Mac Mini Photos and Details

[JeffTL]

Remember that the Mac Mini is basically an iBook G4 without all the parts that make an iBook cost at least twice as much -- the battery, the LCD, and even the keyboard and trackpad.

And an iBook G4 is a pretty nice computer.

 

[Hoffer]

Though in reality, if you really need a faster hd, you really shouldn't be looking at the mini at all - or if you will be editing lots of videos, just get an external 7200rpm firewire drive.

Please don't take this as an attack, but it bugs me when people say this. 🙂

The reason I'm getting a mini is because it's the perfect size for me. I have a Dell XPS Gen3 PC hooked up to an 18 and 20 inch LCD. I have absolutely no room for anything more than a mini on my desk. I seriously thought about buying a 17" iMac, but I've got no room for it. The only place I could put it is on my kitchen table and that would be lame.

I also want to put a 7,200 RPM drive in my mini(when I get it), because I want to squeeze every bit of performance out of this thing. I would love it if it had this option and if I could get a G5 on it and any other cool thing they could cram in there.

The main reason I'm buying a Mac mini is because of its size. To be honest, I wouldn't even mind if the thing was 2-3 times larger. I have room for that too. 🙂

 

[MacNeXT]

Please don't take this as an attack, but it bugs me when people say this. 🙂

I agree. Right now I have an iBook G4 1,2GHz with 512MB ram and 30GB 4200 rpm drive. I develop software, mainly in Java. Many people regard developers as power users, who require state of the art hardware, and heck I would love to have a PowerBook or a G5 but the iBook fits my needs perfectly.

The fact is that the Mac Mini may be targeted at not-so-power-hungry consumers, but there are always people who don't fit the intended target and buy the product anyway. Those people are the ones that take the risk of opening up the case to put their own memory and hard-drive in. They are the "special cases", and often the REAL tech savvy people. They make it fit their needs if it doesn't.

Because the Mac Mini is such a revolutionary product, it attracts a lot of those people. Apple probably knows this, and they're fine with it. There are a lot of those people on this forum - including me.

 

[dejo]

The reason I'm getting a mini is because it's the perfect size for me

Well, it is unfortunate that Apple was not able to release a product that was built specifically to fit your needs. I don't know what Apple was thinking. If they continue to put out new products that do not satisfy the needs of every single consumer out there, they are surely going to go out of business soon.

 

[SonySnake]

For surfing and email, no. But for running iLife? Hell, yeah.

Still have a 60 GB 4200 RPM hard drive in my 17" Powerbook last time I checked, I have yet to find a high end app photoshop through final cut that it doesn't handle

 

[numediaman]

You're right, no one who has a laptop has ever successfully used iLife.

You forgot the 😉 , right? At least, I hope so.

 

[areyouwishing]

Remember that the Mac Mini is basically an iBook G4 without all the parts that make an iBook cost at least twice as much -- the battery, the LCD, and even the keyboard and trackpad.

And an iBook G4 is a pretty nice computer.

Contrary to popular belief, the mini is not based on the Cube or even the iBook G4. According to sources, the mini is based on the USB 2.0-enabled eMac and shares many of the same technical specifications, including the same processor, system bus, DDR RAM, graphics chipset, USB 2.0, FireWire 400, AirPort, Bluetooth, and an Apple Internal 56K V.92 Fax Modem.

http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=850

 

[billystlyes]

Just got home from work and got my

little friend set up. First thoughts and insight.. It's a sweet little machine! 😀

Friends posted some nice pictures on their site.

http://www.123macmini.com/pictures

 

[T.Rex]

You forgot the 😉 , right? At least, I hope so.

Of course! I am a defender of the mini! I love it so much I just bought one with a 20" cinema display!!! 😀

 

[T.Rex]

Still have a 60 GB 4200 RPM hard drive in my 17" Powerbook last time I checked, I have yet to find a high end app photoshop through final cut that it doesn't handle

Ahmen.

 

[Kramer]

Note:

All computer's on Apple's top seller list have dropped off the list except the Mac Mini.

 

[SodaPopMonster]

Hmm.

Some people here haven't realized that a computer is more that a spec chart.

monster

 

[nylon]

Here are pictures of a Mac mini taken apart and an excellent comparison review at Macintouch:

Review:
http://www.macintouch.com/perfpack/comparison.html

Pics:
http://homepage.mac.com/maanerud/PhotoAlbum1.html

I would like to see some step by step pics of someone doing a hard drive replacement (I believe Kevin Rose will be doing this shortly). I personally would like to squeeze the most out of the mini. I have a Thinkpad T40 in which I put in a Hitachi 60GB 7200RPM drive and the performance gain was unbelievable; it was like a completely new machine. This is exactly what I would want to do with the mini.

I'm having lots of fun reading all the commentary and analysis going around about the Mini. Personally I have never owned a Mac and have usually built my own PC's. A friend of mine at the University of Toronto got a 15" powerbook and I was mesmerized by OS X (mind you I was equally mesmerized by the price). Nevertheless, this is the most excited I have been about a piece of computer equipment and more importantly the kind of software that it comes natively with.

I'm still contemplating wheather to wait till the release of Tiger. I believe Apple will release two more models of the Mac mini when Tiger is released with a slightly beefier graphics card. This would be, and has been, the standard Apple move in the last couple of years. Diversifyng the product line will definitely benefit them in the end (even if the price is jacked by $100).

I'm getting impatient.....must resist the temptation to buy!!!

Oh yeah, and another thing, I hope someone releases an affordable DVI KVM that is reliable. (Don't even mention the Belkin one, it's been pulled because of serious quality issues)

 

[Platform]

Here are pictures of a Mac mini taken apart and an excellent comparison review at Macintouch:

Review:
http://www.macintouch.com/perfpack/comparison.html

Pics:
http://homepage.mac.com/maanerud/PhotoAlbum1.html

I would like to see some step by step pics of someone doing a hard drive replacement (I believe Kevin Rose will be doing this shortly). I personally would like to squeeze the most out of the mini. I have a Thinkpad T40 in which I put in a Hitachi 60GB 7200RPM drive and the performance gain was unbelievable; it was like a completely new machine. This is exactly what I would want to do with the mini.

I'm having lots of fun reading all the commentary and analysis going around about the Mini. Personally I have never owned a Mac and have usually built my own PC's. A friend of mine at the University of Toronto got a 15" powerbook and I was mesmerized by OS X (mind you I was equally mesmerized by the price). Nevertheless, this is the most excited I have been about a piece of computer equipment and more importantly the kind of software that it comes natively with.

I'm still contemplating wheather to wait till the release of Tiger. I believe Apple will release two more models of the Mac mini when Tiger is released with a slightly beefier graphics card. This would be, and has been, the standard Apple move in the last couple of years. Diversifyng the product line will definitely benefit them in the end (even if the price is jacked by $100).

I'm getting impatient.....must resist the temptation to buy!!!

Oh yeah, and another thing, I hope someone releases an affordable DVI KVM that is reliable. (Don't even mention the Belkin one, it's been pulled because of serious quality issues)

Finaly we got some pic's from the inside with the heatsink and ram raken apart++ 😀

 

[sjl]

The fact is that the Mac Mini may be targeted at not-so-power-hungry consumers, but there are always people who don't fit the intended target and buy the product anyway. Those people are the ones that take the risk of opening up the case to put their own memory and hard-drive in. They are the "special cases", and often the REAL tech savvy people. They make it fit their needs if it doesn't.

Because the Mac Mini is such a revolutionary product, it attracts a lot of those people. Apple probably knows this, and they're fine with it. There are a lot of those people on this forum - including me.

*raises hand*

Already have a 1.25 GHz AlBook; the Mac Mini will be sitting at home on my desk as a second Mac. I've been toying with the idea of getting back into programming, and the Mac Mini is a perfect second system for me to do that. (The fact that the project I have in mind needs two Macs for development work is completely beside the point. 😀) I don't give a damn about the hard drive speed; memory's the only concern, and I've ordered a 1 GB stick of RAM to go into the Mini ($150 or so less than Apple's pricing, so even with installation charges, I win.) Completely different to what Apple intended for the Mac Mini I'm sure, but they win out nonetheless; had they not released the Mac Mini, I probably wouldn't have bought another system for at least another year.

Anybody in Melbourne (Australia) want a 256 MB PC2700 stick of RAM? 🙂 Delivery around March sometime. 😛

 

[billystlyes]

Been playing around all night with the mini...

wait that does not sound right! Anyways I must say I'm pretty impressed with this litte box. Cannot hear it running although the slot drive is kind of loud. The finish and style are great. Only thing bad so far is iLife 05 did not come pre-loaded had to install from dvd. Speed is alright nothing to brag about, video card seems to be a little weak, 64 mb would have been alot better. I would have to give it 3 out 4 stars, it would have been a 3 1/2 if the video memory was a tad better. But over all this is a winner.


http://www.123macmini.com/pictures

 

[Platform]

When will the service manual be on apple's web site in their support section 😕

 

[Lacero]

wait that does not sound right! Anyways I must say I'm pretty impressed with this litte box. Cannot hear it running although the slot drive is kind of loud. The finish and style are great. Only thing bad so far is iLife 05 did not come pre-loaded had to install from dvd. Speed is alright nothing to brag about, video card seems to be a little weak, 64 mb would have been alot better. I would have to give it 3 out 4 stars, it would have been a 3 1/2 if the video memory was a tad better. But over all this is a winner.


http://www.123macmini.com/pictures

How much RAM did you get for it? Plus, the slot load is about as loud as the ones on the PBs and iBooks.

 

[Platform]

wait that does not sound right! Anyways I must say I'm pretty impressed with this litte box. Cannot hear it running although the slot drive is kind of loud. The finish and style are great. Only thing bad so far is iLife 05 did not come pre-loaded had to install from dvd. Speed is alright nothing to brag about, video card seems to be a little weak, 64 mb would have been alot better. I would have to give it 3 out 4 stars, it would have been a 3 1/2 if the video memory was a tad better. But over all this is a winner.


http://www.123macmini.com/pictures

How does the performance of iLife and other apps since some people have said that the HDD is too slow for big apps to work nice 🙄

 

[misr12]

Anyone criticizing the Mac mini

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.

Finally, I read a posts that makes sense. Apple got this one right.
They have put out an affordable Mac for swithcers that offers them a great virus free mac experience.

 

[numediaman]

Finally, I read a posts that makes sense. Apple got this one right.
They have put out an affordable Mac for swithcers that offers them a great virus free mac experience.

Then you won't want to hear this story:

I lined up at the Apple Store this morning with a moderately large group of potential mini buyers. About half were loyal mac users, the rest switchers -- which I found encouraging. While we waited for the store to open, we Mac users talked about the Mac OS and about what it would be like to use their new mini.

The store opened a few minutes before nine to accommodate people and we were herded into a line at the register. None of the Apple store people were very interested in helping anyone -- it reminded me of Best Buy.

The enthusiasm of people dipped immediately. Next was the realization that only base models would be available -- Apple had not sent upgrade kits to the store. No upgrades would be possible. No RAM upgrades, no Airport Cards, etc.

A couple of people happily bought their minis, but the rest turned around and left. No one wanted a computer like what Apple was selling out of the box. No switchers had bought their first Macs.

By 9:05 the store was empty (and I didn't buy my mini, either.)

Later, on the way home, I called CDW to see if they were stocking minis. They said they had minis in stock, but could not upgrade the ram for same day delivery. Plus, they were selling the RAM upgrades for considerable more than normal for the mini. According to the representative, the 256 meg chip in the mini is worthless to them, so they just leave it in the box. As a result, a 512 RAM upgrade would cost you $119 plus an installation charge. 1 gig upgrades would cost $449 plus installation -- but was not available anyway because they did not have the chips in stock.

I was concerned about people not understanding the "no monitor -- no keyboard" approach. But in the end, switchers understood this. It is that fact that Apple can not deliver the computer they want that caused the loss of sales.

EDIT: Just to let you know that I am not a Mac basher . . . I just went online and placed my mini order. I finally decided on the 1.42 Ghz mini with added RAM, Airport Card & Bluetooth. It quoted me 3 to 4 weeks -- plus five days for delivery. Being a Mac user I guess I will have to wait -- but switchers will not like having to wait this long for their first Mac. Imagine what it was like for those who bought a G5 PowerMac when they were introduced as their first Mac!

 

[BanditBill]

My Apple Store ordered custom configs

My Apple dealer was smart enough to order custom configs to sell to walk in customers. They won't receive their stock until Jan 29th though.

I still ordered my custom config through them, just incase they didn't bring in exactly what I want.

I never feel like I'm walking into Best Buy when I shop there. The sales staff are
honest, helpful, knowledgable and courteous.

 

[aswitcher]

Then you won't want to hear this story:

I lined up at the Apple Store this morning with a moderately large group of potential mini buyers. About half were loyal mac users, the rest switchers -- which I found encouraging. While we waited for the store to open, we Mac users talked about the Mac OS and about what it would be like to use their new mini.

The store opened a few minutes before nine to accommodate people and we were herded into a line at the register. None of the Apple store people were very interested in helping anyone -- it reminded me of Best Buy.

The enthusiasm of people dipped immediately. Next was the realization that only base models would be available -- Apple had not sent upgrade kits to the store. No upgrades would be possible. No RAM upgrades, no Airport Cards, etc.

A couple of people happily bought their minis, but the rest turned around and left. No one wanted a computer like what Apple was selling out of the box. No switchers had bought their first Macs.

By 9:05 the store was empty (and I didn't buy my mini, either.)

Later, on the way home, I called CDW to see if they were stocking minis. They said they had minis in stock, but could not upgrade the ram for same day delivery. Plus, they were selling the RAM upgrades for considerable more than normal for the mini. According to the representative, the 256 meg chip in the mini is worthless to them, so they just leave it in the box. As a result, a 512 RAM upgrade would cost you $119 plus an installation charge. 1 gig upgrades would cost $449 plus installation -- but was not available anyway because they did not have the chips in stock.

I was concerned about people not understanding the "no monitor -- no keyboard" approach. But in the end, switchers understood this. It is that fact that Apple can not deliver the computer they want that caused the loss of sales.

EDIT: Just to let you know that I am not a Mac basher . . . I just went online and placed my mini order. I finally decided on the 1.42 Ghz mini with added RAM, Airport Card & Bluetooth. It quoted me 3 to 4 weeks -- plus five days for delivery. Being a Mac user I guess I will have to wait -- but switchers will not like having to wait this long for their first Mac. Imagine what it was like for those who bought a G5 PowerMac when they were introduced as their first Mac!

Yeah I think this problem with Apple only supply low end configs is fixable BUT I think the marketing guys and likely the line supply guys are stalling Apple.

For example when I went to get the 17" I have it cost under $140 US to upgrade the graphics card and HDD speed, plus the suualy to put more ram into it (a damn site easier than the Mini fortunetely). The problem was that it seemed many people were doing the same upgrades (on a $3000 US dollar machine that's hardly supprising right) and they all had to be Build To Order in Asia causing 2-4 weeks delay...

Apple dont seem to plan for or want to risk any stock by building higher end models and shipping them to stores. It really is annoying since I think many people here have posted for example about the Mac Mini getting the WiFi and BT upgrade, as well as 512 Ram, plus the Superdrive. Surely Apple could see that one coming.

For me the Mac Mini should have a deluxe modelled, the 1.42 with everything plus half a gig of ram, sitting on the shelf of all Apple stores for switchers and a sizable part of the Mac Mini buying market to get right away. Such a config if built in bulk could even offer a slight discount on the sum of its parts...

 

[davesipaq]

Thats why I preordered mine. It was quite funny, people were waiting in NJ for an hour and I walked up and said,"Anyone looking to upgrade the mini?" Everyones hands went up. I told them that the store wasnt going to do any upgrades and everyone was ticked!

 

[uv23]

Here are pictures of a Mac mini taken apart and an excellent comparison review at Macintouch:

Review:
http://www.macintouch.com/perfpack/comparison.html

Wow that's a real eye opener.

Apple is using the G5's special "slewing" feature to reduce heat and power drain, and the result is a real bottleneck. In real, everyday applications, Apple's cheap G4 systems may well pace the fancy G5 models at a half or third the cost.

Very sobering for thosse people clamoring for a G5 powerbook (myself included).