Since this thread has over 600 posts already, I'm not even going to try to add something new to the discussion. Instead, I'll just add my two cents: raising the price by $100 every time you update the mini line is absurd. This used to be a $499 entry-level machine, designed to attract new Mac users. Now it's a boutique item.
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New Mac Mini Announced! [MERGED]
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This is nonsense.
As to USB3, are you out of your mind here as Apple will not ship USB3 until it is included in the chipsets it is using. You shoot your credibility dead when you imply that Apple should ship features its suppliers haven't even delivered yet.
As to Bluetooth and BluRay who really cares? The only thing I've ever used Bluetooth for is a mouse connection and the old standard is fine for that.
AppleTV is a classic example of Apple taking a good idea and screwing it up with excessive design effort. Sort of like the AIR. AIR could have been a much more interesting machine if function was an important element in it's design. Like wise AppleTV could have served up programming in a way that wasn't so limited by Apple plus the unit really needs to be connected to a file server.
In any event I'm impressed with the new Mini. The physical design is likely to be with us for awhile. I suspect that the design is really prep for the high integration chips that AMD and Intel will have ready for early 2011. That would mean a quad core Mini by the first quarter of 2011.
Dave
The lack of i3/i5 was and has been explained multiple times in this forum. If you don't understand the explaination then I'm not sure how anyone could possibly help you here.
As to USB3, are you out of your mind here as Apple will not ship USB3 until it is included in the chipsets it is using. You shoot your credibility dead when you imply that Apple should ship features its suppliers haven't even delivered yet.
As to Bluetooth and BluRay who really cares? The only thing I've ever used Bluetooth for is a mouse connection and the old standard is fine for that.
Yes the design seems to be pretty good. However your whine about the specs is BS. Nobody is shipping USB3 in machines built around off the shelf chipsets. That is because nobody is supporting USB3 yet, but feel free to find information on Intels or NVidias web sites that indicate otherwise. To put it simply Apple can't ship what doesn't exist.
AppleTV is a classic example of Apple taking a good idea and screwing it up with excessive design effort. Sort of like the AIR. AIR could have been a much more interesting machine if function was an important element in it's design. Like wise AppleTV could have served up programming in a way that wasn't so limited by Apple plus the unit really needs to be connected to a file server.
In any event I'm impressed with the new Mini. The physical design is likely to be with us for awhile. I suspect that the design is really prep for the high integration chips that AMD and Intel will have ready for early 2011. That would mean a quad core Mini by the first quarter of 2011.
Dave
But...the people who are complaining about the Mini's PRICE are complaining about the PRICE...not complaining that it is too big or too small...or that it compares poorly to a Dell Hybrid for style/size/design.
The Mini is Apple's CHEAPEST computer. Period. That being said, it's a PRICE BARRIER to a lot of people who can find hundreds of Windows desktop model pcs for $449-$700 if not cheaper. Again, I'm talking about price. And, as a consumer, that $449-$700 price range in the PC world will allow me to get either a full tower or a slim tower or a cute little box like the Mini. Also, when purchasing a $449-$700 desktop pc, you're gonna get the keyboard and mouse...AND A MONITOR.
All this being said, the folks that jump on this forum that tout the Mini is a great looking media center are correct...it's very attractive looking...the price is competitive to a cute little Windows box. However, I would guess that a large percentage of consumers who wish to purchase their first Mac (for reasons other than a media center) are gonna be pretty bummed about the price.
I was considering buying my dad a Mini later this summer (I thought the new models would roll out in August)...to replace his PERFECTLY WORKING 6 year old Dell slim tower (figured I would get him something super small to put on his desk)...but $700 is nuts...and I'd have to spend $100+ for a mouse and keyboard. I might as well consider an iMac for $1100+ at that point (but he has a great monitor already). So, unfortunately for dad and Apple, I will not be purchasing the new Mini...especially for such lackluster technical improvements.
Everyone uses a desktop computer differently...and to me, and a lot of others out there, $700 for a desktop computer with no monitor, no keyboard, and no mouse is crazy...and has been crazy for 10+ years. Especially if all you're going to do is use the internet (via a browser that offers the exact experience on any physical machine in the world), email, photos, and the occasional MS Office-type doc.
-Eric
I would argue that serious film fans have a dedicated Blu-Ray player already. On top of that, as someone else noted, it's in Apple's interest to sell video content via downloading and/or streaming. You don't have to like the absence of Blu-Ray but it shouldn't be surprising.
Chineese suicides at FoxconnWill somebody please e-mail Steve to ask what the hell was he thinking by raising the prices so much?
1)Not sure where you've been the last 16 months but BR is certainly not dead. It's taking off like mad. I wondered back in 2008 if BR was going to die quickly and to my pleasant surprise it has not. I own about 30 titles, each of which I've paid a street price of about $17. True that BR may not be mainstream in computers yet, but dvd technology took a few years to get into computers, too. The only reason I personally would like a BR in my computer is so that I can write 25GB or 50GB of data to a single disc rather than the 4/8GB dvd limit right now.
2)You are greatly mistaken if you think HD movies will be streamed to your HD tv anytime soon IN MASS QUANTITY with 100% adoption like standard cable tv has had for decades. There are numerous threads about this topic (mostly technical arguments/limitations/user adoption issues) and it's far too long to restart it now. We all envision it, but it's at least a decade from reality. I remember the promises of streamed HD content back in 2002...almost nothing has changed. My cable company barely offers 25 HD channels and the PPV service is the worst.
Do not spread a lie or propel the marketing myth.
In the first two months of the year more blu-rays were sold than all purchased streams and downloads for the entire 2009 year.
And blu-ray sales have steadily increased since then.
iTunes HD movies are really not that great and even the average consumer can see the difference when compared to the blu-ray version.
Was probably expecting too much, but the Bullring store (Birmingham uk) doesn't have a display model yet. I'm interested to see how hot they get after being left on and used all day.
Apple´s slogan with the new Mac Minis should be:
"You´re not only paying for what´s there, you´re paying for what isn´t there".
By that I mean the empty space. Yes, you are paying for empty space. "So there´s no display with it or other things that could take space, that´s gonna cost you extra!".
p.s. Blu-ray was dead even before it was born.
"You´re not only paying for what´s there, you´re paying for what isn´t there".
By that I mean the empty space. Yes, you are paying for empty space. "So there´s no display with it or other things that could take space, that´s gonna cost you extra!".
p.s. Blu-ray was dead even before it was born.
Then by all means, buy a Inspiron or XPS desktop and be done with it. Apple offers a SFF PC, like the Studio Hybrid.
And it's false to say the form factor doesn't do anything. Maybe it's not important to you, but don't presume you speak for everyone. Some people much prefer having a very small footprint PC, the smaller the better, hence why there's a market for these (mini-itx boards, Studio hybrid, the Zino series, Mac Mini).
I think the answer is quite simple, Why would you buy this crap in a first place? You can buy much much better PC for $500 with the CPU and graphics and HD and BD you want.
Lots of people already have 100MB/10MB internet connections and not even costing a lot. And it´s only going to get faster and cheaper. 1GB connections are coming soon.
So better start selling your Blu-ray collection already.
good job, very nice looks more expensive than the last one love the look more sleeker and tidier (it is lol)no blueRay but got the HDMI right,your getting there Apple slowly but surely.new mac pros?Tell me from where I can download BR quality movie today. You can not! What's wrong with Apple fans willing to wait for bright future when Flash is dead and BR is dead? Normal people are just enjoying their lives right now. Keep in mind that by the time you finally are able to watch BR quality movies from the Internet you may not even want it anymore.
Will somebody please e-mail Steve to ask what the hell was he thinking by raising the prices so much?
He was thinking that he could make more money by selling it for more and still have it run on a C2D CPU....
well i am thinking i will go to it and move my mac mini i use right now as my media computer to being my main use computer and the new mini to media computer i will upgrade the ram to 4 gigs and it will be then the price of what i paid for the late 09 one i have now
but it will be in november as my birthday is the 22 and xmas is right there a month later so its easier to justify getting it as a birthday xmas present
but it will be in november as my birthday is the 22 and xmas is right there a month later so its easier to justify getting it as a birthday xmas present
That's different. But yes, I agree that people investing in their skills or trying to start a business do need to buy things. The note here was "filling out unemployment forms" not "learning to design web sites".
Entirely expected as far as cpu/gpu specs, but still it's nice to see Apple paying some attention to its Mac product line even if it's only the mini.
All they need to do now is give us the option to run iOS via the remote. An option at the bottom of the Front Row menu perhaps?
Great post. I'm with you in that I don't like physical mediums either and yet you've made absolutely clear why iTunes is still not even close to ready for serious video.
Less than 30 seconds on the new Sony BDPS 70 series! Mmmm 3D, WiFi, iPad/iPhone BD Remote app connectivity. Yeah, the Japanese tech companies still own home theatre.
Which brings me to another point! Not only does blu-ray win out over iTunes movies in terms of visual and audio quality, but 3D! Are there even any 3D movies on iTunes at all?! 3D capable machines are the future, not downloadable crap from the iTunes store. I was using the Samsung 3D player in the store the other day, insane technology. The player was actually communicating with the 3D glasses I was wearing and altering the visual conditions somehow. Apple fanboy's who kid themselves into thinking iTunes is the forefront of film technology are seriously delusional.
replaced by iPad?
The Mac Mini was Apple's entry-level model for basic computer tasks in a time when the pc metaphor was the way to go. Now they have the iPad for 90% of common computer tasks, so maybe they refocused the Mac Mini to prevent those two products from cannibalizing each other, although I don't know what exactly their new focus is. It's now too expensive for anything but a designer pc. There is a market for htpc's, but that's at (at least) half the price and without a desktop OS.
The Mac Mini was Apple's entry-level model for basic computer tasks in a time when the pc metaphor was the way to go. Now they have the iPad for 90% of common computer tasks, so maybe they refocused the Mac Mini to prevent those two products from cannibalizing each other, although I don't know what exactly their new focus is. It's now too expensive for anything but a designer pc. There is a market for htpc's, but that's at (at least) half the price and without a desktop OS.