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Supply Shortages Hint at Possible Mac Mini Refresh
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There is no more room in a Mini for a separate discrete processor than there is inside a Macbook or MBP 13". A 320M (integrated graphics) is far, far, far more likely.
Internal available volume is the major constraint with the mini. That is often way it doesn't track other desktop trends as quickly as units that have more internal volume budget to work with.
Err, that's the idea of a midtower. Being a mini-Mac Pro only instead of using workstation CPU's they use consumer CPU's.
Mac Mini 2010 Update
I love the Mac Mini & Time Capsule Combo.
To be honest these recent refreshes means that OS X 10.6.4 will be even more efficient!
I'm thinking 2.4|2.66|2.8|2.93Ghz C2D options will be available with
250|320|500|1B HDD 2.5" Sata II (no need for 3.5" more heat); 1TB for Server option.
5 USB Ports Hoping 1 with USB3.0 Support
Dual Mini Display Ports - 1 input supported, both with adapter suits most ppls HDPC needs.
Slot Load DVD makes it all worth it.
2011 we'll see Core i5ULV as the base CPU for all consumer units, and AMD's or Core i5/i7's with support with NVidia or ATI chips - I think ATi if their smart will move to support a deal with Intel for imbedded GPU solutions.
I love the Mac Mini & Time Capsule Combo.
To be honest these recent refreshes means that OS X 10.6.4 will be even more efficient!
I'm thinking 2.4|2.66|2.8|2.93Ghz C2D options will be available with
250|320|500|1B HDD 2.5" Sata II (no need for 3.5" more heat); 1TB for Server option.
5 USB Ports Hoping 1 with USB3.0 Support
Dual Mini Display Ports - 1 input supported, both with adapter suits most ppls HDPC needs.
Slot Load DVD makes it all worth it.
2011 we'll see Core i5ULV as the base CPU for all consumer units, and AMD's or Core i5/i7's with support with NVidia or ATI chips - I think ATi if their smart will move to support a deal with Intel for imbedded GPU solutions.
Is that anything like the Netbook I saw for sale at the store today that had an Intel Atom with GMA950 and Windows XP?
http://www.dell.com/us/en/home/notebooks/laptop-inspiron-1545/pd.aspx?refid=laptop-inspiron-1545
They don't even use the more recent Penryn chips. They are using Merom with Intel's older integrated graphics.
You also might want to check out Alienware's Core 2 Duo laptop offerings.
this is where I am at too. Laptop died bought an iPad hoping to add a hdmi Mac mini to solve my computing needs completely.
I think that this is one of the areas that the iPad is a game changer. Many people bought laptops previously because they had occasional mobility needs and a laptop with a monitor could solve both the desktop and mobile needs.
Now many of these people will shift to an iPad Plus desktop solution because the total cost of ownership is not that different and the individual mobile and desktop needs can be better met with two dedicated devices rather than one all rounder. I still think the road warriors will opt for the laptop plus iPhone option but many will see a desktop iPad dumb phone combination as better (or better still an minimalist iPhone with only iPod and basic phone functionality)
It'd be nice if they threw the "bag of hurt" in there, but I know they're not going to.
(Got an HDTV now, and I'd consider hooking one up to it...)
(Got an HDTV now, and I'd consider hooking one up to it...)
It's 2.5 years old. Pretty old in terms of computers. I'd certainly get a mini out of it, but not much more, I fear. At this point, I'd probably keep it as a backup system. It was my first Mac, so it'd be nice to have a standby.
Or he could buy some kind of aluminium mount to install it under his desk.
Actually, I already have a cage setup under the desk that holds the power bar and a couple external drives. There'd be room.
Have you seen Steve Jobs' recent comments on the Tv market? He doesn't seem to think that there is much scope to. Make a buck in the TV market himself. where a HDMI Mac Mini might work is in filling out the Apple ecosystem by giving people a main machine that they can plug into a tv for minimal cost and can use to synch there (multiple) ipads to print from, store backup of their photos,music and movies and do the few other bits of computing they currently can't do on the iPad
Time for a MacMini/AppleTV combo...
That was my immediate reaction as soon as I saw the article. Apple has been notoriously slow at updating the mini, now they're projecting a re-fresh more quickly than normal? Couple that with the recent rumor of some type of updated Apple TV and the WWDC coming up in days...
It would all seem to fit that maybe there will be some type of Apple TV/Mini merger?
June 7 could be interesting...
Or they could kill the Mini, beef up the Apple TV so it's actually useful and fill the gap between the iMac and Mac Pro with a product like the G4 Cube.
Nah, Apple makes a decent profit with the Mac mini.
What's likely to happen is that AppleTV moves to a cheaper ARM-based architecture running iPhone OS (or a variant). The current unit is not very profitable and a bit pricey for what it does.
The Cube was dropped because it did not sell well. It is doubtful that we will see anything similar return to Apple's product lineup.
I'm of the same mindset. I'm planning on picking up the new Mac mini shortly and add the second generation iPad next year. By then, my MacBook will be 4.5 years old and I'll donate it to a local charity.
Since the App Store launched a couple of years ago I've found that A.) my MacBook rarely leaves the house anymore, and B.) I'm using my computer less because my iPod touch is great for mundane tasks (like checking e-mail, reading news headlines, checking sports scores, etc.).
I'm already dabbling with audio-video streaming apps like Simplify (now acquired by Google), AirVideo, and HomePipe. If the iPad acquires some powerful remote desktop/VPN-like apps, then remotely logging into my home computer will be largely adequate when I'm on the road. I mostly need a home computer for processor-intensive tasks like editing HD video.
The Cube sold badly because Apple priced it horribly. The PowerMac G4 was $200 cheaper at the time and the G4 Cube did not include a monitor. The only difference between the base G4 Cube and the $200 cheaper PowerMac was 64MB of RAM.
The only thing I would use a Mac Mini for, would be to use as a HTPC. Apple should capitalize on this by adding full HDMI support and dropping the price a little. Bigger HD's and faster processors standard would also be nice.
And I wouldn't mind if they changed the white plastic top to be black glass so it'll match the rest of the Mac line. Minor gripe though.
And I wouldn't mind if they changed the white plastic top to be black glass so it'll match the rest of the Mac line. Minor gripe though.
There is scope. What he said was didn't think most people wanted yet another box. If already have a TV and the TV connects to the internet, runs flash, run HTTP live streams, and has a H.264 decoder in it... what is your box going to do ?
The percentage of TVs with built in internet is rapidly taking off.
If folks are willing to dramatically increase net traffic by creating millions of independent streams of content then the TV will be able to do "on demand" all buy itself. That extra box just gets in the way. It goes the way of external HD tuners and tunerless HD monitors.
I think though what that blows off is folks having their own copy locally stored somewhere. There is a rumor about a time capsule + stripped down Apple TV combo. However, again.... if the TV could "pick up" the media from the time capsule .... what is the point of the extra box ?
Or more simply a mac mini that is a home storage and the TV just contacts the storage unit over local internet. The TV already has a decoder to put the bits onto the screen; just need to get the bits over there. For 1080p content that is an issue even getting it to the local network, but bluray covers that where local broadband doesn't cut it.