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Mac mini Test Drive Offer Pulled

If a new mini does come out in Paris that says something about Apple's new product secrecy. Even the people in the company who should know about these things are kept in the dark.
 
hmmmmmmmm. Mysterious.

I think we can rule out a new Mac mini at Expo Paris, after all it was just updated. I think Apple wants to delay the promotion until they think they can create a better image with the Mac mini. Intels, anyone? Other than that, I can only think of this as clever marketing to get in tech news everywhere. Apple announces test drive, cancels abrubtly.
 
shompa said:
Is it powerful enough to play 1080i .ts files. (not H.236)
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Yes, the Mac mini is powerful enough to play 1080i .ts files.
ClimbingTheLog said:
No. One of the mags did a review and it took a dualie G5. Like the new iMac.
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You misread him. He's asking about .ts files, not high definition H.264 files. A ".ts file" is an MPEG2 transport stream. VLC plays them. It takes way less processing power to play back MPEG2 transport streams compared to high definition H.264 (a.k.a. MPEG4 part 10 a.k.a. AVC).
 
922 said:
Other than that, I can only think of this as clever marketing to get in tech news everywhere. Apple announces test drive, cancels abrubtly.
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Well, it sure is on more mac news sites now. Before the cancellation, macrumors hadn't reported it.
 
I too think it was just posted ahead of time, but it does say something about no mac mini updates soon... I mean... if you would test drive it fot 30 days, wouldnt you return it as soon as an update came about? I hope it does not come really, I want a better mac mini, 64mb VRAM and standard bluetooth at least. oh and make them ALL airport ready at least... sucks to have to buy 2 adaptors to hook an AE in one of them...

maybe they wanted to test the promo before paris... you know just see how many hits the page would generate... then come out with the new mini and do the promo then! and then come out with a video ipod and do that too ! and with a powerbook G5 ! and the 30 inch imac G5! and and ! (heart attack) 😱
 
D*I*S_Frontman said:
...Steve may have to use inert hallucinagenic gases in the meeting hall during the next keynote address in order to keep the masses cheering, nodding eagerly, and unable to to render a shread of objective thinking about this company....
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I tried that once, but it had the opposite effect. Come to think of it, I don't think the gas was inert.... 🙄
 
This really seems odd. One would think that if they were releasing something new that they would plan it out...but still, what else would really cause them to cancel something abruptly like that other than a product change?

The Mac mini was introduced around 8 months ago, and the only thing that's changed since then is RAM and Bluetooth/Airport. I think it is likely that we'll see something like this on September 20th at Apple Expo 2005:

1.4GHz / 1.6GHz G5 PowerPC 970fx
$499.00 / $599.00
512MB DDR400 SDRAM
ATI Radeon 9600
64MB DDR video memory
40GB Ultra ATA hard drive
Combo drive (DVD/CD-RW)
 
yeah, I'm not so sure that was such a good idea to begin with. I mean, Apple had to realize how many cheapskates there are out there that would consider this a 30-day lease on a mini. Can you imagine having to clear out all the crap on those machines prep them for resale? (and at a lower cost to boot)
 
I imagine that it would be trivial

Kobushi said:
Can you imagine having to clear out all the crap on those machines prep them for resale?
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You'd just re-image the drives with the factory image. One step, done. Doesn't matter what was on them before....
 
its funny, i go out and pick up some dinner and it dawns on me. apple must of pulled the mini offer because something came up in there production schedule that would allow them to offer something better than the current mini. i was actually thinking that maybe the intel switch is going really well and they wanted to get one in the mini a.s.a.p., who knows maybe a G5...something substantially different than the current mini. apple must of received some unexpected news and now we have minis in paris. 😀

then i come home and check the posts on the subject and a lot of members here feel the same. i hope its true, but i could really use one now. guess i'll just have to tough it out and wait.
 
lickily said:
Well, it sure is on more mac news sites now. Before the cancellation, macrumors hadn't reported it.
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It was right here on MacBytes. The promotion wasn't exactly earth-shattering (they already have a reasonable return policy), so why would it have warranted a page 1 or 2 entry?
 
when I saw the news on cnet this morning, I began to wonder....reading thru this thread has given more food for thought than anything else. THey first announce something...take it off...to think it was a mistake would be our mistake....we can only imagine the amount of thinking that goes into ANY promo...the one thing that I have trouble believing is a G5 mini.....having waited for a G5 PB, I just cant bring myself to believe it....dont get me wrong...not that it is bad.....but just interesting coz why would apple then not release a G5 PB????? Arent the PBs the the most anticipated for a major update for the god knows how long....why update the mini and not the PB....many would bring up the 'mactels around the corner' argument, but well how many would wait and not buy a G5 PB if it really comes out, i wonder 🙄 🙄

Once we hear something official about all of this, it could be a real pleasant surprise!!!! 😉
 
iMeowbot said:
It was right here on MacBytes. The promotion wasn't exactly earth-shattering (they already have a reasonable return policy), so why would it have warranted a page 1 or 2 entry?
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It was also reported by a reader here. And no it wasn't earth shattering, but news all the same, but to some including myself who was contemplating between a mini or imac this would have been nice. To bad I was waiting till the weekend to order. Oh well maybe it will be back.
 
Its lame apple doesn't offer a full money back guarantee on all its products. IBM has done this forever and it makes you feel good to buy from IBM because of this. The fact that apple makes you buy an applecare warranty and that there is a restocking fee makes me sick. If they could just turn those two things around I would feel better about buying from apple store. That is why compusa is getting my business these days. 21 day return policy full money back no questions asked. THANK YOU COMPUSA!
 
mkaake said:
and why is that again? I know plenty of people that have thought about macs, but didn't want to be 'trapped' into using it if they didn't like it... this was perfect for those types...
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Trapped?

Have them look on ebay, yeah they will take a loss selling it used, but not much! Certainly better then if they bought a dell, didn't like it, and sold it used.

840
 
Bob Cringely thinks the Test Drive was going to be announced at the Sept 7th event. Some web admin jumped the gun?

Link.
 
Quartz Extreme said:
This really seems odd. One would think that if they were releasing something new that they would plan it out...but still, what else would really cause them to cancel something abruptly like that other than a product change?

The Mac mini was introduced around 8 months ago, and the only thing that's changed since then is RAM and Bluetooth/Airport. I think it is likely that we'll see something like this on September 20th at Apple Expo 2005:

1.4GHz / 1.6GHz G5 PowerPC 970fx
$499.00 / $599.00
512MB DDR400 SDRAM
ATI Radeon 9600
64MB DDR video memory
40GB Ultra ATA hard drive
Combo drive (DVD/CD-RW)
Click to expand...

I agree. I think there is a real possibility this could be why they pulled it back.

High hopes, but apple has surprised us before.
 
shawnce said:
..and yet Apple has one of the most known brands in the industry... hummm..
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Yes, but unfortunately they seem to be more well known for the iPod than their computers. Well, at least to those who I've spoken with.
 
g4cubed said:
Because I'm not sure how the video card is. Not that I do any major video editing, just a little photoshop on my pics. I've just heard that this card is really bad, not even core compliant. So I thought this would be a great way to see if it was worth it or save for an iMac.


Read above comment, thank you. Unfortunately some of us are limited on their money and I would have liked to decide if it fit my needs. In other words use it more than an hour in the Apple store. But then maybe you have the money to make your mind up for you.
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Wonder if a local shop would lend you a showroom demo model for the weekend? Hard drive performance, CPU and lots of memory are more important for video editing. Almost any video card thesedays will be fine for that purpose.

I agree that 1 hour at a shop might not be enough to test it. I haunted shops with apple gear for a year before I bought mine. 😀 And I would never go back. 🙂
 
O, No, Dear Applespider!

Or there was a last minute legal issue that came up and forced them to pull it[/QUOTE]

The
said...

"My candle burns at both ends; it will not last the night. But ah my foes and oh my friends, it gives a lovely light" - Roald Dahl

It was Edna St. Vincent Millay...and is a widely abused quote, not just in the author area.

I'ts one of my (thousands) of favorites. Topped by "Safe upon the solid rock the ugly houses stand: Come and see my shining palace built upon the sand!"

Never heard it misused...and never read it anywhere but poetry books.

Still, tho. Wow. She was cool.

Call me sentimental.

And old. Very, very old.

Paula
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"Try it for 30 days - send it back if you don't love it."

what if you do love it? it doesn't explicitly say pay for it...
 
slipper said:
this just shows how bad Apple marketing is. a big thumbs down.
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Last time I checked, Apple's marketing was BRILLIANT. Go back to bed, and wake up when you get a clue.
 
MacTruck said:
apple makes you buy an applecare warranty!
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Ummm, no, it doesn't. And if you pick out something you like, you SHOULD pay a restocking fee. It's not the store's fault that you didn't do your product research. Oh, and for the record, I would much rather risk a restocking fee on idiotic purchases than deal with the gaggle fo retards teahat traditionally troll the Apple section in a Comp USA. Just a for instance, when my grandfather took his eMac in to a Comp USA for a modem error, the firsmt thing they did was format his hard drive. . . Retards.
 
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