Much Smaller Mac Mini Coming?

[yadmonkey]

This is correct, HBO is also 720p. I prefer the 720p programing personally. Interlacing should have been dead with the switch to HD.

I second that. I think 1080 is only necessary if your display is over 100 inches.

I'll take 720p any day over 1080i, but you can't convince me that 720p looks as good as 1080p on a screen of any size. If you look at a two 50" screens side-by-side, one 720p and one 1080p, the difference (detail) is significant, assuming you're using a true HD source.

 

[DoFoT9]

I'll take 720p any day over 1080i, but you can't convince me that 720p looks as good as 1080p on a screen of any size. If you look at a two 50" screens side-by-side, one 720p and one 1080p, the difference (detail) is significant, assuming you're using a true HD source.

lol well seeing as though 720p is a much worse resolution than 1080p, of course its going to be worse than the higher, better quality, higher bitrate version...

i would also take 1080p, although lately i have only been watching 720p because thats all i need (no big monitors just a 24" imac).

 

[CWallace]

They only make them in 12.5in height which would limit them to the iMac and Mini.

Panasonic showed a 9.5mm tray-load unit at CES in January, but I don't think it is available at retail yet.

 

[Lord Zedd]

I second that. I think 1080 is only necessary if your display is over 100 inches.

Says somebody who obviously has never seen a true HD (1080p) broadcast/movie. The difference between Medium Definition (720p, 1080i) and High Definition (1080p) is very significant on a display any size.

If you can't notice the difference from 1,024,512 additional pixels (Almost 2x 720p's pixel count), you must be blind.

I do wholeheartedly agree that 1080i should be abolished asap.

 

[dilbert4life]

ridiculous

Apple does not need to make the mini smaller. Although that is the same thing that I said about the ipod mini, and now look at how popular the nano is.

Anyways, what would the goal be? Cheaper?, definitely not, looking at Apple's history. Faster?, again, probably not. Simply this, sexier. I would sacrifice looks for performance though. (insert obligatory "they should have a real, independent graphics card" line here) I would much rather have a little bit larger of a machine if it performed better.

Why doesn't Apple resurrect the cube and make one mean machine? That would be better than making the mini "mini-er." (I like that word better than nano.)

But that is just what I think, and that doesn't matter much anyways.

 

[bc008]

Apple does not need to make the mini smaller. Although that is the same thing that I said about the ipod mini, and now look at how popular the nano is.

Anyways, what would the goal be? Cheaper?, definitely not, looking at Apple's history. Faster?, again, probably not. Simply this, sexier. I would sacrifice looks for performance though. (insert obligatory "they should have a real, independent graphics card" line here) I would much rather have a little bit larger of a machine if it performed better.

Why doesn't Apple resurrect the cube and make one mean machine? That would be better than making the mini "mini-er." (I like that word better than nano.)

But that is just what I think, and that doesn't matter much anyways.

i could see apple making the mini twice as tall, then floating it in acrylic, but putting black accents on it instead of white! awesome cube revamp

 

[Saladinos]

Apple does not need to make the mini smaller. Although that is the same thing that I said about the ipod mini, and now look at how popular the nano is.

Anyways, what would the goal be? Cheaper?, definitely not, looking at Apple's history. Faster?, again, probably not. Simply this, sexier. I would sacrifice looks for performance though. (insert obligatory "they should have a real, independent graphics card" line here) I would much rather have a little bit larger of a machine if it performed better.

Why doesn't Apple resurrect the cube and make one mean machine? That would be better than making the mini "mini-er." (I like that word better than nano.)

But that is just what I think, and that doesn't matter much anyways.

The mini/nano parallel doesn't apply here. People like smaller handheld devices, but smaller desktop devices aren't necessarily a hit. Take the Mac Mini so far as an example.

Cheaper would be something that the Mini could use. Apple, historically, have gone for high margin-low volume products, but they're going to struggle to keep that up. They have had high volume success with the iPod and iPhone, and the Intel switch (and ability to run Boot Camp) is making Mac sales (particularly in the portable area) increasingly lucrative. People are getting used to Apple design, and they're liking it.

Look at the original iPhone. At WWDC, Jobs said that when they asked people, the main concern was the price. I'm pretty sure most people would say the same thing if you asked them about an iMac or MacBook. Apple dropped the price with the iPhone 3G (though, due to carrier subsidies, they didn't need to go for cheaper components). Now, even with pretty disappointing reviews pre-launch, the iPhone 3G is sold out pretty much everywhere. Lowering the price clearly does have an impact.

The problem with the Mini is that it's underpowered and overpriced. Add to that the lack of a proper desktop Mac, that you can open and tinker with, and you can see why it's got a lukewarm reception at best. Interestingly, I was watching the G4 Cube's announcement keynote earlier (just came across an old bookmark). Steve noted that pro customers like to open their machines, for whatever reason, and that they built the cube allowing for exactly that. That was a long time ago, but people haven't changed. Only Apple's hardware designs have. Now you need several thousand dollars for that ability.

 

[Lesser Evets]

Apple should have done the smart thing and had hooks attached to the MacMini and slots on the back of their Sinema Displays, so you could hook a mini on the back and have a very clever substitute for an iMac. Less desk space, less hassle, clean and compact. And cheap as dirt to make that small alteration.

If they can make the mini even smaller, why not? Make everything as tight as possible if they can, so we eliminate the wasted space on floor or desk. Hand helds are another matter.

 

[Pandaboots]

here comes the Mac Air...

 

[spork183]

Apple should have done the smart thing and had hooks attached to the MacMini and slots on the back of their Sinema Displays, so you could hook a mini on the back and have a very clever substitute for an iMac. Less desk space, less hassle, clean and compact. And cheap as dirt to make that small alteration.

If they can make the mini even smaller, why not? Make everything as tight as possible if they can, so we eliminate the wasted space on floor or desk. Hand helds are another matter.

don't see the crippled mini video powering that 30in with any alacrity... But I like the way you think.

 

[Yvan256]

Apple should have done the smart thing and had hooks attached to the MacMini and slots on the back of their Sinema Displays, so you could hook a mini on the back and have a very clever substitute for an iMac. Less desk space, less hassle, clean and compact. And cheap as dirt to make that small alteration.

If they can make the mini even smaller, why not? Make everything as tight as possible if they can, so we eliminate the wasted space on floor or desk. Hand helds are another matter.

You can also eliminate the wasted space by installing the Mac mini under your desk.

 

[chas0001]

I love my Mac Mini. I use it as a server and it works great. I hope that they don't discontinue it.

 

[eidrunner247]

I would hope not. It just needs an update and maybe a price drop. But it's a solid machine. Cube isn't a bad idea, haha.

 

[Coca-Cola]

MacBook Air with no screen or keyboard.

Now that would be one thin computer! I have never been interested in the mini because of it's small hard drive and graphics chip. It should be the same price as the Apple TV.

External hard drives really solve the first problem. If the mac mini can play my HD movies without skipping, then I would consider it.

Perhaps I should rethink the mini.

 

[194567]

half the size, twice the price. They dropped the price of the mini a few months ago here in europe . It is now €499 that is still $791,51.

 

[mheidt]

External hard drives really solve the first problem. If the mac mini can play my HD movies without skipping, then I would consider it.

Then you would need Gigabit-Ethernet, which is not very "air"y.
I have a Timecapsule and 811.n is not enough for a non-skipping VLC-avi.
Air does also mean, that you don't have DVD-Drive.
I've seen problems with iTunes-Libraries on a remote Harddrive as well.
It always wants to switch back locally when the remote disk isn't available... instead of waiting or displaying a message.
Very annoying when exporting from eyeTV!

So my preferences are.
GB-Ethernet, Graphics which can handle video conversions onboard, at least 500GB harddrive.

 

[ph03n1x]

What would they be calling this "smaller Mac Mini"? The Mac Micro?

 

[Pigumon]

grammar basics

Unless they drop the optical drive, I'd of thought the mini could only really get thinner?

the OF in the sentence is supposed to be 've, as in have. Like when people say "would of" they are really supposed to be saying "would've" as in "would have". Would of and I'd of, don't mean anything. hmmm a double contraction I'd've. That's "I would have"

- Grammar Ally (as opposed to nazi)

 

[Tallest Skil]

What would they be calling this "smaller Mac Mini"? The Mac Micro?

Um, Mac nano, obviously. You know... iPod nano? That whole thing?

 

[Roy]

the OF in the sentence is supposed to be 've, as in have. Like when people say "would of" they are really supposed to be saying "would've" as in "would have". Would of and I'd of, don't mean anything. hmmm a double contraction I'd've. That's "I would have"

- Grammar Ally (as opposed to nazi)

And while you are "at it", the "Apple are" drives me nuts. Is "Apple" a single company and "Apple is nuts" or is Apple considered to be plural (meaning all the thousands of employees) and "Apple are nuts". Apple is a single company composed of many employees who make a lot of different products.

Just had to say it after all these years. I feel better now!

 

[Bubba Satori]

Says somebody who obviously has never seen a true HD (1080p) broadcast/movie. The difference between Medium Definition (720p, 1080i) and High Definition (1080p) is very significant on a display any size.

If you can't notice the difference from 1,024,512 additional pixels (Almost 2x 720p's pixel count), you must be blind.

I do wholeheartedly agree that 1080i should be abolished asap.

From 10 feet away most of my customers can't notice the difference between 720 and 1080 on tvs under 47 inches. 47 and above, everybody sees the difference.

 

[.Chris]

Apple does not need to make the mini smaller. Although that is the same thing that I said about the ipod mini, and now look at how popular the nano is.

You just answered your self there. The mini wasnt that much smaller then the regular ipod back in the day. The mini was fat and ugly. I can see a new form factor for the mac mini. After all this IS 2008, not 2004 or what ever.

Anyways, what would the goal be? Cheaper?, definitely not, looking at Apple's history. Faster?, again, probably not. Simply this, sexier. I would sacrifice looks for performance though. (insert obligatory "they should have a real, independent graphics card" line here) I would much rather have a little bit larger of a machine if it performed better.

I actully think they will add new look, along with new specs and keep it around the same price. may be a bit more, but still cheep.

Why doesn't Apple resurrect the cube and make one mean machine? That would be better than making the mini "mini-er." (I like that word better than nano.)

So something like this?

Source

I see something along the lines of the apple tv form factor. may be even the same case.

 

[off in the wood]

From 10 feet away most of my customers can't notice the difference between 720 and 1080 on tvs under 47 inches. 47 and above, everybody sees the difference.

i would agree with that for the most part

but add any tv with 120hz....that's a different story (although I've never seen any tv smaller than 47 with it)

 

[Genghis Khan]

Grammar Basics
Quote:

Unless they drop the optical drive, I'd of thought the mini could only really get thinner?

The 'of' in the sentence is supposed to be ''ve', as in the word have. For example, when people say 'would of' they are supposed to be saying 'would've', as in 'would have'. The phrases 'Would of' and 'I'd of', don't mean anything. Hmmm, a double contraction I'd've. That's "I would have".

- Grammar Ally (as opposed to nazi)

If you're going to be a grammar ally (and that should be democrat, or something similar, not ally, as nazism was a political ideal), follow through all of the way and use punctuation occasionally as well. Also, why at the end of your rant did you speak like Yoda?


Anyway, the Mac Mini. I've lost patience waiting for them to update and will be buying one in a week or so when I clear up my computer. Which means updates are but 1 week, 14 days + 1 day away (the day after i can't return my mini).

 

[DoFoT9]

If you're going to be a grammar ally (and that should be democrat, or something similar, not ally, as nazism was a political ideal), follow through all of the way and use punctuation occasionally as well. Also, why at the end of your rant did you speak like Yoda?


Anyway, the Mac Mini. I've lost patience waiting for them to update and will be buying one in a week or so when I clear up my computer. Which means updates are but 1 week, 14 days + 1 day away (the day after i can't return my mini).

wow geez since when has the net become a place that is so based around the spelling of stuff??

ah some people will never let go i guess eh?

im trying to convince dad to grab a mini as a media server for our new tv (i have bluray movies and everything) however i told him to wait for updates but after a good few months of waiting im starting to think of getting the stock model and modding it myself with a new CPU.!!!