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Mac Mini Photos and Details
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SiliconAddict said:
So why make the original statement about the mini being unable to run Tiger, if you intended to contradict it a sentence later? But really, whatever...we both pointed out the same thing. No point in getting in a pissing match.
SiliconAddict said:
True, but I think that assumes that switchers - and we must believe that they are the target market - are going to know enough about Tiger to *want* CoreImage stuff. I would doubt that would be the case with the bells and whistles stuff like that ripple effect (which, interestingly, has disappeared from Apple's site). If there is a substantive effect on other areas - not allowing certain apps/major OS features to work, then I'd reevaluate. You may well be right, if a little cynical 🙂 in guessing Apple's motives for removing the GPU reqs. I think I recall some rumors to the effect that the CI specs hadn't yet been finalized; I'm going to be an optimist and assume that Apple will rejig them for minis.
maclamb said:
Amazing, indeed worth reading! 😱 😎
After using iTunes and iPod for more than a year, I find it "old school" to have to swap plastic discs to access my video library. 😀
Average DVD ~4GB. If H.264 really is about 75% smaller, that means the average movie would be about 1GB. Even on my DSL connection, that's not that big and worth the download (and less of a hassle than going to rent a DVD that might not even be in stock when I arrive).
SiliconAddict said:
That would also include all computers with a Radeon 9200/32MB, which is the eMacs and iBooks.
Wouldn't be such a dumb idea to include three models of computers in your next OS upgrade. 🙄
stealthboy
macrumors member
Anyone who is criticizing the Mac mini because of its specs ( not enough RAM< needs a 3.5" HD bay, etc) just doesn't get it. If you care about specs and stuff like this, then the Mac mini is not for you. Just buy an iMac or a G5 PowerMac! The Mac mini is meant for people who want the software experience to just work. They want iPhoto and iTunes and don't care about megabytes of RAM or the size of the HD. They want the excellent Mac experience.
So, please quit yer yapping. I see too many people going on about how Apple should have added Part A or Piece B to the Mac mini. Well that would raise the price above the magical $500 price point. The whole point of the Mac mini is to get a cheap, small, easy to use Apple into the hands of new users.
Let's get some perspective here, people! This is not the machine for a power user. Apple sells other machines for those users.
So, please quit yer yapping. I see too many people going on about how Apple should have added Part A or Piece B to the Mac mini. Well that would raise the price above the magical $500 price point. The whole point of the Mac mini is to get a cheap, small, easy to use Apple into the hands of new users.
Let's get some perspective here, people! This is not the machine for a power user. Apple sells other machines for those users.
Airport Extreme Added by Apple Store Tech?
Quick question:
I NEED the Airport Extreme card...rumor has it you can open these things w/o voiding the warranty, but I'd prefer for a tech in my Apple store to put it in for me (looks hard to do/easy to scratch the mini). Is this something they'd do? I'm sure it's going to be NUTS in there tomorrow when they open (AN HOUR EARLY!).
Quick question:
I NEED the Airport Extreme card...rumor has it you can open these things w/o voiding the warranty, but I'd prefer for a tech in my Apple store to put it in for me (looks hard to do/easy to scratch the mini). Is this something they'd do? I'm sure it's going to be NUTS in there tomorrow when they open (AN HOUR EARLY!).
stealthboy said:
True up to a point. You have to be careful here, though. Especially if the target audience already owns a cheap but fast WinBox with all sorts added stuff. Apple needs to try to impress them, at least to an extent. The size of the mini, and OS X/iLife will take care of most of that, but the specs still might seem anaemic to some, enough to make them decide to wait. This seems particularly possible after looking at Apple's apgrading policy for the mini: they can get a fair bit more expensive real fast!
stealthboy said:
But as so many have pointed out already, the slow HD (4200 RPM instead of, say, 5400 RPM) and low RAM (256MB) will lower the quality/speed of that "excellent Mac experience", and will probably give a bad image of anything "Mac" to switchers.
Granted, Apple can't really have 512MB in the Mac mini when even their lowest model of PowerMac only have 256MB. But why not "upgrade" all the computers to 512MB standard? Or will Tiger run really well with only 256MB? Problem is, the Mac mini doesn't ship with Tiger anyway.
stealthboy said:
Yes, the price point is the idea. But would a 5400 RPM HD cost really too much? We're talking 5400 here, not 7200.
Also, the two USB ports really will be a problem for switchers if they don't have a USB hub (and need to connect anything more than a keyboard and mouse, like a printer, scanner, camera, etc). I don't think it would've cost much to have 4 USB ports on the Mac mini. Having to buy a hub to fully use it goes against "small, easy to use".
And last, while a lot of potential buyers won't be comparing specs, some will, and a Radeon 9200/32MB just doesn't cut it anymore. I was personally hoping for that GeForce FX 5200 Ultra/64MB in the Mac mini. I guess I could get past that Radeon 9200, but not its small 32MB.
stealthboy said:
We're merely pointing basic flaws, nobody is asking for a G5/2Ghz, 1GB RAM, a 200GB 10000 RPM HD or a Radeon 9800 Pro/256MB at that price. 😀
stevehaslip
macrumors 6502a
the mac mini doesn't boast, it doesn't claim to do something it can't. Its a simple small computer for the average user who wants to check their email every so often and write a few letters.
Yvan256 said:
In addition, there were rumours ( I call it that because there was no indication on the original CoreImage pages) that you would need 64 MB of VRAM for CoreImage. Now, 12" PBs came with only 32 MB of VRAM until last April. So the last batch of those pro notebooks will be only a year old when Tiger comes out. It would be a shame if a year-old PB wouldn't be supported.
stealthboy
macrumors member
Yvan256 said:
I don't buy that... I have a G4 iMac with a 1.25Ghz chip and 256MB RAM. OS X is as smooth as can be, and I have no complaints. This is the same hardware spec as in the new mini!
Hmm, I don't think so. Most DVD's are dual layer, so that means 2x4.7 Gb, So you would have to download 2 GB. Cringely however is talking about downloading HD video and is comparing it to using HD-DVD or Blue-ray discs. These disc would allow for 25-50 Gb storage space. Now I don't know how fast his (or your) connection is, but downloading 25+ Gb is going to take a lot of time on your average DSL connection. Also Apple would need to have insane amounts of sever space and bandwidth to be able to serve that to thousands or maybe even hundred-thousands of users at the same time.Yvan256 said:
Sounds quite impossible to me. Cringely is known for his strange observations and predictions, I wouldn't take him to seriously 🙄
sjl said:
In addition to the points already mentioned there's also the fact that this would place you in a position where upgrading the RAM would mean stepping up to the rather expensive 1GB stick since there's only one stick of RAM in the machine. Having the only RAM upgrade cost as much or more than the base price probably wouldn't go over well.
swissmann
macrumors 6502a
It is so hard to tell how big something is from pictures on the web. However placed next to that hard drive and iPod this thing looks really small. It is also good to hear of the positive response from customers who have gotten theirs in the mail. Sounds like Apple has a hit.
SiliconAddict
macrumors 603
Mac-Xpert said:
A ripped uncompressed average length movie is aprox 3.blah GB in size. I don't see Apple putting out a movie store until a movie can be downloaded with less then 500-100MB of space. Why? Well not only does Apple have to eat the price of that bandwidth but ISP's would be screaming bloody murder if everyone and their mother was D/Ling 1GB movies off of Apple's servers. As it stands I've already gotten an E-mail from Comcast for downloading GB's of stuff off of bit torrent each month.
Secondly do you guys comprehend what kind of bandwidth is needed for D/Ling a GB? For the love of go Apple's expenses would go through the damn roof if a movie store was as successful as iTMS. Seriously. You guys throw out these grand ideas. Think about what potentially is involved. Until the file size drops significantly or unless Apple finds an innovative approach to D/Ling a file (Distributed downloads using Bit Torrent anyone?) they aren't going to go near a the movie distribution business. Now a DVR set top box is another matter. Once high def comes onto the scene in force...Apple is going to be all over that sucker.
System restore after upgrading HD?
Hey, I mini is sitting on a fedex truck waiting to be delived right now. Now, I have not had a mac since the my trusty old Plus, I have a question. I have a 60GB 7200 RPM drive in an external encosure right now that I want to swap with the internal drive on the mini. If I were to switch the drives out and then run the recovery CD, will the computer end up just like it did from the factory, or am I going to loose something in the process. I assume the recovery process is all inclusive, other then iLife 05 which I have read is on a second disc? I will then swap the 80GB drive into the external enclosure and I should be off. I figure with 512 and this faster drive I should be quite happy!
Coming from windows/linux where everything seems a bit more complicated I just wanted to verify this should be as easy as I hope it will be 🙂
Hey, I mini is sitting on a fedex truck waiting to be delived right now. Now, I have not had a mac since the my trusty old Plus, I have a question. I have a 60GB 7200 RPM drive in an external encosure right now that I want to swap with the internal drive on the mini. If I were to switch the drives out and then run the recovery CD, will the computer end up just like it did from the factory, or am I going to loose something in the process. I assume the recovery process is all inclusive, other then iLife 05 which I have read is on a second disc? I will then swap the 80GB drive into the external enclosure and I should be off. I figure with 512 and this faster drive I should be quite happy!
Coming from windows/linux where everything seems a bit more complicated I just wanted to verify this should be as easy as I hope it will be 🙂
XBench results
http://ladd.dyndns.org/xbench/merge.xhtml?doc1=91336
BTW:
The Mac Mini is not for email and surfing only.
I'm WORKING on a white G3 iBook - not only writing letters!
In combination with OSX it's a great unix workstation!
The Mac mini will replace it - and will be fast enough for my needs.
Not everybody needs a G5-Powermac, not everybody needs to rip dvds in realtime, not everybody wants to spend 2000$ for just having the coolest computer in orbus. No!
There are people goiing for an extra cup of coffee - 1500$ diffrence will be enough for some cup and a little skiing trip - while rendering, compiling an so on.
And for this kind of people, the Mac mini is fine.
All others go out an get the newest FW1600 datasette and USB3000 5 1/4" disc-drive ;-)
http://ladd.dyndns.org/xbench/merge.xhtml?doc1=91336
BTW:
The Mac Mini is not for email and surfing only.
I'm WORKING on a white G3 iBook - not only writing letters!
In combination with OSX it's a great unix workstation!
The Mac mini will replace it - and will be fast enough for my needs.
Not everybody needs a G5-Powermac, not everybody needs to rip dvds in realtime, not everybody wants to spend 2000$ for just having the coolest computer in orbus. No!
There are people goiing for an extra cup of coffee - 1500$ diffrence will be enough for some cup and a little skiing trip - while rendering, compiling an so on.
And for this kind of people, the Mac mini is fine.
All others go out an get the newest FW1600 datasette and USB3000 5 1/4" disc-drive ;-)
DPazdanISU
macrumors regular
Donlogan said:
I couldn't agree more...though I have to say this is a much better XBench:
http://ladd.dyndns.org/xbench/merge.xhtml?doc2=83485
The XBench I linked compares a mac mini and an imac G5 both of them with 512 Ram- From what it looks like the mac mini can definitly hold its own, thats y i ordered one 😀
