Revised Mac mini now shipping?

[1984]

To use the car-analogy: you decide to buy a car with certain specs. Then when they deliver the car to you, the salesperson tells you that "they ran out of the cars you ordered, so we decided to give you a slightly better model instead. This model has all the features you ordered, but it also has navigation and Xenon-headlights. The price is the same, however". What is the problem?

The problem is that it's now well known that the car dealer is replacing the cars with better models. So everyone is going to the dealership to get one only to find out they are only replacing some of them with new models. It's a bad move whether it's a car or a computer. It creates unrealistic expectations and bad publicity.

 

[Evangelion]

The problem is that it's now well known that the car dealer is replacing the cars with better models.

How dare they improve their models!

So everyone is going to the dealership to get one only to find out they are only replacing some of them with new models. It's a bad move whether it's a car or a computer. It creates unrealistic expectations and bad publicity.

The dealer guarantees that the buyer will get a car that meets certain specification, period. If some people start to buy new carsin hopes that they will get a better machine instead, that is their problem, not the dealers. The dealer does NOT guarantee that everyone will get a better car.

Same thing with the Mini. If you REALLY want to get a better machine than what is listed on the specs, wait for a while untill they officially upgrade the specs. Untill then: quit your whining.

 

[c2104338]

Um, since when is a 170HP engine 70% faster than a 100HP one? It's not like it makes you go from 0-60 in 3 seconds vs 10 seconds. Even a 1,000HP Bugatti takes a little more than 3 seconds. My analogy is correct.

In your analogy you are clearly comparing the mini processor to a car engine. The new mini processor of 1.5GHz up from 1.42GHz is NOWHERE near as significant as 100HP up to 170HP upgrade in a car. I may have been incorrect to use the term 'faster' and should have used 'more powerful', but that still does not make your analogy correct

You can get a new car for less than $25,000 with sunroof, leather seats, etc. Just did in fact for less than $22,000. Not "bottom-of-the-range" at all. Depends on your point of view I guess.

Where did i make a reference to not being able to buy a car under $25,000 with sun-roof etc? All that I said was the Mac Mini is not equal to a $25,000 car- it is equal to an entry level car, i.e. no sunroof, no mag wheels, no powered windows, no passenger airbags, no CD stacker, no climate control air-conditioning. Look at the Mac Mini- It comes with NO keyboard, NO monitor, NO mouse. Stop comparing it to a decent $25,000 car. However, Kudos to you for spending up big.

So you think $25,000 buys you a bottom of the barrel econobox? Like I said before, you "power" users think the Mac mini is just a toy and buying one is financially trivial. Spending $499 on a Mac mini must be the equivalent of you buying lunch or something. Nice to have money to burn.

No, I don't. YOU made up the analogy of a Mini being equivalent to a $25,000 car. I NEVER mentioned a $25,000 car in my post. And yes, I am a "power" user (I am currently typing away on my 2002 dell dimension 4300) with "money to burn" (just graduated from uni 3 months ago so doing some casual primary school teaching along with a second job to help pay off my uni debt until i find a full-time teaching gig). I would be grateful to have a Mini, and even more grateful if it came with an upgrade that I was not expecting.

Anyway, I'm off to take a bath in my money-vault (Uncle Scrooge from Ducktales style!!!) before i head out in my $35,000 shitbox (I'm from Australia so we need to convert the currency) to cruise the town for chicks.

 

[FunkSpaceMonkey]

I think someone made a boo boo...

 

[toneloco2881]

How dare they improve their models!



The dealer guarantees that the buyer will get a car that meets certain specification, period. If some people start to buy new carsin hopes that they will get a better machine instead, that is their problem, not the dealers. The dealer does NOT guarantee that everyone will get a better car.

Same thing with the Mini. If you REALLY want to get a better machine than what is listed on the specs, wait for a while untill they officially upgrade the specs. Untill then: quit your whining.

While your argument is valid, I agree with 1984. It's poor business practice. If Apple has both machines curently shipping, albeit the updated models sporadically, they should update their product offerings to reflect that change. Some customers aren't aware of rumor sites, and have no idea that if they just waited a week further they could get a much improved machine. This is not luck of the draw here. This is Apple deliberately trying to clear "old" inventory while remaining deceptive about new product's concurrently shipping out. Savvy business perhaps, but something I would expect out of the Microsoft's of the world.

Imagine you and your neighbor order identical machines from the Apple Online store under the same pretenses. They receive the updated model, while you receive the old one, yet you both went throught the same channel, and payed identical prices. Yet, when you call Apple to inquire they tell you that you can upgrade, after paying the 10% restocking fee. Fair, i think not...

 

[Evangelion]

Some customers aren't aware of rumor sites, and have no idea that if they just waited a week further they could get a much improved machine.

And if they waited for a year, they would get a better machine. If you are going to wait because better model is just around the corner, be prepared for a long wait.

This is not luck of the draw here. This is Apple deliberately trying to clear "old" inventory while remaining deceptive about new product's concurrently shipping out.

It would be deceptive if some of the machine they shipped had crappier specs than what they tell in the spec-sheet. But it's not deceptive if they meet or exceed those specs. Again: you are getting what you paid for. You MIGHT get something better. So you get more for your money. But you are absolutely GUARANTEED to get a machine that meets the specs they list. But you might get a machine that exceeds those specs, for same amount of money.

I really, REALLY fail to see the point in this excessive whining. Some people get more than they thought, and people whine? I would have thought that it would be a pleasant surprise, but apparently some people simp,y can't live with the fact that they could get the exact machine they paid for, while some others might get a bit better machine. Does the fact that some people get a slightly better machine, somehow take away something from you? No it does not. And if this is REALLY a problem for you, wait for a week or so. Apple will propably update the specs really soon. Problem solved.

Imagine you and your neighbor order identical machines from the Apple Online store under the same pretenses. They receive the updated model, while you receive the old one, yet you both went throught the same channel, and payed identical prices. Yet, when you call Apple to inquire they tell you that you can upgrade, after paying the 10% restocking fee. Fair, i think not...

Tough. But since I bought and paid for 1.42GHz machine, I can't really see how I have any room for complaint if I get the exact same machine I ordered. "I ordered a 1.42GHz Mini with 32MB of VRAM and you shipped me a 1.42GHz machine with 32MB of VRAM! You will hear from my lawyers!".

To go further in the car-analogy: there has been cases when some models of cars have had newer engine-control software than others, and that has resulted in more low-end torque and lower fuel-consumption. Yet both models (otherwise identical) were sold at the same time at same price.

To continue: When Mini shipped, some models were shipped with 5400RMP HD's, while others shipped with 4200RPM HD's. There was no way of knowing which HD was in the machine. Did people whine because their neighbour got a 5400RPM-model, while they got a 4200RPM model? No they did not. But now we get nothing but excessive whining.

 

[DVNIEL]

Hhmm... 1.5gHz with dual layer burning? This seems a little odd because the mac mini is now trailing behind the mid-range Powerbook, but then it has more of advantage because it has DUAL LAYER BURNING?? Geez, even my 17" Powerbook doesn't have that.

Oh well I guess I'm just bickering=).

Powerbooks need to do something soon before the mac mini catches up.

 

[Sabenth]

you get whats in the box Or in this case u get somthing u werent exspecting a faster system ...

Avrage Joe aint going to notice much is he oh look it says 1.42 on box boom bannga walop ooOo heck its fast this Tell this to your mates they go oOoO NICE want one go to shop buy one and duh its not that fast after all ???? False advertising at its best ..



I missed out the part that the 1.5 g4 was installed on the system but the box says 1.4 ghz


--------------


Now that ive just made no sense i shall return to normal life and ponder why the life of brian was such a cult film

 

[Sabenth]

Hhmm... 1.5gHz with dual layer burning? This seems a little odd because the mac mini is now trailing behind the mid-range Powerbook, but then it has more of advantage because it has DUAL LAYER BURNING?? Geez, even my 17" Powerbook doesn't have that.

Oh well I guess I'm just bickering=).

Powerbooks need to do something soon before the mac mini catches up.

maybe apple have given up on the whole idea of powerbooks and are going to alter the mac mini to have a screen blah yada yada load of waffle

 

[MacTruck]

Well, gaming should be faster now. Also, 32MB resulted in choppy Expose in higher resolutions, this upgrade should fix that.

Gaming? Nope. Expose, okay I'll buy that.

Well, you get that extra 80MHz for free, so I fail to see the problem here.

Its not for free. You pay for the computer don't you?

IIRC, this upgrade includes faster hard-drives.

I have not heard this. I hope its true.

Remember: we are talking about the cheapest Mac available. You are basically demanding features and specs that exist in more expensive models on their cheapest computer.

Damn right.

"At least"? You aren't demanding much, considering that the G4 maxes out at 1.67GHz! Seriously, the CPU is fast enough. I have the 1.25 GHz model, and it has plenty of horsepower for the intended uses of the machine. If you want more power to run some pro-apps, Apple has some other computers for sale for that purpose.

Are you kidding? The 1.67ghz G4 is SOOOOOOO old. Its rediculous the more expensive powerbooks have this cpu. The mini should have this period.

Again: this is the cheapest Mac available. It would be ludicrous to demand high specs from this machine. You could say that you get what you pay for.

Its never ludicrous to demand the specs I am asking for. It would be ludicrous to demand a dual G5 in a mini yes but not a faster G4.

Well, this update fixes that problem, improves other specs as well, without increasing the prices. So the problem is..... what, exactly? You get more computer for the same amount of money, and you complain?

Yep. I want it to keep up with OSX. It barely does now.

 

[MacSA]

Won't be buying a Mac mini until Apple officially ships the new ones.

 

[Evangelion]

Gaming? Nope. Expose, okay I'll buy that.

It should help in games somewhat. 32MB is not that much for games. you wont be playing Doom3 on that machine, however

Its not for free. You pay for the computer don't you?

Free as in sense that you pay for 1.42GHz machine with 32MB of VRAM, but you get 1.5GHz machine with 64MB of VRAM (and other goodies) instead. In that sense they are free extra. I was not claiming that the Mini doesn't cost a thing. I said that the Mini with better specs doesn't cost any extra.

Are you kidding?

Nope. For most tasks, the G4 (even a slower model) is fast enough. Gaming and hi-end tools are a different matter though, and Apple has machine for those uses for sale. my inlaws are still using 700Mhz Pentium with Rage128.

The 1.67ghz G4 is SOOOOOOO old. Its rediculous the more expensive powerbooks have this cpu. The mini should have this period.

Well, the PB has that CPU due to it being the best thing available (although they could update it to 200Mhz FSB/1MB L2-model soon).

Its never ludicrous to demand the specs I am asking for. It would be ludicrous to demand a dual G5 in a mini yes but not a faster G4.

And you do get a faster G4. maybe not the fastest one available. But the fastest model might run too hot. It might be too expensive. It might harm the sales of other Macs. etc. etc. instead of simply staring at the CPU, you need to think about other Apple product-lines as well. Equipping the Mini with the fastest G4 might harm the sales of other systems. Or it might simply be too expensive.

Yep. I want it to keep up with OSX. It barely does now.

Strange, I have no real problems with OS X on my Mini. Well, the Dock was somewhat choppy when I swooshed over it during DVD-playback, but that's hardly nothing major. It might get better when I upgrade to 1GB of RAM.

 

[50548]

"Sources have informed Think Secret that Mac mini box labels will continue to list the older specifications with no indication of whether the newer or older systems are contained within. The motivation behind this is to help clear current inventory without lowering prices. Essentially, customers are promised that the Mac mini they purchase will have specifications "at least" equal to the label, but that their system may exceed those. Customers who purchase a new Mac mini to find they ended up with the older configuration will not be able to return the system in the hopes of getting the newer configuration without paying a restocking fee." - thinksecret update

CAN APPLE BE ANY MORE F***ING CHEAPER? Just donot send out the new ones untill you are done with your inventory. I cannot believe that they are this much retarded. Is this a form of playing a lottery? I think just to f*** with them people should not buy the product till they come out and post the darn update!

Cut the crap, will ya? Apple is still SELLING AND ADVERTISING the older model, and the company is free to do that as long as it wants.

What you see is what you get, so anything else must be considered as a "gift" from Apple. They must clear inventory, and they will ONLY launch anything else officially when they have a clean warehouse, period.

If you don't want the older one, just don't order anything and wait for the official rollout...get a grip, people.

 

[50548]

Further confirmation by MacBidouille (in French):

http://www.macbidouille.com/news/2005-09-28/#11630

The updated specs are already available for all Apple service centers.

 

[caveman_uk]

Like I said before, you "power" users think the Mac mini is just a toy and buying one is financially trivial. Spending $499 on a Mac mini must be the equivalent of you buying lunch or something. Nice to have money to burn.

Nobody has said that. They are simply trying to point out that you are buying a machine WITH THE SPECS ON THE APPLE WEBPAGE. You will get a machine with AT LEAST those specs. You may get a better machine. Apple will not have cheated you. You WILL get what you paid for. When Apple updates the specs on the webpage THEN you will be able to complain that you didn't get the new specs.

Similarly if Apple did this with the powermacs and there's was as minor speedbump as this my opinion would be no different. It has absolutely nothing to do with the cost of the machine or it's intended owner.

If you really want to make sure you get the marginally updated machine (only the hard drive speed bump will actually make any difference in real world use) wait.

You're getting really worked up over an update that's hardly worth announcing it's so miniscule.

 

[Diatribe]

That makes the mini better than a 12" PB... Apple needs to do something about those Powerbooks or they'll look pretty bad in comparison.

 

[eXan]

A Mac mini with a 64mb graphics card, dual-layer DVD burning support, and bluetooth and wi-fi? Damn...sounds pretty sweet to me!

Dont get 2 excited yet. Even with 64 MB Radeon 9200 is still slow, not supporting CoreImage videocard. It will just have more RAM for textures in games.

 

[brother]

My personal take on this is: If you want a mini with the upgraded specs for sure, then wait until Apple officially announces them. From what I've seen, they must be in production and in stock so it can't be too long before they're announced. Otherwise they're just giving as much as, or more, than they promise on the box.

 

[c2104338]

Finally, sanity has prevailed and people have stopped asking for Steve Jobs' head on a platter. I mean, 2 updates in a matter of months!!!! What i would give to see the PowerMac or PowerBook in the same circumstances.....

 

[ariechel]

A little off topic, but...

Quiet revisions to the Powerbook, anyone?

 

[itcheroni]

why would this upset you? especially after you saying that apple should just wait to release the update until they sell their inventory? at least now you will get a chance of getting a better system if your in the market for a mini. and if you can wait then wait till the box notates the specs you want.

i think its cool of apple. i really cant see why you would be mad. but thanks for the laugh.

It's cool? Cool? I switched to Mac a little over a year ago and like OS enough stick with Apple despite the higher cost. The hardest part, though, and still is, is hearing Mac people talk about everything Apple makes and does as the be all end all. If Steve Jobs sold his farts in jars, there'd be at least a dozen people on this board claiming his jars of farts are more innovative, easier to use, and cooler than the other jars of farts available. I completely agree about there being no reason to whine in getting what you pay for, but they could certainly be a little more organized with this update. I mean, they should get their act together at wherever they distribute, so they can sell their old stuff before their new stuff. They just probably figured it'd be too expensive for some reason to do that and decided to just send whatever they pleased. Someone claimed it was an incentive. This would be the lamest possible incentive they could offer. Hey, we're gonna release this new product in a few days but if you give us money for our old product, we just might give it to you. Or not. Whatever we feel like. They're looking out for themselves over their customers, and that's just what businesses do. It's nothing to get upset about but how the hell is it cool?

 

[steve_hill4]

A little off topic, but...

Quiet revisions to the Powerbook, anyone?

We can but hope.

 

[Wonder Boy]

If Steve Jobs sold his farts in jars, there'd be at least a dozen people on this board claiming his jars of farts are more innovative, easier to use, and cooler than the other jars of farts available.

probably, but they would still complain about the stock ram and poor graphics card.

 

[50548]

PB G5??

A little off topic, but...

Quiet revisions to the Powerbook, anyone?

I would rephrase that as: "Powerbook G5 coming, anyone??"

 

[Evangelion]

That makes the mini better than a 12" PB... Apple needs to do something about those Powerbooks or they'll look pretty bad in comparison.

Apart from the fact that PB is a portable laptop with built-in keyboard, screen and mouse, whereas Mini is a desktop with no keyboard, screen and a mouse?