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Mac Mini Released
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And, for an extra 0.5"in height, throw in a built-in KVM with short cables to connect to the mini and some cheap PS2<->USB adapters. That way, PC owners could buy one and add it to their PC setup with a minimum of fuss and maximum aesthetic value.jayscheuerle said:
wdlove said:Hopefully your post and the following positive comments will spur on some developers. If they use your description, you should get some kind of royalty.
If royalties were in order, it would certainly discourage the use of that design.
~J
I'll take one. I bought a 500 mgz Imac from MegaMacs and when it came it wouldn't turn on. I have Cerebral Palsy and I can't use my hands, so I have a tech guy set up for me. I E-mailed the company and told them what was wrong & they said they tested it. They wouldn't help me. It's been sitting around since Nov. until I save some money to get it fixed. Do your Imacs have VGA output plugs? E-mail me!dicklacara said:
paulsecic said:
You obviously are not doing video editing on a Slowsilver 867Mh...
I can't hear myself think at timesI see the Mac mini as a semi-disposable prodict with an estimated 3 yrs useful lifespan. After that, use it to store your music and get a new one; by then, hopefully we'll have a G5 "Midi" on the mkt. If you wait too long, you are likely to end up in "parking" like those waiting for the pb G5. Heck, I waited sooo long for a revision about two years ago (at least USB2) that at the end, I ended up getting a centrino pizza box instead.
But let's be fair; it's good to have a Win Xp machine on hand to set up that third party wireless network....
jayscheuerle said:
Does anyone here remember just a few weeks ago how seriously
P.O.ed Apple was that the rumor mills were talking about ASTEROID?
Analog-Digital I/O for Garageband and a few other handy connectors <">
paulsecic said:You can now buy the Mac Mini at: http://www.target.com.
Interesting that (just about) all of their other computer listings say "web only" and the mac mini says "new". May have to make a trip to my local Target.
Just Got Back From Apple Store
. . . in Santa Clara (Valley Fair Mall), CA
Got there at 6:45AM to wait for my mini. There was one other person there already (got there at 6:30), waiting for an ipod shuffle. By 7:15, three others had arrived, all waiting for shuffles.
We queued at the entrance, and the line extended far past the Gap store (for those who know the mall) - maybe a 100-150 total by 9AM when the store opened.
Lots of apple employees wandering around starting around 8am, including a person who described herself as the "general manager". We asked several times about the status of inventory (i.e. "do you have minis?" "how many do you have" "do you have shuffles?", etc). I don't remember specifically if folks asked for confirmation that shuffles were in stock - I asked about minis and they said "yes, they have some".
One very cool thing that happened is that a guy named Brett from Apple stopped by while we were waiting in line who was apparently a lead engineer or engineering manager on the mini project. He said he just wanted to gauge customer reaction. He was carrying a mini, and he popped it open to show us the insides.
He actually disassembled it right in front of us, standing up (i.e. not on a table or anything), with one small phillips screwdriver. Looked like it was < 5 screws total to remove the top HDD assy (disconnect the cables for airport / BT antennas), remove the mobo, and remove the airport/BT module. Interesting, he used NO TOOLS to pop off the cover. He just sort of held his fingers on the side, and lifted up on the back plastic part, and it popped open. I asked him if "putty knives" were really the best way to open it, and he said something like "yes, that probably works about the best the first time", but he noted that once you've opened it once or twice, the clips loossen enough that you can pop the cover without any tool.
He told me that the "sweet spot" in his opinion is the 1.42/80G with 512. He said he was surprised to find that 256MB is quite adequate for performance overall, and he recommended I just try the 256 for a bit before I do anything (a reasonable recommendation, given that my wife is basically going surf the web and do email).
He also mentioned what a great team they had working on the mini - he went to some lengths (particularly after I asked if I could take a pic of him with my cellphone) to make sure he doesn't stand out as getting undue credit when it was a team effort. He seemed very proud of how productive and effective their engineering team was.
Finally, the store opened. I walked up to the counter, and said "I'll take a mini 1.42 and a 512 shuffle", and to my great surprise the clerk told me that THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANY SHUFFLES! They did, of course, have minis, so I got what I really came for. But the person who had been there since 6:30, and the others since 7, were LIVID that they couldn't get their shuffles! I left not long after getting my mini, but I suspect a good 50% of the folks in line expected to get shuffles also, and I'm sure there was going to be a lot of negative emotion! I would have been SO disappointed if I had come for a shuffle, asked several times if they had stock (I think they asked) and gotten a vague non-answer, only to find that they didn't have any for sale.
So, I got my mini. Can't wait to open it up.
I took a few pics with my cellphone, but I don't know how to post them.
Take Care,
Eric
. . . in Santa Clara (Valley Fair Mall), CA
Got there at 6:45AM to wait for my mini. There was one other person there already (got there at 6:30), waiting for an ipod shuffle. By 7:15, three others had arrived, all waiting for shuffles.
We queued at the entrance, and the line extended far past the Gap store (for those who know the mall) - maybe a 100-150 total by 9AM when the store opened.
Lots of apple employees wandering around starting around 8am, including a person who described herself as the "general manager". We asked several times about the status of inventory (i.e. "do you have minis?" "how many do you have" "do you have shuffles?", etc). I don't remember specifically if folks asked for confirmation that shuffles were in stock - I asked about minis and they said "yes, they have some".
One very cool thing that happened is that a guy named Brett from Apple stopped by while we were waiting in line who was apparently a lead engineer or engineering manager on the mini project. He said he just wanted to gauge customer reaction. He was carrying a mini, and he popped it open to show us the insides.
He actually disassembled it right in front of us, standing up (i.e. not on a table or anything), with one small phillips screwdriver. Looked like it was < 5 screws total to remove the top HDD assy (disconnect the cables for airport / BT antennas), remove the mobo, and remove the airport/BT module. Interesting, he used NO TOOLS to pop off the cover. He just sort of held his fingers on the side, and lifted up on the back plastic part, and it popped open. I asked him if "putty knives" were really the best way to open it, and he said something like "yes, that probably works about the best the first time", but he noted that once you've opened it once or twice, the clips loossen enough that you can pop the cover without any tool.
He told me that the "sweet spot" in his opinion is the 1.42/80G with 512. He said he was surprised to find that 256MB is quite adequate for performance overall, and he recommended I just try the 256 for a bit before I do anything (a reasonable recommendation, given that my wife is basically going surf the web and do email).
He also mentioned what a great team they had working on the mini - he went to some lengths (particularly after I asked if I could take a pic of him with my cellphone) to make sure he doesn't stand out as getting undue credit when it was a team effort. He seemed very proud of how productive and effective their engineering team was.
Finally, the store opened. I walked up to the counter, and said "I'll take a mini 1.42 and a 512 shuffle", and to my great surprise the clerk told me that THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANY SHUFFLES! They did, of course, have minis, so I got what I really came for. But the person who had been there since 6:30, and the others since 7, were LIVID that they couldn't get their shuffles! I left not long after getting my mini, but I suspect a good 50% of the folks in line expected to get shuffles also, and I'm sure there was going to be a lot of negative emotion! I would have been SO disappointed if I had come for a shuffle, asked several times if they had stock (I think they asked) and gotten a vague non-answer, only to find that they didn't have any for sale.
So, I got my mini. Can't wait to open it up.
I took a few pics with my cellphone, but I don't know how to post them.
Take Care,
Eric
Also - Microcenter
One other note - the microcenter in Santa Clara, CA had 32 minis (all 1.42) as of last night, and will have started selling them at 10am today.
Take Care,
EE
One other note - the microcenter in Santa Clara, CA had 32 minis (all 1.42) as of last night, and will have started selling them at 10am today.
Take Care,
EE
I'm playing with my mini right now. Why does Apple make everything so easy? I'm installing iLife 05 right now. I'm amazed how much faster this 1.25 is compared to my 700 ibook. Scrolling in webpages is now fluid
edit: got it this morning from the Oakridge Mall mini store at about 9:15
edit: got it this morning from the Oakridge Mall mini store at about 9:15
I've seen PC's for that much and they included a monitor keyboard and Crap like that however, the P4 is about 150-160% slower than the G4 cycle per cycle but, other than that PC users will prbbably go for the cheaper seeming deal.
As for the laptop hard drive idea, I concur I think they just have a headless eMac in there.. with a slot drive to make it seem different.
As for the laptop hard drive idea, I concur I think they just have a headless eMac in there.. with a slot drive to make it seem different.
When I was at the Apple Store today talking to potential switchers I was surprised by the reasons why they were considering the mini. They claimed that they had no dissatisfaction with the Windows OS, but they just wanted something "that would work". Several said they were tired of viruses and things crashing. But yet they attributed that to the PCs they owned.
Sadly, as I mentioned in the other thread, not a single one of them bought a mini today after they realized that the store did not offer any upgrades. In the end, it was the inability of the Apple Store to offer increased RAM that prevented the sales (though one person left when they realized they couldn't get the Super Drive).
I didn't think RAM would be an issue with the mini -- but I now believe it was a major mistake. If the mini came with 512 as standard, the machine would be a great "off-the-shelf" purchase for a lot of PC users. For me, having the Airport Card and Bluetooth is important. But for many low-end PC users they are not a big deal. But by selling the mini with 256, they will experience a Mac that is not that much better performing than their PC. That is a shame -- and a huge opportunity missed.
Sadly, as I mentioned in the other thread, not a single one of them bought a mini today after they realized that the store did not offer any upgrades. In the end, it was the inability of the Apple Store to offer increased RAM that prevented the sales (though one person left when they realized they couldn't get the Super Drive).
I didn't think RAM would be an issue with the mini -- but I now believe it was a major mistake. If the mini came with 512 as standard, the machine would be a great "off-the-shelf" purchase for a lot of PC users. For me, having the Airport Card and Bluetooth is important. But for many low-end PC users they are not a big deal. But by selling the mini with 256, they will experience a Mac that is not that much better performing than their PC. That is a shame -- and a huge opportunity missed.
zyuzin4 said:I'm playing with my mini right now. Why does Apple make everything so easy? I'm installing iLife 05 right now. I'm amazed how much faster this 1.25 is compared to my 700 ibook. Scrolling in webpages is now fluid
edit: got it this morning from the Oakridge Mall mini store at about 9:15
Is this your first mac?
One nice thing about this being sold at Target.com is that they often have 10% off coupons at that store. $450 is even better than the educational discount.
Lacero said:
Did you see this part of the post you were replying to?
"I'm amazed how much faster this 1.25 is compared to my 700 ibook."
macman99 said:
Yeah, I wish it had a bigger processor too. The case for my PowerMac just isn't large enough. And if they get really big, then they can make a 23" iMac G5 or maybe if it gets huge they'll have to do a 30" model.
I think the mini is just a part of a MUCH bigger plan....
I really like this mini, ALOT!
I think we may be finally seeing how the whole digital convergence, Apple style, is going to happen.
Take a look at a quick render I did to illustrate the whole thing.
http://www.xnodesign.com/ihome.html
John
I really like this mini, ALOT!
I think we may be finally seeing how the whole digital convergence, Apple style, is going to happen.
Take a look at a quick render I did to illustrate the whole thing.
http://www.xnodesign.com/ihome.html
John
jbasil said:I really like this mini, ALOT!
I think we may be finally seeing how the whole digital convergence, Apple style, is going to happen.
Take a look at a quick render I did to illustrate the whole thing.
http://www.xnodesign.com/ihome.html
John
I think you really hit things on the head. I think with the iPod Apple is now seeing themselves as more than a computer company. They have taken on Sony in the "high-end" of the consumer market place.
Given the success of the iPod, Apple is now forced to looks at products that will stimulate the consumers mind to the same levels as the iPod has. If not Apple will see it fortunes drop faster than many of the dot com stocks.