cicero USB KVM switch for only $49.99. It's a lot cheaper than the $179 Belkin switch from the Apple store. The only big difference is that the Belkin supports audio sharing as well.

I don't really care about the video aspect, since I've got two monitors already. All I need is a way to share my Logitech MX Duo between my PC and this Mac mini. If this Cicero KVM works, it'd be sweet.

But like some other people ( ) I'm waiting for Tiger to ship before I buy.

 

[mimitche]

Apple made me mad. I ordered within 30 mins of the store coming back up (BTO, Superdrive and BT). I called the NEXT DAY to up it to 512RAM. The genious on the phone CANCELLED my previous order (due to arrive on Jan 22) and entered a whole new one, with the upped memory. Now it says its shipping on or before Feb 10th...

GRR....

I did the same thing but I just got shipping notification last night, even though it had an estimate of Feb 10th. Don't worry, you'll probably get it soon.

 

[mian]

FedEX posted an update...

Estimated delivery date Jan 24, 2005 by 10:30 am

That stinks, especially when I upgraded to 2 day shipping.

Still keeping my fingers crossed for delivery Friday.

Mine shows the 24th by 12:00. I'm hoping for Friday as well.

 

[wdlove]

They explained to me that this is what they were going to do when I called back on the 12th to change the RAM and HD in my mini. I was paranoid at first, but they told me it wouldn't affect my ship date. And it didn't.

If you were remembering the problems with shipping of the 2.5, your were correct to be paranoid. Many posted that they made a change in a specification on their 2.5 G5 and it delayed the shipping date significantly. Kudos to Apple, they learned from past mistakes.

 

[jncrow]

Looking forward to hearing how the little mac mini performs for you all. Checked out the link that was posted on another thread for http://www.macminireview.com/ and it is not up and running yet so no info there yet. All you that ordered them let the rest of us know. Please!