Mac Mini Released

[dicklacara]

If you were to buy 4 of these miniMacs, you could build a iCluster with them for the price of a G5.

But what could you do with it?

With Tiger Spotlight these could be repository/search servers for all your stuff: music, video, pictures, documents.

Also you could setup pretty sophisticated web site(s) with 1 or more of these boxes-- say a web server on one box, a database server on another, a web a pplication server (to generate dynamic database-driven web pages) on another.

 

[digitalbiker]

Does anyone know?



Does anyone know if the mac mini will boot without a keyboard, mouse, and/or montor attached? I know many systems will fail if no keyboard is detected.

The reason I am asking is that I thought the mini might be a great buy when Tiger is released. Rather than upgrade my powerbook with Tiger and ilife 05, Quicken, etc. I could buy a mac mini move the software to the Powerbook, and use the mini in target disk mode over firewire or networked on the airport as a backup disk and dvd burner.

Tiger will probably run $150.00, iLife05 $79.00, Quicken2005 $50.00, external dvd burner and/or firewire harddrive $250.00. Better off buying the mac mini.

Also does anyone think that a standard windows usb keyboard would work correctly, given that an Apple keyboard has unique key mappings to the return key, Apple key, and option key?

 

[mrzippy]

Does anyone know if the mac mini will boot without a keyboard, mouse, and/or montor attached? I know many systems will fail if no keyboard is detected.

The reason I am asking is that I thought the mini might be a great buy when Tiger is released. Rather than upgrade my powerbook with Tiger and ilife 05, Quicken, etc. I could buy a mac mini move the software to the Powerbook, and use the mini in target disk mode over firewire or networked on the airport as a backup disk and dvd burner.

Tiger will probably run $150.00, iLife05 $79.00, Quicken2005 $50.00, external dvd burner and/or firewire harddrive $250.00. Better off buying the mac mini.

Also does anyone think that a standard windows usb keyboard would work correctly, given that an Apple keyboard has unique key mappings to the return key, Apple key, and option key?

I mentioned the keyboard layout in a previous post, no replies yet.

A few examples from UK keyboard layout:
option = alt
command = alt gr
@ = "
" = @

Also note no # on UK Apple keyboard (alt 3 to get it) - very annoying.

As I said in my previous post the Mac mini needs a keyboard setup wizard or printed documentation so that switchers are not confused.

 

[SiliconAddict]

Yes, but that's still more cost to lump onto the total. And do you really think that people will want to keep their old 15" CRT and by this?? I think that's being naive. My whole point is that if you want to intice people away from the $499 Dell special, you have to do it for $499. I'm sorry, but the average person doesn't know about OS X or the advantages of using it over Windows. So, why on Earth would they spend $499 on a machine that isn't a complete system and would need a memory upgrade right out of the gate.

THIS IS NOT GOING TO APPEAL TO THE AVERAGE WINDOWS USER!!!

*Sighs* Why does anyone even bother? Talking to people on this board is like talking to a brick wall, encased in steel, buried a half mile underground, guarded by mole men. You guys are making the same lame excuses people made with the iPod Mini….wahhh its too spendy. (Yah even I did that one) Wahhhh it’s only x cheaper then a normal iPod. WAHHHHH.
When will people stop complaining and realize that Apple is on a streak with their products. I good streak that is. I wish everyone would drop their armchair CEOing of Apple, shut up, and see what happens. Hell I’m not a Mac zealot but even I’m giving Apple the benefit of the doubt on this one. What has been the longstanding excuse people have had for not switching? It sure as heck isn’t booo hoo I don’t have a complete system. If Jobs should have made any point on stage is should have been this: “For switchers its all about the price stupid.” That is why you don’t have more switchers.

Honestly you really don’t have a clue about the average PC user do you? Dealing with this crowd day in and day out I can tell you that the average PC user doesn’t give a rats *** about an all in one complete system. This X-Mas I helped 10-15 (somewhere in there.) users purchase a new computer for the family. Called up the helpdesk and asked me to come up to their desk. Without exception EVERY one purchased a replacement system. They didn’t get a monitor. They already had a 17” monitor. Most systems that have shipped in the last 5 years have shipped with a 17”+ monitor which suits people’s needs perfectly fine. Again the average Windows user is going to simply dump their system and drop a mini in its place. It’s the cheapest solution to an upgrade. So please stop acting as if you know the entire market and give Apple the benefit of the doubt here. These things WILL fly off the virtual shelf. I’m not stating this as an Apple fan I’m stating this as someone who know the average PC user intimately. I can take great satisfaction in knowing that the next time someone asks me what computer I recommend I can actually say a Mac without them flinching over the price.
I hope someone keeps track of this thread so we can call BS on them at the next earnings report.

 

[dicklacara]

Does anyone know if the mac mini will boot without a keyboard, mouse, and/or montor attached? I know many systems will fail if no keyboard is detected.

Should be no reason it can't boot out of the box & be setup so it reboots automatically to a specific Userid after a power failure.

OS X certainly is setup for this... so Apple would specifically need to cripple the capability in the Mac mini ROM... Don't se any reason for Apple to do this, tho!

(An iMac G5 with wireless mouse & kb boots just fine when these are turned off)

 

[jiggie2g]

Infinite Possibilities

Hello Everyone ,

Some of you may already know me as a Pro AMD guy , who just happens to own a Mac. some of you may also know that i recently put together a self built AMD Athlon XP system because i was looking into a new comp but could not afford a new iMac G5.

My PC Specs :

Windows XP Pro / Mandrake Linux 10.1 Dual Boot
AMD Athlon XP-M 2400+ 1.8ghz (OC'd to 3200+ 2.2ghz)
Corsair Value Select 512 RAM DDR PC3200
DFI NFII Ultra Infinity/ w Sound Storm Motherboard
ATI Radeon 9600(non-Pro) 128MB DDR
Hitachi 250GB SATA 8MB buffer 7200rmp 8.5ms Seek time
NEC ND-3500A 16X DVD+/-RW
Thermaltake Tsunami Dream Case Black w/ side window
Thermaltake 480W PSU w/ Fan Controller
Thermaltake SilentBoost heatsink.

total come to a little over $700

After about a month of use on my new PC i find it much faster than my old 15in iMac G4 800Mhz w/ 2X Superdrive , as far as overall performance is concerned but i wonder had i put a 16X DVD Burner in my iMac and a new 7200rpm 8MB buffer , as opposed to the current 2x DVD-R and 60GB 5400rpm 2MB buffer. would the performance gap really had been so noticable.

I am really more of a multimedia guy than a gamer. so here i am trying to find a million reasons to justify the purchase of a Mac Mini right after i just put together a pretty decent PC.

Here are some of reasons i came up with:

1. After much use of XP i find that simple things like drag and dropping files from folder to folder are more complicated.

2. The GUI on XP isn't nearly as smooth as that of OSX, even on a machine that is nearly 3x faster.

3. While XP may start up quickly you have to wait for the stupid little icons on the desktop bar to load up (i know u can remove them but every time u download something it seems like it's always trying to add crap to the tool bar).

4. In my 1st week i got hit with over 40 spywares. This is Rediculious.

5. Constant Worries about Viruses.

6. Let's be real if it wasn't for Porn would we really be using Windows Media Player. LOL

7. This thing is as loud as a Turbine Engine. especially when compared to my iMac which at full speed is no louder then a small desk fan.

8. Every program crash requires a system reboot.

I have to agree that in this time a Windows PC connected to the internet is more of a Personal Information Liability than it is a production tool.

With the exception of Quick Encoding of DVD files and CD to AAC, i am beginning to regret my decision more and more.

Now on to the Mac Mini: The Beginning of Something Great

People are not seeing the Master Plan behind the the Mini Mac , it has the potential to become an even bigger hit then the iPod , simply becuase the Mac Mini maybe the 1st PC that ends up in more Living rooms then in bed rooms or dens.

More and more People are purchasing HDTV's weather it be DLP , Plasma , LCD , or LCD Porjection. Prices are becoming reasonable now especially in the DLP/LCD Projection Martkets. Now a 50in HDTV can be had at $2500 and below , by Holiday season new models may hit close to $2000, late 2003 these models where around $3000, and guess what they all use DVI or HDMI(DVI compatible) and most are around the 1280 x 768 resolution which is pretty much the Wide Screen version of 1080 x 720.

imagine one of thse connected to your reciever and HDTV, now u can play all your songs on that fancy 5.1 system or Stereo on those Polk/Infinity/Klipsch tower speakers. I have a Feeling Apple is going the Windows Media Route with this machine but will Implement it in a way M$ will never be able to.

now u have less clutter with it and it's not nearly as huge as those RAID Sized Home Theater PC's (they are bigger then most recievers which makes them TOO BIG). this is going to be what AMD's upcoming geode PC is supposed to be.

once this Product Matures (G5, Blue Ray, SATA) the possibilities are Limitless an all in one Home theater PC/Consloe/DVD Player/Music+Video Jukebox thats plays full resolution HD , burns CD/DVD. This is the device that M$/Sony want Xbox 2/PS3 to be, but they will fail.

 

[Yvan256]

Yah MR is getting about as thrashed as the Apple Store. Time for a bandwidth and server uppgrade.

Yeah, I heard Apple has some kind of headless, low-cost Mac now.

Seriously, macrumors has serious problems since yesterday... Overload of newbies?

 

[Yvan256]

OK, and Apple is going to advertise the features of iLife so that the average Windows user knows about it and its capabilities... No.

Seeing as this new Mac mini is an entirely different ballgame, I wouldn't be surprised to see Apple marketing the living hell out of it. Then again, maybe you're right, and they won't. Since it's a future probability none of us really knows (I'd wait at least until it actually ships before assuming anything)

And yes, I do know the average user since my parents, sister, friends, and many co-workers who's PC I have to admin, fix, etc. are average windows users.

Stop working for Microsoft for free (because that's what you're doing), and your parents, sister, friends and co-workers won't have a choice but to look for alternatives...

 

[Yvan256]

You are missing my point. The average user who knows nothing about iLife, OS X, etc. is not going to switch to OS X and buy a $499 system that's underpowered when they can get a familiar platform in a Dell with monitor, keyboard, mouse, printer, etc. for the SAME PRICE. A few will switch, but 99% won't.

Sorry but that similarly priced Dell system will also be underpowered (especially with Windows XP). Yes, they're getting their familiar platform, but that's basically the exact thing they're trying to get away from: the familiar platform ridden with security holes, viruses, spywares, trojans and the whole array of usual Microsoft problems.

Saying that Windows XP is equal to OS X is like saying Windows 3.11 is equal to Windows XP.

Add iLife into that, and most users will be just fine with the Mac mini.

Of course, as you say they don't know iLife nor OS X, but the 499$ price tag makes for a decent alternative than buying yet another virus-prone box (since they're familiar with it, I assume they got their monitor/keyboard/mouse).

2004 was a very bad year for Microsoft (governments warned about NOT using some of their softwares, other news sites asked people to look for alternative OS, etc).

2005 will be a very good year for Apple, and they know it. Hence the Mac mini, to insure everyone can actually buy an Apple box.

 

[akw]

Hold it!

What are they thinking, this thing looks great but can't chose a better graphics card?? this is a 5 yr old card, barely enough to run OSX. Forget any games, forget Garageband. With the also outdated G4.
You can internet and word process, maybe a little Iphoto.

Too bad it puts Apple right back to underpowered TOY status.

Steve

Time out! I have a PowerBook Titanium which has a 867MHz G4 with 512MB of RAM. It works like a champ for just about everything (but then again I don't play games). I even do serious java development on it. I would hardly call the Mac Mini an underpowered toy. But then again, who am I to judge?

 

[johnbro23]

I was telling a friend at school about the new Mac Mini and we looked it up online. He thought it was cool and hes been telling me he wants to get a mac. But when we got to the specs, he said wow that looks slow. I explained the MHz myth in brief.

This is the part where I don't even have an answer:

Why only 2 usb ports? Windows switchers won't have 2 USB 1.1 on their keyboards. They'll need both USB ports for their Mouse and Keyboard. What if you want to print something? This seems unresonable that they would do that dont you think?

 

[FFTT]

I'm SO confused!

The Mac mini presents another great option for someone like me who is
waiting for the some day reality of a G5 QuadraMac system.

At $700 ish, the G4 1.4 mini offers a great hold over device
at very little cost risk if any.

Thus bridging the gap between my old reliable 300 Mhz G3 tower
and that elusive dream machine.
I finally would get to work with all those speed soaking Pro applications
and a few cooler games.
Meanwhile the prices for displays and CPU's will continue to fall
so the mini could pay for itself over time.


If nothing new and spectacular comes in Pro gear this spring,
I may just get one to tide me over.

 

[PretendPCuser]

Call from Apple about the mini

I just got a call from Apple. I had signed in and saved a mini, just sorta goofin' seeing how much i can cram in there and everything. I didn't think too much about it, but i just got a call from Apple asking if i had any problems with configuring it. It struck me as rather odd, and sort of hard-sell, like the caller was looking for ways to get me to buy, when I'm not really ready to buy.

She wasn't badgering me or anything. She was nice and answered my main questions (basically nothing is user upgradable) and offered me the same discount as education for being a small business owner. (Interesting).

Anyone else get that call? Just curious.

 

[Yvan256]

And all this other talk about buying USB hubs, and adapters, etc. etc. It completely defeats the purpose of having such a compact system and defeats the purpose of having something simple.

Well, the only real mistake I think Apple made with the Mac mini is the number of USB ports... If you use your USB PC keyboard and mouse, you're taking up the two ports of the Mac mini. A few non-Mac USB keyboards do have an integrated hub, but most don't. Easily fixed with a 10-15$ USB hub, but still, would've been nice to see at least three ports, and four would've been enough (keyboard, mouse, printer, scanner. Unplug scanner for digital camera when needed).

The few of us at my workplace that have Macs have showed off OS X, iLife, and all the other cool things that we run on our machines. It gets a lot of oooohs and aaaahs, but in the end they'd rather deal with virii, ad-ware, crappy patches, etc. And then the next day they'll still laugh that you use an Apple instead of a Wintel piece of garbage.

Well, if they're impressed by all of it, but then go back to their wintel boxes, they only have themselves to blame. Some people are like that: even when given the facts, they still hang to the lies.

Look, this is a cool little machine. I may even get one just to use as a webserver/iTunes server/SliMP3 server. But don't expect it to raise Apple's marketshare significantly. It's hard to get people to switch and even an affordable, nicely designed, but barebones system isn't going to switch 99% of them

My opinion is that even half the potential market for switchers is at least two or three times bigger than their current installed userbase. I think the Mac mini will help Apple get back to 5% marketshare in 2005. And 10% or above wouldn't surprise me either, at those prices.

 

[macidiot]

The sad answer is pretty much yeah, iMacs are not great for gaming. I'll stop short of saying they suck for gaming, but it's all relative. All current Macs ship with serviceable GPUs. They'll play most current Mac games reasonably, but there are exceptions. It's not that Macs are inherently sucky gaming PCs, but most Mac games seem to be quick and dirty ports of the Windows versions, so performance can really suffer.

If you're going to play computer games, you might as well play them on Windows. I know plenty of hardcore gamers who have Macs and love them (myself included), but they all have other avenues for gaming, such as consoles. No serious gamer would own solely a Mac and no other hardware.

Agreed. The problem is not Apple, but the game companies. Other than Blizzard, very few pay any attention at all to the Mac. Any games you get are delayed ports of Windows and console games.

I've largely given up gaming on my Mac. So sad. I rely on my gamecube and ps2 now. Its not so bad though. In fact, I think Windows is going through what happened to the Mac. The console market dwarfs the windows gaming market now. As a result, there is less pc-first development happening. Other than mmo and maybe strategy games, a lot of games are now being ported from console to pc. I know plenty of windows fanboy gamers that are crying. I think there will always be good games on the pc, and to a lesser extent, mac. But I think with consoles so cheap and of such high quality, you'll have to own a console if your a gamer. Besides, the social aspects of console gaming is way better than a computer. Lot easier to have 4 people sitting on a sofa in front of the tv vs. a 20" monitor on a desk.

btw, katamari damancy is a ridiculously fun game. Try it.

 

[Yvan256]

Those that would by an Apple are probably not your average Joe... they're probably a heck of a lot smarter!

Joe Average never looked at an Apple computer before since they were most expensive. Joe Average likes to buy his stuff where the sticker price isn't too high.

But now, the Mac mini's sticker price will be in his sight. He will probably at least check it out and ask questions about it.

 

[macOSX-tastic]

the new Mac mini

i happen to like this little box, and will order one around feburary time. it has everything i need in a desktop system (i do not need a G5) and is very handy for toting around campus too!

the new ipod shuffle is cool, but i am gonna stick with my 3G.

just my 2cents (or 2 pence, as i live in UK)

 

[iGary]

I just got a call from Apple. I had signed in and saved a mini, just sorta goofin' seeing how much i can cram in there and everything. I didn't think too much about it, but i just got a call from Apple asking if i had any problems with configuring it. It struck me as rather odd, and sort of hard-sell, like the caller was looking for ways to get me to buy, when I'm not really ready to buy.

She wasn't badgering me or anything. She was nice and answered my main questions (basically nothing is user upgradable) and offered me the same discount as education for being a small business owner. (Interesting).

Anyone else get that call? Just curious.

Apple often does that when you save something to your cart. Hasn't happened to me, but I have friends who have gotten a call.

 

[artifex]

Also, it's very likely that resellers will bundle the Mac Mini with a free keyboard and mouse.

Sure enough, MacMall does.

This trumps my student discount, then, as my discount is only $20, and Apple's wired combo is $58. Especially since I'm guessing MacMall won't charge me tax here in TX, whereas Apple will.

Anyone find an even better deal elsewhere?

 

[rdowns]

"The server is too busy at the moment. Please try again later."

I keep getting this message when I try to post or view. Are they running this site on a Mac mini?

Relax dude, lots of happenings in the Apple world lately. You don't need to make a big issue of the busy servers.

 

[FFTT]

The accessories button on the mini page
shows a few things one might need.

/http://www.apple.com/macmini/accessories.html

 

[Zorkon]

Why only 2 usb ports? Windows switchers won't have 2 USB 1.1 on their keyboards. They'll need both USB ports for their Mouse and Keyboard. What if you want to print something? This seems unresonable that they would do that dont you think?

Now that's odd. I have a "Windows" USB keyboard here and it *does* include a built-in two-port USB hub. Come to think of it, my father's PC also has USB ports on his keyboard.

So, some Windows users obviously will have 2 USB 1.1 ports on their keyboard and it won't be a problem. For those that don't, they can buy a cheapo $15 USB (I've got a neat little one that matches my iBook), and have a plethora of the things.

 

[JOD8FY]

Its right on apples mini page

http://www.apple.com/macmini/graphics.html

"Lock the Target

Or one 3D game. Go ahead, just try to play Halo on a budget PC. Most say they’re good for 2D games only. That’s because an “integrated Intel graphics” chip steals power from the CPU and siphons off memory from system-level RAM. You’d have to buy an extra card to get the graphics performance of Mac mini, and some cheaper PCs don’t even have an open slot to let you add one."

I stand corrected. Have fun playing Halo!

JOD8FY

 

[uv23]

Just a few comments. First off, I'm halfway through convincing my wife to pick one up to replace her ailing B&W G3. It's a lovely machine and would be perfect for her needs, which are mostly photoshop, web dev, and media/itunes/etc. That being said, the machine does have two flaws that are immediately apparent.

The first, as has been mentioned numerous times already, is the woefully small number of USB ports. It's not an issue for us because the keyboard she is using on her G3 has a USB port for the mouse. But it will immediately be an issue for most switchers who do not have the benefit of such a keyboard. Even for those who do, when you get into using a printer/scanner/camera, you immediately need a USB hub and the entire clean desktop idea goes out the window. Simply stated, this machine should have been outfitted with 3 or 4 usb ports.

Secondly, and this is more pining over what could have been than anything else -- digital audio out. If the mac mini had the capacity to output surround sound, it would immediately be a perfect DVD player/PVR/home theater hub. But alas, no such luck.

 

[artifex]

I have a middling Windows system that still does all right for gaming. And I slapped a big HD in there and put it on the network as my iTunes server and iPod station. And for TiVoToGo whenever the software update finally arrrives for my TiVo (Mac version is supposed to be in the works too).

Something I think may be important for switchers to know: the iPods we're all using right now are formatted for Windows use, and I think when we plug them into the minis, we'll have to reformat them to get them to talk to iTunes... right?