bytethese
macrumors 68030
Same here! I'd love if I could do some sort of DVR on it tho. I've LOVE to record shows and watch on my iPhone.
Stop it. Stop it now. I think I just pitched a tent. That's EXACTLY what I am hoping for.
New Mac Mini at Macworld San Francisco 2009?
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Same here! I'd love if I could do some sort of DVR on it tho. I've LOVE to record shows and watch on my iPhone.
Stop it. Stop it now. I think I just pitched a tent. That's EXACTLY what I am hoping for.
chadder007
macrumors member
That would be awesome to be an all inclusive like that with HDMI output and maybe even blu-ray option but I doubt that one.
Why wouldn't they want people using it as a HTPC? I'm sure Apple makes a greater profit from the sale of a mini than they do for an AppleTV. And with the addition of DisplayPort they could then enable sale and renting of HD movies from the mini (since it would then have the needed DRM for the studios to agree to it...that's why you can only rent HD movies via AppleTV, it has the DRM on it's HDMI port).
So add DisplayPort, sell a higher profit margin piece of hardware, and still have the iTunes Store revenue stream.
I also find it add the people think it will be milled from a solid block of aluminum like the new MBs. That new manufacturing process caused a price increase in MBs and lowered Apple's margins. And milling a chunk as deep as the mini (vs the MBs 1-inch thickness) would be even more difficult. Why on earth would such construction be needed for a computer that is going to just sit there on your desk?
FrenchKheldar
macrumors member
Hooray ! Let the rumor flood gates open for the Mac Mini.
I just want the new MacBook specs for a decent ($700?) price to trade my white iMac and replace it with the much more easily transportable Mac Mini !
I don't think we'll see a $499 price point, and definitely no SSD. Could see some higher end processors if the iMac moves towards quad cores, but I'm not sure the correct core i7 are ready yet for this...
As far as cannibalizing the iMac sales, I think Apple's market is now large enough that these 2 machines do not overlap as much as they would couple of years if they had similar specs... Some of the new Apple customers will never abandon the convenience of the all-in-one, where the Mini can be a great secondary machine with creative use for the more enthusiast crowd.
I just want the new MacBook specs for a decent ($700?) price to trade my white iMac and replace it with the much more easily transportable Mac Mini !
I don't think we'll see a $499 price point, and definitely no SSD. Could see some higher end processors if the iMac moves towards quad cores, but I'm not sure the correct core i7 are ready yet for this...
As far as cannibalizing the iMac sales, I think Apple's market is now large enough that these 2 machines do not overlap as much as they would couple of years if they had similar specs... Some of the new Apple customers will never abandon the convenience of the all-in-one, where the Mini can be a great secondary machine with creative use for the more enthusiast crowd.
IlluminatedSage
macrumors 68000
AidenShaw
macrumors P6
Standard DisplayPort?
Or Apple's proprietary Mini-DisplayPort and Apple's $30 to $100 Mini-DisplayPort to whatever dongles?
It will be Mini DisplayPort.
I like Wired's specs for the update Mac Mini. I'd buy one.
One thing that would make it a more interesting deal would be the incorporation of the glass trackpad on top of the Mac Mini. Bizarre, I know! It would be like a half-laptop and you wouldn't need a mouse as apart of the low-budget deal.
Of course you would need a preference to completely turn off the trackpad if you stack Mac Minis or place it in your entertainment unit with other devices.
One thing that would make it a more interesting deal would be the incorporation of the glass trackpad on top of the Mac Mini. Bizarre, I know!
It would be like a half-laptop and you wouldn't need a mouse as apart of the low-budget deal. Of course you would need a preference to completely turn off the trackpad if you stack Mac Minis or place it in your entertainment unit with other devices.
MagnusVonMagnum
macrumors 603
Hooray for $99 cables. I mean seriously, how am I supposed to get a 25 foot mini Display Port to DVI (or HDMI) adapter cable so I can hook this up to my projector based home theater??? So the Mac-Mini will finally have decent graphics, but there will be no simple way to connect it to my home theater system due to Apple using propriety connectors. Maybe if you took the $99 cable and then used a DVI to DVI adapter which then connected to a 25 foot DVI cable it would work?
Bubba Satori
Suspended
For a mac, yes.
But, to put it into context, my last sale today was a Gateway tower. Quad core processor, 6GB memory, 640GB HD and a 512MB Nvidia 9600. For the price of the base mini, $599. Yes, I know it doesn't run OS X. The base mini should be $400, not $600.
zombitronic
macrumors 65816
If this comes to be true, the only question that remains for me is, will I be buying one of these new Minis or will I be buying one of these new Minis and some elgato products to go along with it. I'm hoping Apple finally gives us the Safari capable Apple TV DVR.
Erasmus
macrumors 68030
Hopefully now Apple have beefed their notebook line pretty well lately, they can finally start getting around to the poor, neglected desktops. The Mac Pro hasn't been touched in over a year! Mac Mini for two! Even the iMac is very old. So let's hope for some new Mac Pros!
I never had much interest in a Mac Mini. I kind of don't understand them. The only reason why I can see people buying them is to Xgrid dozens together for a DIY supercomputer. I don't see many people with great computer screens, who yet want the cheapest computer they can get. And so the reason you don't want an iMac is because... it's a little more expensive? It's considerably better, and you don't need to have/buy a screen!
I never had much interest in a Mac Mini. I kind of don't understand them. The only reason why I can see people buying them is to Xgrid dozens together for a DIY supercomputer. I don't see many people with great computer screens, who yet want the cheapest computer they can get. And so the reason you don't want an iMac is because... it's a little more expensive? It's considerably better, and you don't need to have/buy a screen!
infernohellion
macrumors 6502
*disappointed*
Till today, no news about the 17" MBP
Till today, no news about the 17" MBP
hiptobesquare
macrumors regular
I have been wanting something like this for some time...
Let's see if Apple can push the envelope, or fall short.
It should be versatile, that being the key word.
Versatile enough to be a HTPC. AppleTV is an appliance, not a source, and thus, doesn't cut it.
Versatile enough to be a micro-server, headless, stable, and reliable, and not power hungry and intrusive.
Versatile enough to be a competent desktop computer, and run dual monitors side by side.
How is it so hard to offer Core 2 Duo and Quad processors, DDR3 RAM, a full size 3.5" hard drive, or 2x 2.5" hard drives in the same footprint, optional BluRay optical drive, and nVidia video processing, perhaps with a laptop-style expandable video card, or even a modest size expansion slot for video. On a stationary machine, why not have USB, FireWire, and maybe even eSata. USB2 does not cut it as well as FW, or eSata for large file volume file transfers, and extensive backups.
If they go with MiniDP video, it should come with an adapter to DVI, minimum, included in the package, if not also to HDMI, or some sort of analog video output, like S-video, or something, or some sort of compact VGA port, for use with legacy video equipment.
Desktops can afford to be more versatile, and have capacity for more configurability, and adaptibility, and even slight upgradeability. Value is becoming ABSOLUTELY more important. Selling a computer today needs to be viable for LOTS of uses by different consumers, for a long time. I know they want to go with planned obsoleteness, and sell computers again sooner. But that isn't going to fly in this economic condition. Products have to be great, not just good, to justify expenditure.
Apple is well capable of creating great products, but if it is luke-warm, like the new MacBooks, with some drawbacks to overlook, it will be harder to sell, that includes missing the proper price point, and significant profit-taking is not exactly a value position in a tight economy. More features for less money, and people will be thinking that they are getting something for their dwindling dollars spent.
Let's see if Apple can push the envelope, or fall short.
It should be versatile, that being the key word.
Versatile enough to be a HTPC. AppleTV is an appliance, not a source, and thus, doesn't cut it.
Versatile enough to be a micro-server, headless, stable, and reliable, and not power hungry and intrusive.
Versatile enough to be a competent desktop computer, and run dual monitors side by side.
How is it so hard to offer Core 2 Duo and Quad processors, DDR3 RAM, a full size 3.5" hard drive, or 2x 2.5" hard drives in the same footprint, optional BluRay optical drive, and nVidia video processing, perhaps with a laptop-style expandable video card, or even a modest size expansion slot for video. On a stationary machine, why not have USB, FireWire, and maybe even eSata. USB2 does not cut it as well as FW, or eSata for large file volume file transfers, and extensive backups.
If they go with MiniDP video, it should come with an adapter to DVI, minimum, included in the package, if not also to HDMI, or some sort of analog video output, like S-video, or something, or some sort of compact VGA port, for use with legacy video equipment.
Desktops can afford to be more versatile, and have capacity for more configurability, and adaptibility, and even slight upgradeability. Value is becoming ABSOLUTELY more important. Selling a computer today needs to be viable for LOTS of uses by different consumers, for a long time. I know they want to go with planned obsoleteness, and sell computers again sooner. But that isn't going to fly in this economic condition. Products have to be great, not just good, to justify expenditure.
Apple is well capable of creating great products, but if it is luke-warm, like the new MacBooks, with some drawbacks to overlook, it will be harder to sell, that includes missing the proper price point, and significant profit-taking is not exactly a value position in a tight economy. More features for less money, and people will be thinking that they are getting something for their dwindling dollars spent.
Alan-in-CO
macrumors member
I don't understand....
Here's my question, if they use a mini-DP, and you don't use a DP monitor, but instead a regular LCD with an adapter, will you not be able to watch HD movies from iTunes?
Isn't that part of the DRM issue associated with DP? I know earlier it was tested and found it wouldn't work with a "non-approved" display attached to a MacBook (Apple issued a patch to allow SD content to display on a non-DP monitor). But, what happens with its HD content? Isn't part of the lure of the Mini to be able to use (bring) your own keyboard / mouse / monitor? If it's not DP, will users be facing potential, future DRM restrictions with a regular monitor? Or am I missing something?
Here's my question, if they use a mini-DP, and you don't use a DP monitor, but instead a regular LCD with an adapter, will you not be able to watch HD movies from iTunes?
Isn't that part of the DRM issue associated with DP? I know earlier it was tested and found it wouldn't work with a "non-approved" display attached to a MacBook (Apple issued a patch to allow SD content to display on a non-DP monitor). But, what happens with its HD content? Isn't part of the lure of the Mini to be able to use (bring) your own keyboard / mouse / monitor? If it's not DP, will users be facing potential, future DRM restrictions with a regular monitor? Or am I missing something?
zombitronic
macrumors 65816
Aside from being a modestly priced "intro" Mac, the Mac Mini is popular with hobbyists who try to cram it everywhere and in everything they can find. Also, probably because of it's size and price, it has gained some popularity in the living room as a media center in place of an Apple TV. There are also 3rd party DVR software and hardware options.
Plus, many businesses upgrade old computers with these. They may already have a ton of monitors. Especially if you're buying a lot, then yes, the difference between dozens of Mac Minis and dozens of iMacs might be something a company needs to consider.
leehericks
macrumors member
I think it's obvious that the Mac Mini has been saved for MWSF09.
DisplayPort is a given.
I think some kind of case change is a given if it's a new product headliner, especially given the old white plastic on top. The look is outdated.
9400M would be really nice for the Mac Mini. The 9400M has processing cores, meaning better performance with Snow Leopard. Additionally, the combined chipset/graphics takes little space.
As for Firewire, I could see Apple keeping it for a couple reasons. On the MacBook, with the new internals, there wasn't really space for it. However, firewire isn't going to disappear off desktops, especially ones like the mini. The mini is used in server farms and probably deployed in some businesses. It's much easier to swap out a defective mini than an iMac. So target disk mode is important for those IT people.
DisplayPort is a given.
I think some kind of case change is a given if it's a new product headliner, especially given the old white plastic on top. The look is outdated.
9400M would be really nice for the Mac Mini. The 9400M has processing cores, meaning better performance with Snow Leopard. Additionally, the combined chipset/graphics takes little space.
As for Firewire, I could see Apple keeping it for a couple reasons. On the MacBook, with the new internals, there wasn't really space for it. However, firewire isn't going to disappear off desktops, especially ones like the mini. The mini is used in server farms and probably deployed in some businesses. It's much easier to swap out a defective mini than an iMac. So target disk mode is important for those IT people.
TheMadMilkman
macrumors newbie
Can we drop this please? It's clear to anyone with more than half a brick for a brain that he meant Apple won't build a $500 laptop. Give it a rest.
spacecadet610
macrumors 6502
i'd definitely buy one. no way its an i7 though. i love my mac mini!
talkingfuture
macrumors 65816
I'm looking forward to seeing if this is true. There does look to be a lot of obvious guess work in the wired article to me though.