Mac Mini Still Alive? New Model Coming?

[AidenShaw]

That image is disgraceful...

This image is awesome.

...in the sense of green computing.

For any x64 OS other than OSX, a colo site would most likely put multiple virtual machines on a 1U or 2U server - resulting in the waste of far less electricity.

Since DRM-happy Apple won't let OSX desktop run in a VM, and only lets OSX server run in a VM on an Apple-labeled box, this option is not available for reasonably priced OSX colocation.

Sad.

 

[Cheffy Dave]

in the past week I have found it interesting how the posters on MacRumors are a bit more level headed than what you see on AppleInsider.

Noticed that huh?, and I'd like to add the friendliest. Every time I have asked for help/advice, I got it. Since switching 11 months ago, (as well as well before that) it has been a source of news,hopes,dreams and advice. I love this forum (my first BTW) and lovingly spend way to much time here, and getting back to topic, with a release of a new Mini, I'll take 3, with the new display, for each of my 3 Granddaughters in Pennsylvania. That's what Grampa's are for!

 

[AtHomeBoy_2000]

THey better start including the keyboard and mouse. The fact that they charge $600 for a "low end" computer and then make you pay an extra $100 for a mouse and keyboard is a freakin' joke.

 

[smueboy]

No, and two thoughts:

1) The mini isn't really a $500 computer, because you still need monitor etc. I took him to mean a "complete" computer.

2) Whenever steve says something like that he means "we've figured it out, but won't perfect it for another 2-6 months, at which point we'll release it."

Exactly. The real benefit of the mini as a 'computer' seems to be for non-standard applications, such as a HTPC or for businesses. But i wonder whether it will be 2 or 6 months for a new mini to be released. It may be true that they will want to update the iMac and/or MacPro first. Whatever Apple does, i actually doubt that they will reduce the price of the Mac Mini much, if at all, if they update it significantly with new hardware.
Either way, i'm waiting to see what happens...

 

[Schizoid]

One thing, pull out the dvd player and sell it seperately. But the same form factor for stacking. Then allow cpu module to be connected via eSATA for the speed and enable parallel processing in snow leopard.

Did I miss anything?

wahoo

EDIT - Forgot to mention, no cables when you stack them, the connectors are embedded.

I'm terribly sorry, we can't have stackable connector interfaces, due to the revolutionary construction of the new Mac Mini.

Most consumers don't want useful things like firewire and stackability, they want single-unit unibody extruded aloooominum enclosures

Steve

 

[Cheffy Dave]

Thanks for basically reading my mind and 'shopping that together; saves me the time. The only thing is the whole top-is-a-screen thing is really goofy. I think the aluminum-with-glass-top could very well be true, maybe (hopefully) with a glowing Apple logo under the glass. But no screen.

Nicely done but leave out the phone icon

 

[cosmonaut23]

THey better start including the keyboard and mouse. The fact that they charge $600 for a "low end" computer and then make you pay an extra $100 for a mouse and keyboard is a freakin' joke.

Too right. Keyboard an mouse really shouldn't be asking that much for the price. Or maybe they're just concerned it would ruin the shape of the neat consumer box it comes in.

And did I mention it should have Firewire?

 

[Clive At Five]

I've been waiting for a MacMini update since last Christmas. Having been tainted by neglect, I built an xHack and now could care less. Still spiteful, I'll believe the new MacMini rumors when I see it on apple.com.

-Clive

 

[Arnaud]

http://www.elgato.com/elgato/na/mainmenu/home.en.html

This is one of the reasons I wanted a Mini. We moved into a new house, and the iMac I used to record TV is too far now from a TV plug. I'd love a Mini (with good specs) to record, as well as show my movies on our Full HD screen. Right now, I use the MacBook (with EyeTV, Plex, VLC when needed) - which does a very good job at it (including 1080 .mkv) - but I really, really hate all the visible cables, which always get stuck when you turn the TV, plus having to leave the MacBook on the side etc...

I do vote for a slightly better Mini, although I don't really believe it's coming.

 

[Cheffy Dave]

I really hope the mini sticks around. So far I've switched over my father, mother, mother-in-law, wife and sister. All of whom did so by getting a mini. It's too hard to convince someone to get an iMac with the price of lcd screens these days.

Viva la mini

I have turned on, an even dozen of my friends to the new Mac OS,(not counting my Wife and Middle School Teacher/daughter) Here's the score card.
5 BMB refurb's, 4, 2.4 GHz,1 2.2 GHz
7 Mini C2D (3 bought Keyboards,mice and Airport Extreme's)2 bought displays

Too nice a little system for Apple to turn it's back on,IMHO

 

[rhpenguin]

http://www.elgato.com/elgato/na/mainmenu/home.en.html

This is all I'm asking for. Just a spec update. I'll take care of the rest, myself.

Two Page 1 articles about the Mini in a week! This is historic. Or futile. I forget which.

Just get an average used PC box, Install Mythbuntu.. Download OS X Binary of Mythfrontend and watch TV.

Piece of cake.

 

[jzuena]

I want HDMI 1.3

The mini is the perfect HTPC.

The display port doesn't happen to carry audio does it?

DisplayPort does carry audio. The bigger question is whether DisplayPort is HDCP compatible. If it is, it shouldn't be hard to make a HDMI to DisplayPort cable or adapter and still expect protected content to work (which, as distasteful as HDCP is, would be required for the _perfect_ HTPC).

 

[decimortis]

Just get an average used PC box, Install Mythbuntu.. Download OS X Binary of Mythfrontend and watch TV.

*blink

 

[allmIne]

I like the idea of no optical drive as an option so you can do 2 HDD, but if you want to use this machine as your media center? or to rip your DVDs? If I have to use cd/dvd sharing it is going to take twice as long to convert DVDs to mp4.... sigh... let it be an option... please Apple?

You'd save virtually no money by not including an optical drive, and there's very little chance of saving any space either, because that would almost certainly require two casing designs, were it to be an option.

 

[Cheffy Dave]

Wild theory: iMacs are done, to be replaced by upgraded minis sold in tandem with new ACDs.


i Mac's done, no way Jose

 

[allmIne]

Yeah, great, so when my daughter climbs behind the AV cabinet and trips over the cord I lose access. It's not a portable computer, so why a need for magsafe? (although I agree with you there should be a nice way to connect it to the ACD)

I'm fairly sure not everybody places their mini in their AV cabinet. Certainly not in the UK, where we all tend to use Sky+ / HD instead.

The mini is tiny, and if you're not fussy about your wires, could easily be pulled off a desk.

 

[Hattig]

Release a new Mac Mini with the 9400M, 2GB RAM standard, new styling (inevitable), 250GB-320GB HD (if 2.5") or 500GB-1TB (if 3.5"), 2GHz Core 2 Duo or higher, and an adaptor for Mini-Displayport -> DVI (as an adaptor is required for basic operation unless you buy the new Apple display), for under $600, and I'm buying one.

Bonus:

Discrete graphics (due to space savings from using 9400M and maybe SFF Core 2 Duo) would be nice, but not necessary. Maybe as a $100 option.

MagSafe connector - although it is a desktop system this would allow Apple to simply use the MacBook power adaptor, saving money. Also makes the Apple display more appealing.

Firewire - if this is removed I would want the new Mac Mini (9400M, 2GHz, 2GB) to cost $500, not $600. If it is included it will probably be FW400 to not be too good.

 

[rhpenguin]

*blink

It's really simple.. The Mythbuntu installer is just as easy to use as the OS X installer. Mythbackend is also retarded easy to get setup. all you have to do is keep hitting enter during the initial setup and add channels.

Doing satellite is a bit trickier, but that's how I roll! As a matter of fact, I'm watching TSN on my second monitor on the Hacintosh right now via my Mythserver (running my own custom Linux Distro ) in the basement.

 

[milo]

What about faster wifi? That's a huge liability right now.

I'm pretty disappointed that they're just updating it, they really should scrap it for a new design that doesn't require laptop parts. Until that happens this unit will always be uncompetitive - poor bang for your buck.

 

[DaBrain]

Noticed that huh?, and I'd like to add the friendliest. Every time I have asked for help/advice, I got it. Since switching 11 months ago, (as well as well before that) it has been a source of news,hopes,dreams and advice. I love this forum (my first BTW) and lovingly spend way to much time here, and getting back to topic, with a release of a new Mini, I'll take 3, with the new display, for each of my 3 Granddaughters in Pennsylvania. That's what Grampa's are for!

Say Grampa, did you know that I am your long last grandchild?

 

[BenRoethig]

I like the idea of no optical drive as an option so you can do 2 HDD, but if you want to use this machine as your media center? or to rip your DVDs? If I have to use cd/dvd sharing it is going to take twice as long to convert DVDs to mp4.... sigh... let it be an option... please Apple?

With most of the potential buyers there would be no second computer to use CD/DVD sharing with.

 

[IlluminatedSage]

Please please please discontinue the Mac Mini today....

And give me an awesome updated model!

Or, a mid range Macintosh. PLZ!

I'D LIKE BOTH!!
actually these lil mac mini's are very helpful, they can be home servers, media centers which can be programmed remotely ( a friend's company uses them for hotels, restaurants, and more for music playback which can be updated from afar)

but.... i really want a very nice and powerful Midrange Mac Tower. which they stopped offering years ago, but now mac market has regrown big time by now.

 

[demiphonic]

I'd like to see one with black glass...

yeah I hear yuh however I think a Mini with a finish like this would be cool as well

 

[!¡ V ¡!]

You are my last hope Mac mini for a new Mac.

This image is awesome.

If the revised MM has a SATA Optical and Magnetic Drive, including support for a 30" ACD I might be getting this for XMAS "08.

these were the only 3 things that turned me off from the MM, the CPU performance was fine for my requirements the lack of support for a 30" ACD was not. I already have a 24" iMac (White) and dislike the glass front on the new 24" ACD.

Crossing my fingers.

 

[gpfradgley]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5F136 Safari/525.20)

I just wanna say to Apple that it would be a crying shame if the mini was discontinued. The mini was my first Mac, is still running well 3 years on and if this price point had never existed I may have never experienced Mac. I'd been a sole of user and wanted to see what the fuss was about. 3 years on I no longer have a single pc they are all Macs. My of media centre was also replaced - by Apple TV!!!