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Much Smaller Mac Mini Coming?
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The article says a couple of weeks.
A couple of weeks! Damit I have already been waiting for the new IMac for a couple of weeks. Bwaaaaa!
Same i was hoping i could buy it this week but not gonna happen
im gonna be so pissed if notthing happens to the imacs next week
I'm still waiting for one with a built-in ipod/iphone dock (on the top with a sliding door to hide it) and a tv tuner. I agree it doesn't really need to be any smaller, but hey if they can add the two features i'm looking for then I don't care what size it is, I'm getting one.
XServe Mini
What we need is an XServe Mini. The current Mini form factor is fine. Sure, thinner might be a bit sexier, but we need FEATURES. Specifically, now that we have all these big media files to play with, we need a home server to store them.
iTunes and iPhoto need to be server enabled, allowing each user in the home to store his or her library on the server. The server should be able to share any stored library with Apple TVs in the house and one should be able to update his or her iPod on a client machine with files stored on the server. How much longer do we have to wait for Apple to deliver this OBVIOUS and much needed functionality?
So, Apple, give us a home server! Give us a Mini with an eSATA port or, better yet, a SATA MultiLane port to support enclosures with multiple drives. Or, better yet, give us a Mini and Mini Home RAID or ZFS storage pool. But, seriously, enough of these external drives daisychained together. There needs to be an elegant solution.
Come on Apple...STEP UP!!!
What we need is an XServe Mini. The current Mini form factor is fine. Sure, thinner might be a bit sexier, but we need FEATURES. Specifically, now that we have all these big media files to play with, we need a home server to store them.
iTunes and iPhoto need to be server enabled, allowing each user in the home to store his or her library on the server. The server should be able to share any stored library with Apple TVs in the house and one should be able to update his or her iPod on a client machine with files stored on the server. How much longer do we have to wait for Apple to deliver this OBVIOUS and much needed functionality?
So, Apple, give us a home server! Give us a Mini with an eSATA port or, better yet, a SATA MultiLane port to support enclosures with multiple drives. Or, better yet, give us a Mini and Mini Home RAID or ZFS storage pool. But, seriously, enough of these external drives daisychained together. There needs to be an elegant solution.
Come on Apple...STEP UP!!!
SRY i dont think thats gonna happen
cause apple makes a lot of money from their external docks and they also sell AV cables which pull a lot of profits so i dont think its gonna happen!
i don't it needs to get any smaller. in fact, i wouldn't mind it getting a little bigger, when better parts
Well thats why they have the imac and if it got bigger than it wouldn't be the "mac mini" lol
but i agree i wouldn't mind if they focused on making it fast and have a high performance than making it smaller!
I dont think thats gonna happen cause "usually" when apple updates current products they usually keep the price the same or lower them cause they can't have a raise in price it would cause people to be unhappy!
just what i think
if it were to be as thin as the apple tv, i would imagine it would need an external power supply like the laptops do.
just a thought.
just a thought.
The Mac Mini is far too big. I'm glad they're making it smaller - I need a Mac running OSX that I can put in my pocket.
Oh wait ...
Oh wait ...
In the eternal Mac Mini-thread I made the comment that Apple should move the Mini to Intel Atom-CPU, make it fanless, reduce the size and drop the price. Maybe my suggestion was very close to what will happen . Yes, the Atom-based Mini would have slower CPU than the current Mini has. But on the pother hand it would be cheaper, it might actually ship with a DVD-burner, more RAM, better GPU and bigger HD.
The other half of my suggestion was re-introduction of the Cube as the expandable, headless desktop, with prices starting at around 700-800 bucks...
. Yes, the Atom-based Mini would have slower CPU than the current Mini has. But on the pother hand it would be cheaper, it might actually ship with a DVD-burner, more RAM, better GPU and bigger HD.The other half of my suggestion was re-introduction of the Cube as the expandable, headless desktop, with prices starting at around 700-800 bucks...
Now THAT'S funny.
I've got a bad feeling about this, too. A desktop MacBook Air is what I'm guessing. Smaller, less power, no optical drive. I always thought the Mini was the perfect form factor from the first time I saw one.
I'd take the same size or even a little bigger for more performance and larger drives.
John B.
Despite all the criticism to the contrary, I personally have two reasons to think a smaller Mac Mini is actually a good idea. The first is that for a long while I brought one daily between a couple work sites because it was far cheaper than buying a laptop and I didn't need portability once I arrived, just to go between, and already had monitors/keyboards/mice at both locations. The second reason is for installations. As a desktop computer, the Mini is adequately small. As a computer to shove into a car dashboard, behind an LCD TV, or powering a kiosk display, the smaller it gets, the more innovative the installation options.
But yes, let's hope specs don't decline to compensate. But somehow I bet we'll all be pleasantly surprised at what they manage to achieve for specs while shrinking the chassis and probably the packaging for that matter.
But yes, let's hope specs don't decline to compensate. But somehow I bet we'll all be pleasantly surprised at what they manage to achieve for specs while shrinking the chassis and probably the packaging for that matter.
Lovely avatar. When I had my Mac Mini. I got plenty of "wow, OMG where's the computer?!" I can't imagine what reactions a half-sized mini would garner.
Just give me 3.5" HD and dedicated graphics and I'm happy for under £500 and I'm sold. Currently my MB beats my MacMini at everything except screen size and USB ports. Faster graphics and HD would make me use it more for flight sims and DVD rips.
My feeling is Apple can go one of two ways.
Direction 1: Mac Mini like "Air" - kill off some ports, make it super small. Use the same external SuperDrive the Air does and maybe kill the internal optical drive. Make it basically a too-expensive-for-switcher machine.
Direction 2: Update the looks a bit, possibly thinner like the Apple TV. Upgrade some of the specs so it's a bit faster and more powerful. Lower the price and make everyone happy.
Of course they can always keep the price the same... but it would be nice if they could lower it.
Direction 1: Mac Mini like "Air" - kill off some ports, make it super small. Use the same external SuperDrive the Air does and maybe kill the internal optical drive. Make it basically a too-expensive-for-switcher machine.
Direction 2: Update the looks a bit, possibly thinner like the Apple TV. Upgrade some of the specs so it's a bit faster and more powerful. Lower the price and make everyone happy.
Of course they can always keep the price the same... but it would be nice if they could lower it.
I suppose you could have the MB Air's SuperDrive as an option for the Mac Mini? But then what's the difference between the Mac Mini and the apple TV? Maybe they could be one and the same? But then, you're not going to want them in the same space... AirTV (like AirTunes)?
In the eternal Mac Mini-thread I made the comment that Apple should move the Mini to Intel Atom-CPU, make it fanless, reduce the size and drop the price. Maybe my suggestion was very close to what will happen
The other half of my suggestion was re-introduction of the Cube as the expandable, headless desktop, with prices starting at around 700-800 bucks...
WHy would you want Apple to "upgrade" to a lower power mac instead of trying to beaf it up
i agree with a lot of the people that posted on this thread that i would rather see a slightly bigger, but much more powerful mac mini than a slimmer weaker one!
just my opinion
And pretty soon you would have regular generic desktop. Fact is that the Mini will never be a powerhouse. It will be "fast enough" for most tasks, but that's it. By moving to Atom, it would still be "fast enough", but they could differentiate it from it's competitors even more. It would be the smallest desktop available, it would be fanless, cheap as dirt and still "fast enough". What I would do is this:
Two models. Both around half the size of current Mini and fanless. Cheaper model would have around 1.6GHz Intel Atom, 80GB HD, DVD-burner and upgraded graphics (still integrated though) + wireless-N and 1GB of soldered RAM (dropping the RAM-slots makes the machine cheaper and smaller.) This machine would cost $399. For $549 you could get the better model that would have around 1.8GHz Atom, 120GB HD, DVD-burner and maybe 2GB of soldered RAM.